<p> The search for effective teaching methods of Chican@/Latin@ students reached a new level of complexity when it was found that Chican@/Latin@ students who participated in the Mexican American/Raza Studies program (MARSD) in Tucson, Arizona were outperforming their White counterparts in academic achievement measures (Cabrera, Milem, Jaquette, & Marx, 2014). Rather than praise the MAS program and direct educational researchers to learn and replicate the effective teaching strategies of the program, powerful educational stakeholders sent lawyers and passed legislation HB 2281 which created the legal rationale to terminate the program (Cabrera et al., 2014). This raises the question: How serious are we as a society, including the field of Education, about closing achievement gaps and learning about effective teaching strategies of Chican@/Latin@ students? History may have the answer. </p><p> We know that the field of Education has historically failed Chican@/Latin@ students and other working class students of color in general (Duncan-Andrade, 2005b; Ladson-Billings, 1998; Noguera, Hurtado, & Fergus, 2013). Research in education of Chican@/Latin@/Chicano studies has extensive data illustrating school failure in the form of “drop out” or “push out” rates, low graduation rates, and low performance on academic achievement measures, for Chicano/a students (Luna & Revilla, 2013; Yosso, 2006). When you add that in places like California, Chican@/Latin@ students represent more than 53% of students enrolled in public schools, understanding how to effectively teach the largest demographic population becomes an ethical concern (California Department of Education, 2013-2014). </p><p> This study examines effective teaching of Chican@/Latin@ students in Hope Valley (pseudonym). I use survey instruments to ask Chican@/Latin@ college students from Hope Valley Community College to identify the most effective teachers in their K-12 experience. This form of community nomination is unique in the educational research in that it honors the pedagogical knowledge of young adults, rather than the conventional sources of knowledge (e.g., teachers, parents, scholars, and other educational researchers). The results of the survey lead me inside the classroom of these community nominated teachers, where I use ethnographic methods to learn about their efficacy as identified by their former students. This study asserts that a strengths-based community responsive approach to understanding effective teaching of Chican@/Latin@ students increases local capacity for community members and educational stakeholders to build on the unique pedagogical strengths of their own community.</p><p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:10934196 |
| Date | 16 November 2018 |
| Creators | Carreon, Orlando |
| Publisher | University of California, Davis |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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