Multicultural Perspectives, 9(2), 43–50Copyright C© 2007 by the National Association for Multicultural Education

The Culture of Mexican-Americans: Its Importance for EarlyChildhood Educators

Olivia N. SarachoUniversity of Maryland

Frances Martınez-HancockSeminole Community College

This paper provides an introduction to the Mexican-American culture, describing (1) cultural diver-sity and linguistic policies in the United States;(2) cultural and linguistic studies that have ex-amined the backgrounds of Mexican-Americanindividuals; (3) the characteristics of this popu-lation; (4) issues on discrimination and humanrelations; (5) the socioeconomic factors thatMexican-American individuals encountered dueto their lack of education; and (6) the predomi-nance of poorly paid and undereducated unskilledworkers. Although many Mexican Americans havemoved up the social ladder to the middle class,others have not. However, they have a richness oflanguage and culture to share with the school.

A society’s culture consists of whatever it is one hasto know or believe in order to operate in a manner that isacceptable to its members, and to do so in any role theyaccept of themselves. Saracho and Martınez-Hancock(1983) viewed culture in a broader context to includeelements of lifestyle, such as language, diet, dress, socialpatterns, and ethnicity. The literature provides manydefinitions on culture; however, throughout this text, thedefinition provided by Saracho and Martınez-Hancock(1983) will be used. This definition focused on thecommunity’s values, beliefs, and behaviors as well asits language, customs, and traditions. An understandingof the children’s culture can help develop the educators’knowledge about these children, their strengths, theirproblems, and their contributions to school. The futureof this nation depends to no small extent on developinga greater understanding of how this diverse population(which has been placed in the contexts of social,economic, and educable risk and vulnerability) canachieve social, educational, and employment competence

Correspondence should be sent to Olivia N. Saracho, Departmentof Curriculum & Instruction, University of Maryland, 2311 Benjamin,College Park, MD 20742. E-mail: ons@umd.edu

(Saracho, 2003). This article provides an introduction tothe Mexican-American culture, which can help in thepreparation of all teachers and the children they teach,especially those who are “culturally different” from themainstream American culture.

Cultural Diversity and Linguistic Policies

Historically, cultural diversity and linguistic policiesin the United States have been affected by two historicstrands: assimilation and maintenance. The assimilationideology has been reflected in the policies of France,where the central government defined and regulated thenational culture, strived to have the French languageaccepted as the sole language of the state, and protectedit as much as possible from foreign influences. Francegave equal treatment to all its citizens when linguisticand cultural minorities, both national and immigrant,assimilated to the prime French language and culture(Bourhis & Marshall, 1999). Linguistic and culturalminorities in France generally referred to those peoplewho had immigrated from other countries and for whomFrench was not the primary language. The United Stateshas attempted to imitate this point of view, which haslead to the emergence of several developments.

In the 1960s educators used the term “minorityeducation” to explain the national “achievement gap”problem. The Coleman Report (Coleman, Campbell,Hobson, McPartland, Mood, Weingeld, & York, 1966),a national survey of school achievement, describedthe lower test scores of African-American, Mexican-American, and American Indian students. Liberalreformers in the 1960s endorsed a variety of earlychildhood compensatory education programs (suchas the various Head Start and Follow Through earlychildhood program models) that focused on early literacyexperiences and teaching children appropriate schoolbehaviors. Underlying these liberal reform programs was

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a basic set of beliefs and assumptions about the cultureof low-achieving ethnic minority groups.

During this time, many liberals and conservativessubscribed to Oscar Lewis’ (1965) “culture of poverty”view of the poor. Lewis conducted an ethnography intwo cities: New York and Mexico City. He concludedthat disintegrating and chaotic family structures werecommon among poor urban communities, regardless oftheir ethnicity. Each generation passed on a way of lifemarked by fatalistic, violent, cynical, and unproductiveattitudes and values. This negative portrayal of the poorprompted post-World War II educational researchers towrite about low-income minority youths. They createda “cultural deficit discourse” that “blamed the victim”(Valencia, 1997) to justify school failure when actuallythe schools failed to understand the complexities ofconstructing cultural identity and language maintenanceamong American linguistic and cultural minorities.

