Advancing Educational Equity for Students of Mexican Descent

Drawing on participatory action research conducted with students, parents, families, and school staff in a Southwest community in the United States, this volume contests the interpretation of the achievement gap for students of Mexican descent in the American education system and highlights asset-based approaches that can facilitate students' academic success. By presenting the Asset-Based Bicultural Continuum Model (ABC) and demonstrating the applications in a variety of family, school, and community-based initiatives, this volume demonstrates how community and cultural wealth can be harnessed to increase educational opportunities for Latino students. The ABC model offers new strategies which capitalize on the bicultural and linguistic assets rooted in local communities and offers place-based strategies driven by communities themselves in order to be tailored to students' strengths. The text makes a significant contribution to understanding the social ecology of Latinx students' experiences and offers a new direction for effective and evidence-based academic and health programs across the United States. This book will be a valuable resource for researchers and academics with an interest in the sociology of education, multicultural education, urban education, and bilingual education. It will be of particular interest to those with a focus on Hispanic and Latino studies.

Andrea Romero is Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Professsor of Family Studies and Human Development, University of Arizona, US. Iliana Reyes is Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Community and Global Partnerships, Professor of Teaching and Learning, Sociocultural Studies and the Center for Latin American Studies, University of Arizona, US.

Part 1: What do students, parents, teachers, counselors, administrators and community leaders feel is necessary for excellent education for all children in their community? 1. Children and Communities with Promise: A Place-based Approach to an Asset Based Bicultural Continuum Model 2. Promesa Vision, Needs, and Strengths: Voices of Children, Youth, and Parents 3. We Have a Vision of a Healthy College-Going School: Principals, Administrators and Counselors 4. Coalition Building for an Asset-based Bicultural Continuum: Breaking Down Silos in La Zona de Promesa 5. Asset-based Bicultural Continuum Model for Educational Equity of Low-Income and Mexican Descent Students Part 2: How one community engaged with education to create an asset-based bicultural continuum 6. Early Childhood Communities as Bilingual and Bicultural Assets 7. Creating College Going Culture in Middle School Through Youth Participatory Action Research: Unity for Change, Believe in Us! 8. From Community Mapping to Community Action: Youth Participatory Action Research on the Educational Pipeline 9. Social Workers Developing Relationships and Linking Students Families and Teachers to Local Resources 10. Final Reflections: La Zona de Promesa and The ABC Continuum Model