Education Commons^™

Latina/O Students In K-12 Schools: A Synthesis Of Empirical Research On Factors Influencing Academic Achievement, Amanda Taggart

Teacher Education and Leadership Faculty Publications

The purpose of this systematic review is to provide a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the empirical evidence to date on the factors related to Latina/o student academic achievement in the country’s increasingly Latina/o K-12 schools. Factors found to be related to academic achievement outcomes (e.g., grades, test scores, high school completion, college enrollment) for Latina/o students include a combination of (1) demographic variables, (2) sociocultural variables, (3) academic experiences, (4) psychological variables, and (5) school/institutional variables. In addition, this research synthesis identified several methodological trends in the research on Latina/o student success.

Disposition For Change: A Teacher's Quest For Student And Self-Liberation, Morgan Sanford, Elise Maddox

Research on Capitol Hill

The tensions that dominate the lives of Mexican-American adolescents complicate their academic achievement. Many Anglo-American teachers see Mexican-American students as lacking parental and administrative support and capability or intelligence, stereotypes that poison progress and inhibit their learning.

Our research considers the influence of visionary, dedicated teachers in the lives of underprivileged students. The biographical film narratives included in our study detail the experiences of Caucasian and Latino teachers and their Mexican-American students. They point to the power of individual teachers to open doors for positive change and progress in the lives of their students.