Failure of the Schools

Studies of the failure of schools to successfully educateMexican-American children have contributed to thedevelopment of several theories to explain these students’low academic achievement. One theory suggested thatMexican-American children failed in the classroombecause they encountered styles of language socializationthat differed from those at home (Delgado-Gaitan, 1990).Saracho (1986) concluded that children in this positionmay function in one of the following levels:

Level 1 (lowest level): Students become confusedwhen they experience a drastic difference between thetwo language and cultures.

Example: A series of charts is used to teach the unit of thefamily. The father usually is blond, has blue eyes, wearsa suit, and holds a black attache case. Dalia, who doesnot speak or understand English, sees the charts and dis-covers that the family on the chart does not resemble herfamily. Her father has black hair and wears greasy over-alls because he is a mechanic. This experience confusesher.

Level 2: Students deny their language and culture,pretending that their language and culture is the same asthe school’s.

Example: Miguel Jimenez, a Spanish-speaking student,changes his name to Michael and may even go a stepfurther and change the pronunciation of his name to“Geemenes.”

Level 3: Students adapt to those new or differentcustoms in the culture in which they perceive to havemore advanced patterns. Children will assess each

language and culture to adapt only the best patterns orcustoms to make them their own.

Example: Juan Jose enjoys eating the food from his cul-ture. He makes it a point to celebrate birthdays and holi-days with his family and friends, because he usually getsto eat and has a good time. However, when he is with hisEnglish-speaking friends, he refuses to speak his nativelanguage and only listens to English-speaking stations onthe radio.

Level 4 (highest level): Students are able to make thetransition back and forth from one language and cultureto another language and culture with ease.

Example: Juanita is a fluent bilingual student. She speaksher native language and the school’s language. She carriesa conversation in the language that is used in the group.Her behavior is appropriate in the different situations orsettings such as at home, school, or gatherings. (pp. 53–54)

Recent studies by Sheets (2002) and Wortham andContreras (2002) supported these levels. Sheets’ (2002)qualitative study revealed that students had feelings ofalienation because they perceived that the school wasan adult-centered institution. Wortham and Contreras(2002) showed that the first-day-of-school experiencesof adolescents were similar to those of Saracho’s (1986)Spanish-speaking 6-year-olds. They found that whenthe students arrived to school on the first day, theytypically experienced culture shock as a result of beingtransplanted into a different linguistic and culturalenvironment. Teachers of non-English-speaking studentsspent many hours with these new students resulting inthe students’ refusal to leave their classroom for fear ofthe unfamiliar: the completely alien English-speakingworld of the school. These Spanish-speaking studentsmissed their familiar friends, surroundings, and activitiesassociated with their culture. As a result, they frequentlyfound mainstream American life sterile and boring(Wortham & Contreras, 2002).

Each person’s identity was closely related to thefamily. Traditional Mexican-American families who havemaintained the Mexican culture of their first genera-tion ancestors have become less common. TraditionalMexican-American families are those who still maintainvalues of typical communities that are rural, locatedclose to the Mexican border, and situated where mostof the population is Mexican American (Saracho &Martınez-Hancock, 2005). Their traditional structureof the Mexican family was rooted in the socioeco-nomic needs of an agricultural society in Mexico. Asthe Mexican-American community has become moreurbanized, the family structure has been changing tobecome more like the mainstream American structure.

