Education, Race, and Family: Issues for the 1990s

1993

Karen Lambourne & Maxine Baca Zinn

Document Id: WP-16

In the 1990s, the United States experienced a demographic transition from an Anglo-White society to a diverse society characterized by three large racial ethnic minorities. The majority of students of the 21st century are going to be of non-European origin and the majority of them will be poor. To meet their challenges, the authors argue that we need to reconstruct the ways in which we think, work, and teach. Jobs of the future will require higher levels of literacy than in the past. Minority youth will be more likely to be at risk for educational failure, which will impact their economic security and well-being. Better understanding of the inter-institutional linkage is vital, especially for students from different class and racial ethnic backgrounds. This bibliography focuses on the inter-institutional linkage that shapes the education experiences of racial ethnic students in the United States. Though the authors are especially concerned with presenting the citations on Latinos as the highest at-risk population, the bibliography nevertheless contains material on how varied race and class connections between families and schools produce different educational experiences, and unequal outcomes for minorities. The bibliography is organized into five sections: 1) General work on racial inequality in higher education; 2) Cultural approaches and their critiques; 3) Structural approaches and social connections; 4) The interlocking of families and schools; and 5) Programs and policies for bridging families and schools.

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