Counterfeit Social Capital and Mexican-American Underachievement

A critical issue facing U.S. schools and one with broad social implication is the persistent disparity in educational achievement between racial/ethnic groups. The achievement gap may be particularly pronounced for Mexican-Americans who constitute the vast majority of U.S. Latinos and are among the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Educational evaluation and policy analysis 2003-09, Vol.25 (3), p.237-262
Main Author: Ream, Robert K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Adolescents
Cultural Influences
Educational research
Grade 12
Grade 4
High Risk Students
High school students
High schools
Hispanic American Students
Hispanics
Immigrants
Language Acquisition
Mathematics tests
Mexican Americans
Parents
Racial Differences
School personnel
Secondary Education
Social Capital
Social Networks
Student Mobility
Underachievement
United States
White Students
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Summary:A critical issue facing U.S. schools and one with broad social implication is the persistent disparity in educational achievement between racial/ethnic groups. The achievement gap may be particularly pronounced for Mexican-Americans who constitute the vast majority of U.S. Latinos and are among the most educationally at risk of all Latino subgroups. By employing mixed-methods research techniques, this study shows that social network instability accompanying high mobility rates may contribute to Mexican-American underachievement. Moreover, this investigation challenges wholly beneficial and ecumenical notions of social capital. Mexican-origin youth in possession of what on the surface appears to be a valued form of social currency may actually be the unwitting recipients of a form of counterfeit social capital that impinges on their school success. Efforts to reduce unnecessary and reactive student mobility and increase the stock of beneficial forms of social capital (while rooting out its impostors) may deserve policy consideration.
ISSN:0162-3737
1935-1062
DOI:10.3102/01623737025003237