Faculty Mentor

Martin Meraz Garcia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2016

Department

Chicano Education

Abstract

Young Hispanics today struggle with the American education system, especially those that are foreign-born. This is because Latina/o immigrants are part of an education system that is inadequate to meet their educational needs. A common problem immigrant’s face in the classroom is their inability to communicate. Also, teachers are not trained to communicate effectively with their student populations. For example, according to the National Education Association only 2.5% of teachers who instruct bilingual students have a degree in ESL-bilingual education. This can be a factor for which Latina/o immigrants score lower on standardized tests and the shortcomings associated with an inadequate education system reflect the type of jobs held by this population. In the United States, Latina/o’s make up a sizable percentage of the total workforce, however they still face job discrimination and income inequality in natural resource, construction, and maintenance jobs. Using peer review academic sources, this study explores how the American education system is ill prepared to meet the needs of Latina/o immigrants and their success or lack thereof reflects the quality of education hey received. Finally, the study addresses how the education system can be reformed, to better serve the needs of the Latina/o population.

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