The Role Of Latino Inequality In Education

Latinos constitute one of the fastest-growing populations in the United States. This growth has led Latinos to become one of the “largest” racial/ ethnic groups in American Higher Education: 55 million strong, as estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2014. Yet, they are one of the least educated and the least represented ethnic groups in educational institutions. However, they are the least studied and represented ethnic groups in educational institutions. The Latino representation in educational institutions are lower compared to other ethnic minorities.

One of my biggest supporters are my parents. Their support and conviction about the worth of acquiring an education has shaped my beliefs, values and ambition to continue higher education and use my career in a progressive way to give back to my community. Unfortunately, not everyone had the same support system like I did. Many of my peers struggled whether to continue their education or financially support their family. This is a very dangerous reality within the Latino community that needs to be addressed and resolved immediately. An education should be a priority to all students and we, as the Latino community, must reshape the policy flaws to establish a foundation that will help the growing Latino community.

According to a Pew Research Center survey “among Hispanics ages 25 to 29, just 15% of Hispanics had a bachelor’s degree in 2013” (Krogstad). This is worrying; it is great to analyze the lack of Hispanics higher education in the United States and the State of Kansas something that one cares about by using statistics and information about the racial gap in educational attainment that explains the lower rates in Hispanics. Hispanics lowest rates of college degree attainment are a result of immigration growth, parental lower incomes, family socioeconomic status, family cultural background, and poor parental involvement.

In the United States’ current political climate, “racism” is a term thrown around so often that it almost begins to lose its original definition. The same can be said when discussing and analyzing the success rate of minority students in higher education. People are inclined to jump to the conclusion that a faculty member or institution is inherently racist instead of looking at all of the factors involved in a student’s success. The three main factors that I will be covering over the course of this essay are school tuition rates, Affirmative Action policies, and how schools handle discipline. While there are cases of inarguable racism within higher education, an in-depth analysis of the factors stated above will prove that “racism” is not

There are many demographic issues that come into play during the school years. These kids are growing and coming to know who they are. Sometimes it is hard to realize that you are different and do not fit in the mold that everyone else seems to come from. One of the big issues is ethnicity. Ethnicity is a huge factor in the fact that students come in many skin tones, religious backgrounds, family situations. Many tend to migrate towards those of the same affiliations. This can lead to some people feeling left out or unwanted by certain groups. The world is changing and we are learning new information about people and cultures. Things continue to change and our “knowledge about new immigrants will challenge our public schools (Allen-Meares, 2013).”

Hoekenga (2012) noted that the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the Hispanic population in the U.S will reach 132.8 million by the year 2050, when almost one in three Americans will be Hispanic. Yet today Hispanic students (as well as other minorities) continue to be underrepresented in the STEM disciplines (Hoekenga, 2012). In the face of these disparities Hispanic scientists have had a major and lasting impact on the world around them. In many cases they overcame obstacles, including racism and sexism, poverty, cultural and family expectations, and lack of mathematics background, in order to work and excel in the fields that they love. Such success stories are inspirational to perspective student studying and/or working in a STEM field.

According to the Pew Research Center, 47 percent of undocumented Latino immigrants have less than a high school education. It is difficult for them, nowadays, to find a good job without having a complete education, because most of the high quality jobs are hiring people with high education rather than hiring someone with a low education. Moreover, people with a higher education tend to earn more than the ones who are less-educated (Greenstone & Looney, 2012). This shows the importance of having a complete education. In addition, something interesting that the United States Department of Education has towards the undocumented immigrants is that they have not denied education to the undocumented (May, 2014). This is very important because if low-educated undocumented immigrants want to find a good and stable job in the future, they can get their education first, and then find the job they want. Thus, they will be fulfilling their goals and realizing their dreams of helping their families economically in their origin

Hispanics, initial drawbacks frequently come from their parents ' immigrant and economic position and their sparse knowledge regarding the United States education system. While Hispanic students navigate through the school system, insufficient resources in schools and their awkward rapport with teachers continues to weaken their academic achievement. Initial drawbacks continue to mount up, causing the Hispanic population in having the least high school and college degree accomplishment, which is counterproductive of having a possibility for stable employment. According to Portman & Awe (2009) school counselors and comprehensive school counseling programs are anticipated to play a dynamic role in addressing the discrepancy between diverse

In the United States, there exists a gap in equality for different demographics of students. The factors contributing to educational disadvantages include socioeconomic struggles, gender of students, language or culture, and particularly for the scope of this paper, race. Racial inequality in education is predominant in black students and is perpetuated further by educators. A theory that explains this could be the “hidden curriculum” theory which conditions students to believe that their cultural backgrounds must be silenced to resemble the model white student. Studies show that training educators in cultural sensitivity and establishing trust between students and teachers allows students from varying cultural backgrounds to improve in classroom settings.

