Counseling Latino Students: Supporting Achievement, Promoting Hope

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Counseling Latino Students Supporting
Achievement, Promoting Hope

• Sonia Nieto
• Latino Counseling Conference
• University of Georgia
• February 2007

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Questions to be addressed

• Who are the Latino students in our nations
  schools?
• How do they experience school?
• What are the prevalent myths about Latino
  students, and what are the realities?
• What do counselors and other educators need to
  learn about Latino students?
• What strategies have proven to be effective with
  Latino students?
• What are the roles and responsibilities of
  effective counselors?

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Focus on several levels

• Personal

Collective
Institutional
Ideological
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Major issues to consider in the education of
Latinos

• The need to take into account access and equity,
  i.e., who has access to high quality education?
  Why? How?
• The need to ask profoundly multicultural
  questions (Nieto, 2003)
• Whos taking calculus?
• Whos in the Gifted and Talented Program? Whos
  in special education?
• Are there enough science labs for all students?
• Is the bilingual program (or the special
  education program) in the basement?

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Prevalent myths about Latinos

• All Latinos are alike
• Latino students do poorly in school because their
  parents dont care about education
• Latino students dont do well in school because
  theyre culturally and experientially deprived
• Once Latinos learn English, theyll do well in
  school
• Latino students are doing poorly in school
  because theyre the newest immigrants once
  theyve been here awhile, theyll catch up just
  like all those who came before them

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What do Counselors need to know about Latinos?

• The sociopolitical context of Latinos in the U.S.
• The profile of Latino students
• Latino culture, history, and experiences
• Latinos cultural and linguistic strengths
• The importance of caring and mentoring for Latino
  students

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Who are the Latinos in the U.S.?

• In 2004, Latinos numbered over 40 million -
  about three-quarters Mexican American, 4 million
  Puerto Rican, 1 million Cuban, and the remainder
  Central and South American. As of 2006, the total
  U.S. population reached 300 million and there
  were an estimated 42 million Latinos, making this
  group the largest and fastest growing minority
  group.

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Latinolandia
This number represents over 14 of the entire
U.S. population If Latinos in the United States
were a country, we would be the fourth largest
Spanish-speaking country in the world
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and within 13 years, Latinos are expected to be
a quarter of the U.S. population
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Where do Latinos live in the United States?

• Latinos live in every region of the country
• More than half (54) live in suburbs
• The rate of growth in Raleigh, NC was the
  largest in the country 1,180

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The southern states, including Georgia, have seen
a dramatic increase in the Latino population
since 1990
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Latinos are not the newest in a long history of
immigrants. The Latino immigration experience
differs considerably from that of Europeans

• first jet-age migration
• first large-scale immigration of people of color
• first group of migrants who can return home
  easily
• Mexicans we didnt cross the border the
  border crossed us
• Puerto Ricans first American citizens to
  immigrate
• (Diasporicans)

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Latinos are a heterogeneous population in race,
social class, time in the United States, history
in their country of origin and the United
States, political orientation, language fluency,
and so on. For example
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profile of Latino students

• Nearly 11 million Latinos are enrolled in pre-k -
  12, representing 19 of the U.S. school-age
  population (up from 6 in 1972) (U.S. Census
  Bureau, 2006)
• Latino children represent 58 of all immigrant
  students (Fix Passel, 2003)
• Nearly half of all Latino children (5.1 million)
  are ELL students (Lazarin, 2006)
• Most attend poorly funded schools districts
  enrolling the highest proportions of minority
  students have substantially fewer state local
  dollars per student than districts with the
  lowest percentages of minority students
  (Education Trust, 2005)
• Most attend highly segregated schools Latinos
  are now the most segregated of all students,
  including African Americans (Orfield, 2001)
• They have a higher dropout rate than almost any
  other group, a situation that has been true for
  more than fifty years (Nieto, 2000)

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The Dropout Rate

• Case study North Carolina

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High-stakes testing and Latinos