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A myth has existed suggesting that Mexican-Americanindividuals do not value education. The myth reflectedMexican-American children’s school experience andpoor academic achievement. Valencia and Black (2002)examined this myth in three ways. First, the basis for themyth has been based on the pseudoscientific concept of“deficit thinking,” which they referred to be a mind-setthat was molded by the fusion of ideology and sciencethat blamed the victim instead of holding oppressiveand inequitable schooling arrangements guilty. Second,they explored the course of the myth-making itselfusing several sources such as early master’s theses andpublished scholarly literature, particularly reflecting the“cultural deprivation” and “at-risk child” classifications.Third, they provided a discourse on how the mythcould be discredited using evidence such as (a) theMexican-American people’s long-standing struggle forequal educational opportunity, (b) scholarly literaturedocumenting parental involvement, and (c) a case studyof transgenerational parental involvement. Valencia andBlack (2002) suggested that this strong evidence showedthat Mexican-American individuals did indeed valueeducation. In their final analysis, they concluded thatit is important for scholars to consistently discredit themyth that Mexican-American individuals do not valueeducation. Discrediting the myth is essential, and thework of scholars can help discredit this myth.

The reality of Mexican-American families and theirrich, varied, and positive expressions regarding theimportance of education needs to be acknowledged.Riojas-Cortez (2001) examined the Mexican-Americancultural traits that young children displayed duringsociodramatic play in a bilingual preschool classroom.This study highlighted the value of play as a way todiscover the children’s cultural awareness and knowledgebase. The study showed that during play childrendisplayed the cultural traits that reflected their knowledgeof language use, values, beliefs, discipline modes,housekeeping, and value of education. Pena (2000)studied the involvement of Mexican-American parentsin their children’s elementary schools, observing theparents’ activities and interviewing teachers, parents,and administrators. She concluded that many factorsaffected parental involvement, including language, parenteducation, family issues, and others. Unfortunately,the teachers did not recognize such influences andhad different role expectations for those families. Thissuggested the need to examine the way students used theircultural and linguistic perplexities to succeed in school.

Cultural and Linguistic Studies

Many studies examining the rich cultural and linguisticbackgrounds of Mexican-American individuals have

emerged. These studies may have been influenced byeducational ethnographers that American mainstreamedscholars have disregarded. Educational anthropologistEnrique Trueba (1999) reported that:

The first critical ethnography was constructed in 1542by an oppressed Indian, Francisco Tenamaztle, who hadled the revolt against the Spaniards in the states ofJalisco, Michoacan, and Colima in central Mexico. Hewas captured and exiled to Spain, where, assisted by FrayCristobal de las Casas, he defended the human rights ofall the Indians. (p. 125)

Early classic educational ethnographies includeForgotten people: A study of new Mexicans by GeorgeSanchez (1940) and Barrio boy, an auto-ethnographyby Ernesto Galarza (1971). “First generation” Mexican-American educational ethnographers were not cited inthe literature until the post-1960s civil rights era. Themajority of contemporary Mexican-American educationalethnographies have been characterized by their use of“borderland theory” which focused particularly on thephilosophy or knowledge of those Mexican-Americanindividuals who lived along the border. Ethnographersused this new borderland sensitivity to assess the valueof Mexican-American cultural and linguistic practices inschools, families, and community settings.

Mexican-American ethnographers adopted diversephilosophies based on their observation of la frontera(the border) life. The border and its surroundingsshared a repertoire of cultural and linguistic experiencesderived from Spanish and American colonialism aswell as the nationalism from the United States andMexico. These cultural and linguistic experiences weredepicted in anonymous corridos (Mexican ballad songs),historias (stories), and literary works. They have providedthe legacies, transformations, and developments of thetheoretical and spiritual meanings of the living philosophyof the borderlands and mestizaje (mixed ancestry).

Many of these ethnographers described the border andthe experience in the borderlands as the ultimate frontierof postmodernism. Delgado-Gaitan (1990) and Trueba(1991) initiated the use of a “trans-frontera” awareness todelve into the many literary, oral, and home pedagogicaltraditions of Mexican-American families in the UnitedStates. According to Trueba (1999), contemporaryMexican-American ethnography recognized its historicalroots in narratives of appraisal that stretched across oldand new forms of colonialism and border life. An oldtradition of narrating the origin of Amerindian culturalroots of survival endured in the essential core of familiesand communities. Contemporary Mexican-Americanethnographies contributed to an extension of historicalsentiments, experiences, and active presence of the people(Villenas & Foley, 2002).