Similarly, Latinos also frequently faced disadvantages compared to Whites and other ethnic minorities in terms of education, employment, and wages. As a result, they also have to work in the “3D” occupations of modern America. However, it is entirely plausible that the one correcting factor is the level of education, which translates to English and professional competency. When education level is compared in a controlled setting with other racial groups, differences in employability and wage earning significantly decrease. This reduction in economic gap might be observed more concretely with younger generations of Latin Americans who were either born in the United States or immigrated at young ages if they are given the same access to K-12 education as native Americans. (Duncan, Hotz, Trejo

According to a Pew Research Center survey “among Hispanics ages 25 to 29, just 15% of Hispanics had a bachelor’s degree in 2013” (Krogstad). It is great to analyze the lack of Hispanics higher education in the United States and in the State of Kansas something that one cares about by using statistics and information about the racial gap in completion of a degree that explains the lower rates in Hispanics. Hispanics lower incomes contribute to the Hispanics lowest rates of a college degree completion in the State of Kansas.

How Latinos historical experiences relate to other groups in Global Pattern of Intergroup Relations? Throughout history, the Latinos has always been in lower chain in the United States. Mexicans or Latinos come to the U.S to have a better working environment where they get pay well enough to care for their families down in Mexico. In the documentary, “The Bracero Program: Harvest of loneliness”, I saw that the Mexicans who come to the U.S to have a better income does not come very easily, here is when Internal Colonialism come in to play. They are payed very low. The income they receive is not enough to support their families. The Braceros (Mexican arm workers) work in agriculture field for the white man. Over the years the Braceros are granted temporary visas to

As a result of the segregation from other races, Asian Americans have typically kept to themselves and are focused on becoming successful. In addition to the political absence of Asians extending beyond other races, the persistent model minority myth is an accepted truth within the community itself. While the stereotupe is a complete myth, it has been so embedded that even Asian Americans start to believe it, making them and other believe that Asians are the only minority that have endowed the key to success in America. Asians are not only placed in the shadows, but they also choose to stay; many are too comfortable with their successful personal lives, to the extent of neglecting the matters of other Asians ethnicities. Additionally, Asians are perceived to be traditionally passive, giving an almost filial piety towards white people in hopes of having the same privileges. This explains why 29.4% of Trump voters were Asians, even though he did not have a campaign that specifically geared towards them (NYTIMES). In more cases than not, he continuously belittled China and Korea with his xenophobic rhetoric, but many Asians continued to support him. The phenomenon of the model minority myth is perpetuated by its own

In today’s American school systems, Hispanics are among the most at-risk in the student population. They are less likely to finish high school and even fewer go on to enroll in college, let alone graduate from a higher education program. The number of Hispanic students is constantly growing, especially in urban schools, and most of those schools are desperately trying to create programs and systems to help accommodate the large number of English language learners. Those students’ scores are drastically lower than English speaking students. A study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that three out of four 8th graders are not able to pass a simple math test that includes

Delgado and Stefancic (2011) stated that Critical Race Theory explores how “race, racism, and power intersect to create different circumstances for people of color within society [...] and in postsecondary institutions” (as cited in Quaye, 2013, p. 172). Within the field of higher education, it is important for student affairs professionals to recognize how race permeates all aspects of an individual’s life to fully understand their students’ experiences. Unlike other student development theories, such as Baxter-Magolda’s (2008) self-authorship and Abes, Jones, and McEwen’s (2007) Model of Multiple Identities, CRT places race at the “center of the analysis and assumes that race is omnipresent” in an individual’s life (Quaye, 2013, p. 167).