Regarding Educacion

Mexican-American Schooling, Immigration, and Bi-national Improvement

The “Latino Education Crisis” not only threatens to dash the middle class aspirations of the nation’s largest immigrant group, it is also an ominous sign for democratic engagement and global competitiveness for U.S. society as a whole. This timely book argues that this crisis is more aptly characterized as a “Mexican Education Crisis.” This book brings together voices that are rarely heard on the same stage—Mexican and U.S. scholars of migration, schooling, and human development—to articulate a new approach to Mexican-American schooling: a bi-national focus that highlights the interpersonal assets of Mexican-origin children. Contributors document the urgency of adopting this approach and provide a framework for crossing national and disciplinary borders to improve scholarship, policy, and practice associated with PreK–12 schooling.

Contributors: James D. Bachmeier, Frank D. Bean, Susan K. Brown, Benilde García Cabrero, Cynthia García Coll, Regina Cortina, Ivania de la Cruz, Guadalupe Ruiz Cuéllar, Claudia Galindo, Francisco X. Gaytán, Edmund T. Hamann, Nadia Huq, Mark A. Leach, Gabriela Livas Stein, Carmina Makar, Mary Martinez-Wenzl, Vilma Ortíz, María Guadalupe Pérez Martínez, Leslie Reese, Rosaura Tafoya-Estrada, Edward Telles, Ernesto Treviño, Víctor Zúñiga

“This volume is one of a kind. . . . It represents a first step in what we hope will be an ongoing relationship between the institutions and the researchers on both sides of the border who have both an appreciation for the importance of this work and a dedication to improving the educational opportunities of those students that we share in time, space, and culture.”
—From the Foreword by Patricia Gándara and Eugene García

“A fresh, eye-opening array of essays that highlights how the economic and cultural vitality of the U.S. and Mexico is so tightly interwoven in colorful and breathtaking ways. Setting aside strident allegations of how immigrants differ from mainstream society, the authors illustrate our commonalities, how Mexican parents are among the most pro-family, hardest working families in our society. 'Bien educado' is not just metaphor: it animates how immigrant parents raise engaged children, along with a vibrant optimism about getting into America.”
—Bruce Fuller, Professor, Education & Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

“Regarding Educación is an extraordinary achievement. World-class scholars from both the U.S. and Mexico come together to engage one of the most important developments in education in the 21st century: How do we educate the children we share across transnational borders to thrive in an ever more interconnected, miniaturized, and fragile global world? The answers they provide are timely, riveting, and humane. It is a book every teacher, every policymaker, and every engaged citizen interested in globalization and education must read.”
—Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, Dean and Distinguished Professor of Education, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies