Jessica Skaggs Ashford University

 The Hispanic population...  Grew to 53 million in 2012 a 50% increase since 2000 Nearly 6 times the population in 1970 (Brown, 2014)  Educators must pay attention to this change—educate, educate, educate!

 Family  Plays a key role in Hispanic culture  Not just a close group of people—more of a unit  Made up of both immediate and extended family members  Family = Head of household; Mother = Takes care of the home  Family trumps everything else—financial difficulties, health problems, ect.—and is a moral responsibility  Key values passed on: honor, good manners, respect for the elderly (Clutter & Nieto)

 Etiquette  Greetings Often a handshake between a man and a man Informal kiss on cheek between close man and woman or woman and woman  Conversations Informal settings: Loud, fast, gestures, and body language to convey points  Appearance Take pride in appearance especially in public settings such as church or work  Timing/Punctuality More cause in arriving somewhere on time

 Religion  Extremely important to Hispanics  Over 90% of Hispanics considered themselves Roman Catholic  Religion and church play a factor in Hispanics’ lives through their family life, community affairs, and giving spiritual meaning to Hispanic culture (Clutter & Nieto)

 Majority of Hispanic students in classes are not newcomers, but are U.S. born of immigrant parents  Hispanic families come to U.S. to give their children a better education opportunity

 Struggles:  Even though Hispanic children enroll in education early, such as pre-school, are behind their peers May be due to lack of ESL services or poor ESL services Many Hispanic students attend high-minority schools, live in poverty, attend schools with Hispanic children must develop English language proficiency as they simultaneously learn academic content Only 18% of Hispanic students read at or above proficiency levels

 Advanced literacy skills  Hispanic students do not have an issue with physically reading when developing their advanced literacy skills, but “it’s actually the language of print—in the newspaper, the textbook, the magazine article—that proves difficult and demands instruction emphasis” (Lesaux & Rangel, 2013)  Gain and maintain students’ trust  Learn about and respect Hispanic students’ culture and their individual needs  Individualism for Americans vs. Hispanics

 Hispanic Parents  Different parental academic involvement Involved at home: checking homework and other activities less associated with traditional school involvement such as instilling values ” (Niemeyer, Wong, & Westerhaus, 2009)  Familismo “maintaining close bonds with one’s family, fulfilling familial obligations, and holding strong beliefs in familial support” (Niemeyer, Wong, & Westerhaus, 2009) Can lead to lower academic achievement

 Contacting Hispanic Parents  Hispanic parents “reported that communication activities with school were impersonal, infrequent, and without interactions with the school. Report cards, flyers, annual open house, school-wide parent conferences... and online communications were described as providing little or no personal contact with school officials or teachers” (Zarate).

 Implications:  Educators and schools must make need strides in involving Hispanic parents and families  Examples: Cultural events, ESL classes, ect.

Brown, A. (2014). The U.S. Hispanic population has increased sixfold since Retrieved from hispanic-population-has-increased-sixfold-since-1970/ Clutter, A. W., & Nieto, R. D. Understanding the Hispanic culture. Retrieved from fact/5000/5237.html Lesaux, N., & Rangel, J. (2013). How schools can best educate Hispanic students. Education Digest, (4), 41. Niemeyer, A. E., Wong, M. M., & Westerhaus, K. J. (2009). Parental involvement, familismo, and academic performance in Hispanic and Caucasian adolescents. North American Journal Of Psychology, 11(3), Zarate, M.R. Understanding Latino parental involvement in education. Retrieved from