• High-stakes testing has affected Latinos
  negatively and disproportionately
• Latinos have high rates of retention - up to
  three times the rate for White students
• Case study Massachusetts
• retention increased in direct proportion to the
  introduction of the MCAS (from 6 to 13 in one
  year)
• dropout rates increased dramatically since the
  introduction of the MCAS (40 in 2000 compared to
  34 in 1997)
• one in three Latinos didnt reach the 10th grade
  to take the latest MCAS exam they were either
  retained or they dropped out

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Latinos have by and large experienced poor
academic achievement

• Between 1970 and 1990, the so-called achievement
  gap between Latino and White students narrowed
  by one half or more since 1990, the gap has been
  flat or, in some subjects, is wider
• Nationally, 4th grade Latinos lag far behind
  their White peers in reading (57 of Latinos are
  below basic compared to 26 of Whites)
• Nationally, the situation is even worse in
  mathematics (60 of Latinos are below basic
  compared to 23 of Whites) (Education Trust)

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poor academic achievement cont

• Educational attainment is significantly lower
  among foreign-born Latinos 25 years or older
  (75) than among native-born Latinos of the same
  age (46) (U.S. Census Bureau, 2003)
• Latinos are less likely than Whites to be
  enrolled in advanced math and science classes
  (NCES, 2004)
• Schools serving Latino students offer fewer
  rigorous academic classes (Achieve, Inc, 2006)
• Latino students are less than half as like to be
  placed in GT programs than White or Asian
  students (Harry Klingner, 2006)
• In 2005, only 12 of Latinos had received a
  bachelors degree or higher compared with 30 of
  Whites (NCES, 2006)

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obstacles in pursuing postsecondary education
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Results of achievement gap?

• The Latino college-going rate is lower than for
  almost any other group (about 45 of high school
  graduates, compared to 65 of White high school
  graduates), and their completion rate is much
  lower (10 compared to about 35 of those who
  begin college)
• Latino 17 year olds have been taught math to the
  same levels as White 13 year olds (Education
  Trust)

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Counselors need to learn about Latino culture,
values, and history

• Latino history is U.S. history
• A general understanding of the colonial history
  of Latin America the Caribbean
• The racial and ethnic composition of the regions
  and resulting cultural synchrony
• An awareness of the history of particular groups
  in the United States
• An understanding of the deep meaning of culture,
  not its superficial or surface manifestations

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Educators need to know how socioeconomic and
sociopolitical contexts affect Latinos
educational achievement
They need to understand the implications of
social class When the United States sneezes,
Latinos in the U.S. and in their native
countries catch cold
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Educators need to know Latinos cultural and
linguistic strengths

• Impact of cultural and linguistic maintenance
• Danger of premature assimilation (Portes
  Rumbaut)
• Particular strengths include
• Close family relationships
• A focus on community responsibility
• Resilience in the face of adversity

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The most important secret weapon in addressing
shortcomings in Hispanic educational attainment
and achievement is unfortunately largely
underutilized. The integrity, self-reliance, and
closeness of the Hispanic family are among the
greatest assets that it brings to the problem of
educational improvement. Among values that
characterize Hispanic culture are those of hard
work, self-improvement, and respect for learning.
Too often, however, these strengths of the
Hispanic family are frustrated or ignored by
schools and school systems. (Center for Latino
Educational Excellence, 2003).
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Educators need to know that Latino families value
education
Build upon respeto
Mentor families
Beyond bake sales and homework
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Educators need to know the importance of caring
and mentoring

• Findings of the research literature from 1960s
  through present indicate the significance of
  caring for Latino students
• The same is true in fiction (Nieto, 1998)
• All teachers, not just Latina/o teachers, need to
  take on the responsibility to mentor Latino
  students

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Beyond Knowing

• What can educators (teachers, counselors, and
  administrators) do to change this situation?
• How can they get away from the discourse of best
  practices while still being effective?
• What are the implications for policy and
  practice?