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Characteristics of the Mexican-AmericanPopulation

Mexican-American individuals represent distinctgroups which differ physically, socially, economically,and culturally from one another. Mexican-Americanindividuals also differ from those of other Hispanicgroups, since very few of them entered the United Statesas professionals. Many settled in the United States beforethe Pilgrims arrived and many continue to settle in theUnited States. Both legal and illegal immigration broughtmany people from Mexico to the United States. They wereoften found at the bottom of the social strata in their homecountry and may have been discriminated against bymembers of their own ethnic group. They chose to cometo the “norte” (north), to the other side (al otro lado) of theborder, and risk it all. Many times they paid a high pricefor this decision. They were placed in financial debt and,often times, their lives were jeopardized (Martınez, 2001).Mexican-American individuals, in close proximity to theirmother country, continued to have on-going interactionswith first-generation immigrants who reinforced theirtraditional values (Becerra, 1998).

Trueba (1999), in his book, Latinos Unidos: FromCultural Diversity to the Politics of Solidarity, concludedthat, in spite of the diversity, Latinos—including Mexican-Americans—were united by common experiences in theUnited States. A National Council of La Raza (NCLR,2001) report, Beyond the Census: Hispanics and anAmerican Agenda, highlighted the fact that the majorityof Hispanics live in California, Texas, New York, Florida,Illinois, Arizona, and New Jersey. It also reported growingHispanic communities in Georgia, North Carolina, andTennessee. The Mexican-American population primarilyhas lived in the urban areas of Los Angeles, Chicago,and Houston, although migration throughout the UnitedStates has been common.

The Hispanic population has become one of thelargest non-English-speaking language groups in theUnited States. The 2000 United States Census (UnitedStates Census Bureau, 2000) reported that there were20.6 million Latin American/Hispanic individuals. Thisfigure did not include the 3.8 million residents ofPuerto Rico. Other subgroups categorized by the UnitedStates Census Bureau included Puerto Ricans, Cubans,Central and South Americans, Dominicans, individualsfrom Spain, and others of Hispanic descents (NCLR,2001). The Mexican-American population has had theyoungest median age (24.2). The National Council ofLa Raza (2001) advised caution in interpreting figuresbased on the peoples’ responses to the United StatesCensus questionnaires, especially since a significantnumber of Hispanics (42.0%) checked the “other”category.

Discrimination and Human Relations Issues

The current economic and political climate in theUnited States and Europe has affected the Americansociety’s perception of immigrants. People have beenusually identified by their physical characteristics or theirlanguage. In a 2002 Pew Hispanic Center Survey ofHispanic individuals, 24% of Latino individuals reportedsome form of discrimination in response to their physicalappearance; an additional 20% attributed discriminationto a combination of language and physical characteristics.Mexican-American individuals (48%) felt discriminationamong Hispanic groups as well. Overall, 78% of Latinoindividuals surveyed experienced discrimination atwork, while another 75% of them experienced it inschool.

We have differentiated Mexican-American individualsto denote that the Hispanic population is homogeneousbecause they all speak Spanish and/or come fromSpanish-speaking countries. There are many differenceswithin any given ethnic group and between groups.Individuals of Mexican origin are classified by the federalcensus under the “Hispanic” category. In the case ofMexican-American individuals, there is much variationin how they identify themselves. There are generationaland immigration status differences as well as social classdifferences. Some may call themselves Mexicans, othersMexican Americans, or still others may call themselvesChicanos, or Americans of Mexican descent. Nieto (2000)explained the term Chicano was the most common termused in the late 1960s and 1970s. It is a “self-affirmingand political term which reflects the unique realities ofthe urban, economically oppressed Mexican Americansin the United States.”

