The Racialization of Chicana/o Latina/o Youth in California Public High Schools: Looking Back and Moving Forward

Abstract

The staggering academic underachievement of Chicana/o Latina/o students is a topic of heated national debate. However, the focus is never really on the root of the problem—the historical, biological, and cultural deficiency theories that have played a major role in shaping a racialized educational system for Chicana/o Latina/o youth. It is important to analyze the way in which the educational system has paradoxically served to perpetuate the inequalities that are so prevalent in our society. Through a close reading of books, journal and newspaper articles and an analysis of statistics, I have found that racialization—the role of race and class in education—has served to legitimize a stratified occupational hierarchy. Through my examination of academic and vocational tracking, it is evident there is a great need to provide opportunities for better access to rigorous curricula to assist in providing Chicana/o Latina/o students equal entry to higher education.