Ybarra, Raul E. & López, Nancy (Eds.). (2004). Creating Alternative Discourses in the Education of Latinos and Latinas: A Reader. Reviewed by Billie Gastic, Temple University

Ybarra, Raul E. & López, Nancy (Eds.). (2004). Creating Alternative Discourses in the Education of Latinos and Latinas: A Reader. New York: Peter Lang Publishing. Pp. vii + 247 $29.95   ISBN 0-8204-6801-0 Reviewed by Billie Gastic Temple University April 12, 2006 Latinos are the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States and account for 14% of the total population. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Latinos are of Mexican descent. Latinos identifying as Puerto Rican or Cuban make up 10% and 4% of the Latino population, respectively. Nearly a quarter (23%) of Latinos report ancestry from other countries, including those in the Caribbean, Central America and South America (U.S. Census, 2004). Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics describe the state of education for Latinos in the U.S. Latino students are more likely than White students to be suspended or expelled from school and are more likely to dropout of high school than White or African American students. Latino students also continue to score lower on the NAEP than White students. Fewer than 1 in 4 Latinos aged 18-24 were enrolled in college or universities in 2000. Latinos earned only 6% of the Bachelors degrees conferred in 1999-2000 (NCES, 2003). These conditions point to the persistent failure of our educational system to meet the needs of Latino students. The editors of Creating Alternative Discourses in the Education of Latinos and Latinas: A Reader bring together an interdisciplinary and methodologically diverse collection of research and writing that is unanimous in its aim to “create different discourses that will lead to alternative solutions to improve the education of Latina and Latino students (p.6).” The contributing authors challenge the stereotypes and assumptions that exist about Latinos and education. They discredit the deficit model that is typically used to frame the discussion of the educational attainment of Latino students. In doing so, these scholars and educators present an integrated perspective on the education of Latinas and Latinos. Educational theory, practice and policy that do not acknowledge the essential complementarity of Latino students’ ethnic and academic identities will continue to fail these students. Effective and positive educational change for Latina and Latino students must start with a re-articulation of the problem (López, Chapter 10). This edited volume represents an important step in that direction. Creating Alternative Discourses in the Education of Latinos and Latinas: A Reader consists of ten chapters, the first and last of which are penned by the volume’s co-editors, Drs. Raul E. Ybarra and Nancy López. In Chapter 1 (Introduction), Ybarra provides the context for the volume and how each of its authors addresses the educational crisis in the Latino community. In Chapter 2 (The Drift of Latino Students through Public Higher Education: Testimonies on Slipping Through the Cracks of the Iron Cage), Drs. Ramona Hernandez and Glenn Jacobs present findings from their pilot study of retention and persistence of Latino students at University of Massachusetts, Boston. Latino students at this 4-year university have the lowest retention and persistence rates of any members of any other racial/ethnic group. The findings indicate a need for more bilingual and Latino faculty and staff as well as for increased resources and improved student services. Latino students expressed dissatisfaction with the academic advising that was available to them and stressed the need for role models and others on campus who would be able to help them navigate the university and manage the challenges of their year(s) as undergraduates. Dr. Nancy López (also a co-editor) examines differences in the experiences of male and female Latino high school students in New York City in Chapter 3 (Rewriting Race and Gender High School Lessons: Second-Generation Dominicans in New York City). Her project integrated life history interviews, focus groups and participant-observation. López finds that the school experiences of minority males and females are notably different. She argues that school policies and classroom practices are raced and gendered in ways that stigmatize minority males. She points to the disproportionate representation of minority males among those students who dropout, are suspended, expelled, left back and assigned to special education classes as evidence of this unequal and troubling treatment. López suggests ways in which school communities can come together to critically examine how policies, curriculum, teaching practices and school climate contribute to the educational race-gender gap. Recommendations include incorporating students’ culture, language and experiences into curricula and classroom discussions. Like other cities around the country, Boston is faced with the challenges and opportunities of educating a large and diverse student population. In Chapter 4 (Jim Crow: A Phoenix Rising in Boston – The Trend Toward Separate and Unequal in Boston Public Schools), Steve Fernandez takes critical look at how the Boston Public Schools have failed to effectively reduce the achievement gap among White and Asian American and African American and Latino students. Graduation rates for African American and Latino students have dropped since a policy change which requires students to pass the state’s standardized test (MCAS) to graduate. Fernandez presents Boston Public Schools as a case study of the consequences of a misguided effort at educational reform. A rich and diverse array of data is presented as evidence, much of it from the school district itself. Fernandez notes that the emphasis on high-stakes testing and accountability has severely limited the scope of the discussion regarding educational equity. As a result, the achievement gap is framed very narrowly and only in terms of student performance on standardized tests. In contrast, Fernandez addresses disparities in a wide range of educational outcomes including dropout rates, enrollment in Advanced Placement and Honors classes, access to after-school programs in literacy and math and increased segregation in Boston’s public elementary and middle schools. In Chapter 5 (Writing as a Hostile Act: A Reason for Latino Students’ Resistance to Learning), Dr. Raul E. Ybarra (also a co-editor) presents a case for why academic writing is difficult for many minority students, particularly Latino students. A part of a larger ethnographic study, this chapter describes how prevailing models and assumptions related to the teaching of writing are objectionable to