The undocumented group of Mexican individuals,many from the poor rural areas, which includes the“Indian” or indigenous population of Mexico, have theirown language and culture. In his book, Crossing Over, AMexican Family on the Migrant Trail, Ruben Martınez(2001) traveled with immigrants to discover the originsof three “Indian” migrants, all from the same family, whodied in a traffic accident while traveling illegally to theirdestination in the United States. Martınez (2001) traveledto their town of origin in the state of Michoacan, inCentral Mexico. He claimed that Michoacan, Jalisco, andGuanajuato were the Mexican states that were the placesof origin for many Mexican immigrants. He describedtheir lives, the disconnections from the families, and theadaptations they made in their new country in order tosurvive. He also depicted their struggle to “assimilate”into the mainstream American culture or to becomemainstream “American” and fit in society.

In the Pew Hispanic Center (2002) survey, 80% ofLatinos expressed confidence that their children (growing

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up in the United States) would get a better education, and76% of Latinos were confident that their children (oncegrown) would have better employment and better wages.Martınez (2001), a son of immigrant parents, added that“from an historical perspective, the family’s difficultcircumstances were perhaps the ‘sacrifice’ made by allfirst-generation immigrants, just as European newcomersworked in the sweatshops, in the fields, and on the streetswith their “pushcarts.” He claimed that he and his fatherwere considered Mexican in America and American inMexico. It was a hard decision to choose between thetwo. For these immigrants, the attraction continued tobe prospects of work in the meat-processing plants inthe Midwest; in the nurseries; in the fields in California,Illinois, and Florida; and in the hotel and restaurantindustries throughout the country. They were able towork in the United States, but they found it difficult tounderstand their supervisors’ instructions and to achieveany type of promotion due to their lack of knowledge ofthe English language.

The Challenge of Not Speaking English

Immigrants live bilingually with their identity ex-pressed in Spanish on a daily basis (Maciel, Ortiz, &Herrera-Sobek, 2000). The Pew Hispanic Center (2002)showed that 89% of Hispanic individuals believed thatimmigrants needed to learn English to succeed in theUnited States, with 89% of those of Mexican descent inagreement. Thus, the different Hispanic groups had a highdegree of agreement that they needed to learn English.The Pew Hispanic Center (2002) figures indicated that61% of native-born Latino individuals spoke predomi-nantly English and 35% were bilingual. In comparison,72% of the foreign-born Hispanic individuals spokepredominantly Spanish and 24% were bilingual. Thechildren of Latino immigrants who were born in theUnited States consisted of 47% who were bilingual, 46%who were English dominant, and 7% who were Spanishdominant (Pew Hispanic Center, 2002).

Baez (2002) described how learning English requiredchildren to forget their Spanish language. The childrenwere required to forget their own language to successfullyimmerse themselves into a new culture and language.Such requirement established the conditions for inclusionand exclusion as well as the conditions for assimilationor acculturation. Baez (2002) criticized this requirement.He stated, “Forgetting does not mean ignoring the plightof those oppressed by hegemonic structures, and so onemust question how language sets the stage for ignoringsocial inequities” (p. 123). Baez supported bilingualprograms in the education of children who did not speakEnglish, especially those who spoke Spanish.

Challenges and Issues of Speaking Spanish

Instruction in Spanish immersion programs in schoolsthroughout the United States has become very popular,especially with middle- or upper-class students whoseparents wish them to learn a second language. This ismeritorious since students in the United States need tolearn and appreciate others’ perspectives and need todevelop positive human relations with others. Learning asecond language is important in accomplishing this. Thereare some Mexican-American parents who do not speakEnglish, who desire for their children to be bilingual,and who enroll them in bilingual programs to maintaintheir language and culture. They see bilingualism andbiculturalism as an asset and are proud of their heritage.Other parents become anxious for their children to learnEnglish because they believe that a fluent knowledgeof English will help them to succeed in school andbecome acceptable citizens of the United States. Theseparents may prohibit their children to use the Spanishlanguage and/or display cultural traditions. They mayhave personally experienced shame or prejudice whenusing Spanish to communicate and they want to savetheir children from being ridiculed. This negative attitudetoward Mexican-American individuals and the Spanishlanguage is primarily found in the Southwestern part ofthe United States, and this may be rooted in prevailingprejudices from the Mexican American War of 1848.