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Educators need to explore their own identities,
biases, and privileges

• They need to engage in hard talk
  (Cochran-Smith, 1997)
• They need to understand how their own
  autobiographies are implicated in their work
• They need to question where theyre coming from
  in terms of their students
• They need to confront how they may be complicit
  in reinforcing stereotypes and racist attitudes
  and behaviors (individually, collectively, and
  institutionally)

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Educators need to find out who their students are

• They need to become learners of their students
  realities
• They need to create learning environments that
  welcome and affirm all students
• They need to connect with their students
  families and know their communities

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Effective Counselors

• provide information
• encourage achievement
• promote hope
• model success
• teach important social, academic, and cultural
  skills

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Provide information

• GT programs, Honors, AP
• College and university
• Special programs (summer, internship, co-op)
• In-school and community resources

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Encourage Achievement

• Push to the limit
• Make high expectations clear
• Check in consistently

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Promote Hope

• Believe in students
• Understand and build upon their strengths
• Engage families

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Model Success
Role model
Mentor
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Teach Important Social, Academic, and Cultural
Skills
funds of knowledge
Become institutional agents those who have
the capacity and commitment to transmit directly,
or negotiate the transmission of, institutional
resources and opportunities (Stanton-Salazar,
1997)
bridging
advocating
role modeling
emotional/moral support
feedback, advice, guidance
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Institutionally-based funds of knowledge

• Institutionally sanctioned discourses
• Academic task-specific knowledge
• Organizational/bureaucratic forms of knowledge
• Network development
• Technical forms of knowledge
• Knowledge of labor and educational markets
• Problem-solving knowledge

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Letter from an educator Dear Dr. Nieto, I am
currently taking a graduate level course at
National-Louis University in Wheeling, IL. In
that course, which is titled Frameworks and
Perspectives in Special Education, our professor
uses one of your books as a means of discussing
the various perspectives from which educators
view the world of education. Weekly, we are asked
to read and reflect on the various chapters of
Affirming Diversity The Sociopolitical Context
of Multicultural Education. While I have enjoyed
reading the book,there is much written that I
have a hard time accepting. Since I am a white
male, this, of course, would probably not
surprise you. Nevertheless, I have kept an open
mind during the readings, accepting that what you
were writing was based on your perspective and
experience and willing from my own perspective to
have an open mind Jerry Beyer
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Educators need to demonstrate care in numerous
ways

• Having high expectations and rigorous standards
  critical care (Rolón-Dow, 2005)
• Developing strong interpersonal relationships
  with students and their families
• Respecting and affirming students language and
  cultures
• Building on students strength to support their
  learning
• Mentoring students

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Educators need to become multicultural and
bilingual

• Learning more about their students
• Reforming their roles - what they do and how
• Seeking ways to meaningfully involve families in
  school matters
• Promoting students first and second languages
• Recruiting bilingual and Latino faculty and staff
• Providing, and participating in, relevant
  professional development
• Learning Spanish

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Coming out of the closet Bill Dunn
In my work, I often act as a bridge between
different cultures. Part of my evolution as a
teacher has been in self defense I have learned
to make my life easier by making life easier for
my students but another, greater part of my
experience has been a deep curiosity and yearning
to understand the lives of my students. In my
struggle to understand, I have learned not only a
great deal about my students, but also about
myself
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Beyond the PersonalEducators need to confront
racism and other biases

• They need to question whether school policies and
  practices are truly equitable
• They need to understand and confront how such
  biases are institutionally perpetuated both
  inside and outside of schools
• They need to become advocates for Latino (and
  other) students who have not benefited from
  education

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The Job Ahead

• Lobby, advocate, and press demands for equal,
  high quality, and equitable education for all
  children
• Critically review counseling practices and
  assumptions on which theyre based
• Develop allies at all levels other staff,
  families, community organizations, local and
  state legislators, and others