Skip to main content icon/video/no-internet
icon backReturn to Entries

Latino/A Research Issues

Latino/a research issues resulting from the quality of the methodological design is beyond the scope of this discussion. This entry focuses on research issues in curriculum when Latinos/as as a population are addressed. It begins with a brief demographic portrait of the Latino/a panethnic group in the United States followed by a discussion of two common problems often present in the scholarship addressing curricular studies focusing on the Latino/a population. These problems include generic identification or labeling of the participant population and limitations in perceptions from researchers with outsider status.

Demographic Portrait

The Latinization of America, a term first used by the Mayor of San Antonio (Texas), Henry Cisneros, two decades ago, is no longer prophetic in nature. Descriptive demographic snapshots show that the Latino/a diaspora is spreading quickly and completely across the entire country. The resulting dramatic exponential growth pattern of Latino/a students calls for research promoting changes in educational policy, curriculum design, and classroom practice. Data profiling the historical and continual neglect of Latino/a children clearly shows that this group is underserved. Public school conditions place this group at the lowest achievement level of any ethnic group in the United States; and the resulting academic outcomes follow children into adulthood. Today, Latino/a students display the highest dropout rates and the lowest high school and college completion rates.

Many in the country were probably not shocked when Latinos/as were proclaimed the largest and the fastest growing ethnic minority group in the United States. In fact, in 2006, demographers from the Hispanic Pew Center concluded that numbers were probably underreported because undocumented immigrants, with estimates as high as 11.5 to 12 million, were not included in official counts. Although the current growth is stimulated by immigration, 40.1% of Latinos/as are foreign born; the future projected distribution will be expressed through increased birthrates. Undoubtedly this dramatic demographic shift tests political, health, and economic structures and brings challenges to educational institutions. Currently, Latino/a children (under age 18) are the fastest growing and the second largest student population, after White students. Latino/a children account for more than half (58%) of all immigrant youth in the United States. Demographers project that within 40 years, one in four individuals living in the United States will be Latino/a. Presently, the United States ranks as the fourth largest Latino/a population in the world, trailing behind Mexico, Spain, and Colombia. The Latino/a diaspora establishes Latinos/as as the minority-majority in 19 states; however, almost half (49%) call California and Texas home, and approximately 74% live in five statesCalifornia, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois. In the United States, the Mexican heritage ethnic group is the largest (66%), while Cubans is the smallest (4%).

Research Issues

Research issues when members of a specific ethnic or racial group are under examination will likely be characterized by concerns particular to the group. In the case of Latino/a research, there are multiple aspects that might be addressed. For example, in terms of what is studied, some may claim that there is disproportionate attention to bilingual educational issues. When social scientists are positioning this population, there is a dualist tendency to present these children as victims or to romanticize their status in the subsequent interpretation of the findings. Likewise, especially in the conceptual scholarship, advocates tend to sensationalize serious issues facing this student population. This entry focuses on two issues: generic identification and limitations in outsider perspectives.

...

  • Loading...
locked icon

Sign in to access this content

Get a 30 day FREE TRIAL

  • Watch videos from a variety of sources bringing classroom topics to life
  • Read modern, diverse business cases
  • Explore hundreds of books and reference titles

Read next

More like this

Sage Recommends

We found other relevant content for you on other Sage platforms.

close

Have you created a personal profile? Login or create a profile so that you can save clips, playlists and searches

close
close
close Signed In to profile You are signed in as:
close
Logged in Institution Institution