Unfortunately, the Spanish spoken by immigrant orminority students in the United States is not highlyvalued or recognized as a national resource. Yet, thisis the language of communication for many immigrantchildren who attend school. These students quicklylearn that their language is not acceptable. The socialmovement of the 1960s (including the Civil Rightsmovement of the 1960s and the Chicano Movement[a social movement] for Mexican-American individuals)demanded that Mexican-American citizens be grantedthe rights that were provided to them in the United StatesConstitution. The Chicano Movement in particular alsodemanded the rights that were guaranteed under the1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the war betweenMexico and the United States. Many first generationMexican-American individuals speak English, haveelected Mexican-American individuals to Congress, andare more involved in the political process.

Social Economic Factors

Employment is an issue for many Americans. Theymay be fearful of immigrants, people who are different,and see them as a threat to their employment security(Becerra, 1998). The Pew Hispanic Center (2002) surveyreported that 66% of Latino individuals had difficulties

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saving money for the future, 28% had problems payingthe rent, and 30% lost their jobs or were laid off.In the 1940s under the “bracero” (unskilled laborer)program, the United States allowed Mexican laborersto work in the United States during the war. Again in1986, under the Immigration Reform and Control Act,amnesty was granted to many undocumented immigrants.These included over two million, mostly Mexican,undocumented immigrants. Many of these immigrantscame to the United States to escape Mexico’s economicproblems and to pursue the “American Dream” (Martınez,2001).

One of the reasons for the economic problems of manyMexican-American workers related to the industrialsectors in which they have been employed. The statisticsindicated that 41% of Hispanic workers were employedin service occupations or as operators and laborers(United States Census Bureau, 2000). An analysis of thesocioeconomic status of Hispanic individuals in generalrevealed that only 14% were employed in managerialor professional occupations. Only 11% of Hispanicindividuals over 25 years of age had at least a bachelor’sdegree. The census also showed that home ownership byHispanic individuals was 46%. In 1997, there were only472,000 businesses owned by individuals of Mexicanorigin. They owned the highest number of Hispanic-owned businesses (United States Census Bureau, 2000).Thus, this group consisted of hard-working people whowere typically undereducated and worked as unskilledlaborers and, as a result, received low salaries. Althoughmany have moved up the social ladder to the middle class,there were many who were still working class or poor.

Educational Implications

With our current concern for the successful educationof all children, educators need to focus on the culturalbackgrounds of all the children in the schools andespecially on the distinct Mexican-American subculturesand the socialization that Mexican-American childrenexperience. They need to debunk what Valencia andBlack (2002) referred to as the myth of Mexican-American socialization. Too many researchers, scholars,and educators assumed an absence of assimilation andacculturation in Mexican-American individuals, whichresults in school failure. This assumption absolvedsociety and the schools of failing to provide the qualityand appropriateness of formal education for Mexican-American students. Nieto and Rolon (1997) affirmedthat change can only occur when schools stop blamingMexican-American students and their families for theirlack of success. Educators need to become aware that lowstatus and the continued alienation of minority groupsare situations that are brought about by many social and

economic factors within society as well as by the minoritygroups’ cultural characteristics, although Rosenfeld(2002) found that Mexican-American individuals wereassimilating with non-Hispanic White individuals overtime and the evidence tended to reject the segmentedassimilation hypothesis.

Valdes (1996) described the way rural, working-class Mexican-American values guided some Mexicanindividuals and Mexican-American individuals to declineacademic success for the sake of maintaining theirrelationships. According to Munoz (2002), Mexican-American individuals became stressed when adjusting tothe mainstream American culture. His study showed thatMexican-American individuals became more stressed thelonger they lived in the United States.