minority students. Ybarra describes and analyzes the assumptions, practices and communication patterns of basic writing instructors toward their Latino students. He argues that these pedagogical models require that students change how they think and subordinate their cultural identities to fit the structure of the dominant language of the academy. Ybarra recommends that teachers critically reflect on their classroom practice and adopt a more inclusive approach that recognizes and values the cultural and linguistic differences of their students as being consistent with desirable writing practice. Dr. Roberto Ibarra considers the factors associated with Latino students’ success in graduate school. In Chapter 6 (Academic Success and the Latino Family), he discusses his findings from a study of a diverse sample of Latino faculty, administrators and graduate students as well as other Latinos with graduate degrees who work in non-academic settings. His aim is to examine how Latino parents and families influence the educational success of their children. Whereas some researchers have treated the close-knittedness that is characteristic of Latino families, Ibarra stresses that Latino parents and families are fundamentally important to the academic success of their children. Families offer the opportunity for positive interpersonal interactions and provide significant emotional support and encouragement. Characterized as members of a high context culture, Latinos emphasize commitment to others and preference for collaboration in learning and problem solving. Ibarra describes that academic success is influenced by multiple contexts – essential among them, the family – that help shape Latinos’ orientation toward success. About 40% of Latinos ages 12 and older participate in adult education (NCES, 2003). In Chapter 7 (Literacy for Change: Latina Adult Learners and Popular Education), Dr. Lorna Rivera argues that the prevailing view of literacy and its purposes are narrow. As an example of the transformative potential of literacy, she introduces us to several Latina adult learners enrolled in a popular education program in Boston. She describes their reasons for returning to school and the challenges that they had to overcome in their lives including poverty, drug use and family violence. Women joined the program to set a good example for their children and to improve their chances at getting a good paying job. Over the course of this ethnography study, Rivera describes the success of the literacy program as due – in large part – to the ways in which it addresses the participants’ personal, academic and community goals. In addition to increasing their literacy skills, the women reported that their participation inspired them to become leaders in their community. The Latino community is diverse and has a growing immigrant population. Thirty-eight percent of Latinos were born outside of the U.S. (NCES, 2003). Twenty-nine percent of native-born Latinos have at least one parent who was foreign-born (NCES, 2003). The next two chapters address the role of education in the lives of immigrants and their children. Dr. Gabriella C. Gonzalez examines the effect of immigrant parents’ employment and their children’s educational attainment. In Chapter 8 (The Effects of Family Background, Immigration Status and Social Context on Latino Children’s Educational Attainment), Gonzalez discusses her study in which she analyzed data from the 1990 U.S. Census and the National Educational Longitudinal Surveys of 1988 and 1994. She makes several interesting findings. She finds that the differences in the educational attainment between White students and the Latino ethnic groups that she considered can be explained by differences in family background. Children with one immigrant parent are also found to have lower levels of educational attainment than do children of two native-born parents. Gonzalez also challenges us to re-examine our treatment of social capital among immigrant communities. She finds that immigrant parents’ connections with the parents of their children’s friends do not benefit their children’s educational attainment as they do for the children of native-born parents. There are also significant differences in the effect of parents’ education on one’s own educational attainment for the children of immigrant and native-born parents. Immigrants are also the subject of Chapter 9 (Latino Parents Put into Words: Immigrant Parents Share Their Beliefs on Education through an After School Parents, Children and Computers Program). Dr. Rosita M.A. Ramirez describes how immigrant parents became involved in the academic lives of their children through a school-family partnership program. Ramirez examines the ways in which this program created opportunities for Mexican parents to share their personal experiences with their children and communicate how their cultural and family values reinforce the academic values of their children’s school. In doing so, these parents challenge the misconception that Latino parents are uninvolved or disinterested in the academic lives of their children. Latino parents are acknowledged as possessing many important cultural assets that can be utilized to promote academic resilience and success among their children. In the concluding chapter (Latina and Latino Education: Rearticulating Discourses, Pedagogies and Praxis), López emphasizes the need for alternative discourses and continued work that addresses how to improve educational outcomes for Latino students. Influenced by critical race theory and critical pedagogy, she poses several provocative questions that serve to challenge readers not to underestimate what change is possible. This volume is an excellent resource for educators, researchers, policymakers and others who are advocates for educational opportunity and equity for Latina and Latino students. It chapters provide a valuable overview of many of the challenges faced by Latino students in the U.S. It also underscores the incredible diversity of this growing community and highlights how Latinos and others can work together to ensure educational quality, opportunity and equality for all marginalized students. References U.S. Census Bureau, 2004 American Community Survey. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics, (NCES 2003–008), by Charmaine Llagas. Project Officer: Thomas D. Snyder. Washington, DC: 2003. About the Reviewer Billie Gastic, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Urban Education at Temple University. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation in New Haven, CT. Her research focuses on youth risk and resilience, school safety and the education of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S. Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.