8: Education- Historical and Contemporary Trends

Historical Trends 

Solorzano and Solorzano (1995) identified at least 4 different frameworks used historically to explain the lower educational attainment rates of Latin@s, especially in terms of high school completion and college degree attainment.

1)    Genetic Determinist Model – according to this model, lower attainment rates were explained by biological and genetic factors, such as lower group level intelligence.  In her book on the historic case of Mendez v. Westminster, Phillipa Strum (2010) documents the biological explanations provided by school administrators and researchers at that time. And these racist and now debunked theories became the basis and justification for having segregated Mexican schools in California (and other states). 

“Mexican children have ‘different mental characteristics’ than Anglo children, ‘showed and stronger sense of rhythm’, and ‘are primarily interested in action and emotion but grow listless under purely mental effort’.”

                                                                                    Grace Stanley, California Educator
                                                                                    “Special School for Mexicans” Survey, 1920

“Mexican students have 58.1% of the ‘Americans’ ability to pursue academic courses, but ‘90% as good ability …. to do manual work’.”

                                                                                    Merton Hill, Doctoral dissertation
                                                                                    University of Southern California, 1928

“The average Spanish child has an intelligence quotient of .79 compared with 1.00 for the average Anglo child.”

                                                                                                                              B.F. Haught, Educator, 1931

“Economically they have been beneficial to southern California and their welfare and progress should be protected. However … Mexicans seem to possess some undesirable attitudes and characteristics. Normal school progress which may be expected of the white children is above the ability of the average Mexican…the test intelligence of the average Mexican is below that of the average white child…it seem[s] probable that a separate curriculum adjusted to them is advisable.”

                                                                                                                              James L. Kent
                                                                                                                              Superintendent, Garden Grove Schools, 1941

Phillipa Strum "Mendez v. Westminster" CSPAN Talk (2010) Link: 

https://www.c-span.org/video/?295471-1/mendez-v-westminster

2) Cultural Determinist Model – according to this model, the lower educational attainment rates of Latin@s can be attributed to cultural characteristics that are not conducive to academic success.  Oftentimes educators or school officials will assume a cultural belief or practice is to blame for the lower achievement of Latin@ students in the classroom. For example, they may assume that Latin@ parents do not “value education” and more concerned about work so they are less concerned about their children’s academic progress and success.  In another example, they may assume that a cultural emphasis on “familialism” interferes with schoolwork and academic achievement by putting the needs of the family first at the expense of the student’s progress. 

In her influential work on cultural capital and community cultural wealth, Tara Yasso (2005) critiques deficiency models (that include both biological and cultural determinist models) using a critical race theory lens and turns these assumptions and explanations about Latin@ students on its head. Instead of focusing on the perceived deficiencies of students of color, educators and school administrators should instead focus on the forms of cultural and community capital that students of color bring with them into the classroom and build upon these forms of educational capital to create more inclusive curricula and learning environments.  For instance, instead of assuming that "familialism" is an impediment to the schooling process, schools should instead intentionally include and incorporate the parents of children in the schooling and educational process, perhaps by initiating “noche de la familia” (family night) on campus in order to make the parents feel welcome in a school setting with the ultimate goal of making them partners in the schooling of their children. 

3) School/Institutional Determinist Model – proponents of this model assume that the schools that students attend will determine their educational outcomes. For instance, schools may have unequal access to school safety, educational and academic resources, books, counselors, and other material items that may negatively impact the educational experiences and outcomes of their students.   

4) Social/Cultural Reproduction Models – assume that schools tend to reproduce the social and cultural inequalities that exist in the larger societies.  Researchers such as Bowles and Gintis argue that working-class students attend very different schools and receive a curriculum that will prepare them for working class labor. On the other hand, upper class students will attend high schools that will emphasize critical and abstract thinking and prepare them to attend top universities and careers in professional occupations.  Similarly, teachers and school officials help to reproduce inequalities by favoring those students who grew up in upper class social circles and present themselves accordingly using certain gestures, mannerism, and forms of speech.

The main critique of genetic/biological and cultural deficiency models is that they blame the students (and their families) themselves for lower educational attainment rates.  The critique of the school and social reproduction models is that while they do provide a warranted analysis of the structural factors that impact educational attainment outcomes, such as social class, family income, and school-level inequalities, they do not allow for the role of agency and resistance on the part of the students themselves. 

Contemporary Educational Trends 

According the Pew Center (Figure 10.1.1 ), in 2021 approximately 56% of the entire adult Latinx population attained a high school degree or less, significantly higher than the rate of the American population at 37%. The percentage of those who earned a two-year degree or some college was 3 percentage points lower and the 4-year college degree attainment rate was 15 percentage points lower than that of the entire American population. However, some of the educational attainment gaps are reduced or disappear when comparing only the U.S.-born Latinx adult population to the entire American adult population. The high school or less gap is reduced to 8 percentage points and the 4-year college degree attainment gap is reduced to 11 percentage points. The U.S. born Latinx adult population actually has a higher percentage of people who have attained a 2-year degree or some college.

Demographers and social scientists such as Dowell Myers and David Hayes-Bautista have commented on the social gap between the aging white baby boomer population in states like California and the growing, mostly Latinx population under the age of 18. In many societies, this social gap oftentimes make the aging population less likely to fund education and social programs if they feel that the younger generations is "not like them".  They argue that it is actually in their best interest to ensure that the young, mostly Latinx youth have access to quality education and that the educational gaps, especially college education completion, are closed. As college-educated, tax-paying adults, the growing Latinx population will contribute to medical, retirement, and social services and they will most likely purchase the homes of retiring baby boomers once they decide to sell or downsize.

Contributors and Attributions 

• Ramos, Carlos. (Long Beach City College)
• Introduction to Sociology 2e (OpenStax) (CC BY 4.0)

Works Cited 

• Educational Attainment of Hispanic population in the U.S., 2021. Pew Research Center Report. August, 16, 2023
• Hayes, Bautista. (2004). La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State. UC Press. Berkeley
• Myers, Dowell. (2008). Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America. Russel Sage Foundation. New York. 
• Solorzano, D. and Solorzano, R. (1995). The Chicano educational experience: a proposed framework for effective schools in Chicano communities. Educational Policy. Vol. 9. 
• Strum, Philippa. (2010). Mendez v. Westminster: School Desegregation and Mexican-American Civil Rights. University Press of Kansas. 
• Yasso, T. Whose Culture has Capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race, Ethnicity, and Education. Vol. 8(1).