Reforms need to be made in teacher educationprograms—both preservice and inservice—to meet theneeds of teachers of Mexican-American students. Some ofthese reforms are already taking place, but others need tobe put in place to change the perspectives of the colleges ofeducation. Many teacher education programs are alreadyrequiring that their students’ general education programsinclude studies of developing world cultures. This isbeing done to broaden the focus beyond Euro-centeredcultures. While the cultures of Latin America may beincluded here, so would the cultures of Asia and Africa.

In addition, within the professional preparationprogram, attention needs to be paid to multiculturaleducation. Hyun and Marshall (1997) argued that ateacher preparation program that is multicultural shouldnot only be about sensitizing teachers to race, gender,ethnicity, religion, and social class status; but it shouldprepare prospective teachers to understand themselvesand their individual family and ethnic cultures so they canrealize how their own backgrounds make them similarand different from others. They proposed a model calledDevelopmentally and Culturally Appropriate Practices(DCAP) to guide teaching and instructional thinking. Thiswas similar to the planning process in York’s (1998) book,Big as Life, The Everyday Inclusive Curriculum. Shesuggested a transformation of the curriculum to integrateanti-bias and multicultural education by creating acollaborate climate, which could be family-oriented, andlearning about the context. It would also require them toteach knowledge of child development, prejudice, racism,and culture.

Nieto and Rolon (1997) proposed a framework theycalled “centering pedagogies.” This framework wassimilar to the concepts of culturally compatible, cultur-ally congruent, culturally responsive, and bicultural orculturally relevant pedagogy. They defined “centeringpedagogies” as the development of a bicultural environ-ment in which students could explore their own socialand individual factors that affect their identity and thatthe social contexts of their lives can also be explored

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and affirmed. York (1998) noted that this knowledgeshould be used to learn about the individual children,their families, and the communities they served. Worthamand Contreras (2002) maintained that cultural relevantpedagogy can help in some respects, but it will not helpthe students to succeed academically and develop pridein their home cultures. Sheets (2002) concluded that it isimportant to apply in the school sets of values, attitudes,and beliefs that resemble those held by both students andteachers.

Multicultural education for preservice teachers needsto be of a general kind. Since teacher preparationinstitutions cannot predict where their graduates willteach or the composition of the classes in those schools,the approach to preservice multicultural education needsto be generic. Novices will learn methods and techniquesthat can be applied to a variety of cultures, dependingon where the students practice and where they establishthemselves. The key to these programs is to develop acultural sensitivity within prospective teachers and a setof methods and techniques that can be applied to a varietyof cultures. This is important since the United States isa multicultural society where children of any particularculture can be found throughout the nation.

Methods courses in early childhood education can alsobe used to support multicultural education in a numberof ways. Social studies courses can deal with waysof presenting individual cultures, including those of theMexican-American individuals in early childhood classes.Teachers can be helped to plan and provide for variouscultural holiday celebrations in their classrooms. Theycan be taught ways to support dramatic play activities sothat they will reflect various cultures. The students canbe shown how to create prop boxes that reflect differentcultures. (Prop boxes are ways of organizing and storingmaterials for dramatic play.) A prop box would includeartifacts related to a particular play theme. The studentscan also be introduced to resources relating to the musicand art of the various cultures that can be used in earlychildhood classrooms.

In-service workshops and classes can provide teacherswith resources and strategies relating to the particularculture that teachers are dealing with in their classrooms.The following are examples of resources and strategiesfor teachers.

1. Teachers can be helped to create prop boxes reflectingthe Mexican American culture. Prop boxes of Tejanomusicians and Quinceaneara celebration can be used .A Tejano musicians prop box can include a guayavera,cowboy straw hat, shawl, short skirt, flowers forhair, guitar, accordion, and the like. Children canuse these props and role play a Tejano musician’sgroup. The Quinceaneara prop box can include aformal gown, tiara, veil, gloves, music instruments,

and other similar artifacts. Children can dramatize aQuinceaneara celebration, which is a 15th birthdayfestivity that may consist of a mass and/or dance.

2. Teachers can provide cooking experiences of Mexican-American foods, such as pinto beans, Mexican soup,and Guacamole. If the teachers are allowed to have ahot plate in the classroom, they can cook beans. Thisis an easy recipe: Pinto beans, water, salt, bacon, salt,and pepper can be mixed in a pot that will sit on ahot plate for several hours. Mexican soup can also becooked in a hot plate using a variety of vegetables suchas squash, carrots, beef shank, corn, rice, and salt.These ingredients are mixed in a pot that is cooked ona hot plate. Teachers can also cook cold dishes such asguacamole or Mexican salsa. Guacamole can be madeby smashing avocados; mixing onions, salt, parsley;and adding chips.

3. Teachers can introduce the music and art of theMexican and Mexican-American people as well asfamiliar artists and musicians. Children can listenand learn how to dance La Raspa, a popular dancethat is a combination of the Hokey Pokey and folkdancing. Records can be found in a music storethat carries Mexican-American music. Teachers canalso introduce children to familiar music artists likeVicente Fernandez or Mariachi Azteca. In art, teacherscan have children make a piZata, covering a blown-upballoon with paper mache, making it into some shapesuch as an animal or bird, then painting and decoratingit. Children can be introduced to the work of Mexican-American artists such as Gaspar Enrıquez, who usesmurals and metal works to integrate elements of boththe Mexican and American cultures, and Lado LopezUlcerous, a Mexican-American nationally syndicatedcartoonist.

4. Children’s storybooks reflecting Mexican-Americanfamilies and themes can be introduced to teachers.Workshops can help teachers use these books.Children can learn about Pat Mora, who is a children’sauthor and poet. Storybooks can include FamilyPictures/Cuadros de Familia, written by CarmenLomas Garza. (San Francisco: Children’s BookPress). This picture book is an album of paintingsof the artist’s memories of growing up in a smallTexas town. The paintings are direct descriptions ofher Hispanic community. Paintings include a birthdaycelebration, picking cactus, making tamales, andgoing to church. Another good example of such booksis Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto, illustrated byEd Martınez. (New York: G. P. Putnam & Sons). Inthis book, a girl named Marıa helps to make tamalesat Christmas. At the same time, she tries on hermother’s wedding ring, which becomes misplaced.In an effort to find the ring, the children eat all thetamales.

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To nurture a democratic society, educators mustprepare individuals in a cultural pluralism environment.A democratic society requires that individual differencesbe appreciated and respected. Teachers need to use thestudents’ own life history and unique characteristics as abasis for a high-quality education. They need to utilizeeducational programs that are fundamental to culturalpluralism to assert the rights of individuals and theirpersonal dignity. Only then can educational programsafford the foundation of a real democracy based uponcultural pluralism (Saracho & Martınez-Hancock, 1983).

References

Baez, B. (2002). Learning to forget: Reflections on identityand language. Journal of Latinos and Education, 1(2), 123–132.

Becerra, R. M. (1998). The Mexican-American family. In C. H. Mindel,R. W. Habenstein, & R. Wright (Eds.), Ethnic families in America,patterns and variations (4th ed., pp. 153–171). Upper SaddleRiver, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bourhis, R. Y., & Marshall, D. E. (1999). The United States and Canada.In J. A. Fishman (Ed.), Handbook of language and ethnic identity(pp. 244–264). New York: Oxford Press.

Coleman, J. S., Campbell, E., Hobson, C., McPartland, J., Mood, A.,Weingeld, F., & York, R. (1966). Equality educational opportunity.Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Delgado-Gaitan, C. (1990). Literacy for empowerment: The role ofparents in children’s education. Basingstoke, England: FalmerPress.

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