Recent issi_clpr_pr items

Fostering Academic Success among Latino Men in Higher Education

Tue, 21 Jul 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Fostering Academic Success among Latino Men in Higher Education

Voting and Registration in California: Geographic Differences

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Voting and Registration in California: Geographic Differences

Voting and Registration in California: The Future California Electorate

Thu, 19 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Voting and Registration in California: The Future California Electorate

Voting and Registration in California: Demographic Differences

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Voting and Registration in California: Demographic Differences

Voting and Registration in California: Early Voting

Tue, 17 Feb 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Voting and Registration in California: Early Voting

Dreams of Citizenship, Naturalization Nightmare: New Naturalization Norms Needed

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Dr. Adrián Félix traces Mexican migrant transnationalism across the migrant political life cycle, beginning with the “political baptism” (i.e. naturalization in the U.S.) and ending with repatriation to México after death. Drawing on a multi-method cross-border research design, Dr. Félix examines Mexican migrants’ transnational political allegiances, affiliations and attachments to argue that participation in one national context is not exclusive but rather reciprocal with involvement in the other. By discussing how Mexican migrants embody their transnational citizenship and interface with state institutions and state power on both sides of the border, Dr. Félix’ research challenges conventional conceptions of political belonging and membership in the U.S. and México. Defying singular political loyalties, even among Mexican migrants who have become politically integrated in the U.S., cross-border connections to their communities of origin can live on, indicative of migrants’...

Difference Among Latina/o, Asian American, and White Online Registrants in California

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Difference Among Latina/o, Asian American, and White Online Registrants in California

Nativity and Latina/o and Asian American Online Voter Registration in California

Thu, 10 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0000

In this brief, we look at nativity differences across Californians who registered online for the November 2012 election: whether U.S. born Latina/o or Asian American, on line registrants have different characteristics than those who are naturalized.

Mexican Migrant Farmworkers in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Mexican Migrant Farmworkers in the United States: An Annotated Bibliography

Unlikely Supporters For A Pathway To Citizenship

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Lacayao discusses findings from her research that mapped the attitude of White residents towards Latinos and explains how these attitude and perceptions impact policy

Prospects for Comprehensive Immigration Reform in 2012-2013: Accounting for Trends in Immigration Public Opinion

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Marisa Abrajano examines whether landmark immigration events can leave a permanent mark on an individual's views towards immigration, and whether that impact varies across different racial and ethnic groups. Specifically, the author, examines the cohort of individuals who were in their formative years during the passage of major national immigration bills that were proposed or enacted from 1965-2010. Her findings indicate a clear and consistent relationship between these events and attitudes toward social groups; a less systemic relationship emerges between these policy events and attitudes on immigration policies. She prossess recommendations to policy makers and community advocates about how to leverage these findings into action.

Educational Opportunity in San Francisco’s Mission Neighborhood: Assessing Critical Conditions for Children and Youth in Mission Promise Neighborhood Schools

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Center for Latino Policy Research (CLPR) at the University

of California, Berkeley served as MPN’s university partner, responsible for completing a

comprehensive needs assessment and segmentation analysis of the Mission

neighborhood and the MPN target school population. This report represents the core

findings of this investigation, which was included as part of the implementation proposal

submitted in July 2012 to the U.S. Department of Education for consideration of funding.

Why Are Immigrant Families Different Now?

Fri, 7 Sep 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Why Are Immigrant Families Different Now?

English Dominance as Racist Nativist Microaggressions: The Need to Reframe Restrictive Language Policies for California’s Latina/o Students

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This policy brief uses a Latina/o critical theory framework (LatCrit), as a branch of critical race theory (CRT) in education, to understand how discourses of racist nativism—the institutionalized ways people perceive, understand and make sense of contemporary U.S. immigration— emerge in California public K-12 education. I use data from forty testimonio interviews with 20 undocumented and U.S. born Chicana students, to show how racist nativist discourses have been institutionalized in California public education through teacher practices of English dominance. This study reveals racist nativist microaggressions— a form of systemic, everyday racist nativism that are subtle, layered, and cumulative verbal and non-verbal assaults directed toward People of Color—can explain how these students are targeted by English dominance in the classroom.

Classifying California’s English Learners: Is the CELDT too Blunt an Instrument?

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Executive Summary

There are 1.6 million English learners (ELs) in California’s K-12 public schools, comprising a quarter of California public school students and thirty percent of EL students in the United States. Our study provides strong evidence that California school districts are misidentifying large numbers of entering kindergarten students as English learners. California’s home language survey over identifies children to be administered the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Because only about 94 percent of kindergarten students taking the CELDT in 2009-10 were classified English language proficient, being identified to take the CELDT almost guarantees a student’s classification as EL. Our findings call into question the validity of the home language survey and the CELDT as the tools for identifying EL students in California.

EL misidentification is important because it means that these students are not receiving the language support...

Responding to the Challenges Confronting Latino Males: The Role of Public Policy in Promoting Macro and Micro Levels of Intervention

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The brief describes original research and and new theoretical paradigms to examine the severe social, educational, and economic disadvantages, hardships, and vulnerabilities experienced by Latino men and boys, ones that include high dropout rates, disproportionate levels of incarceration, and their concentration in low wage jobs. Through the application of the theoretical framework of intersectionality, the brief identifies ways in which policy and programs can address restructuring social institutions and re-designing public policy.

From Truancy and Alienation to School Fluency and Graduation: Increasing Student Engagement by Bridging Institutions

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

This Policy Brief explores how a community-based truancy prevention program mediates against absenteeism, truancy, and dropping out and positively transforms the lives of Black and Latino youth. Findings suggest that community–school partnerships are critical in the quest to combat truancy and the alarming dropout rate among urban youth. This study shows how committed individuals can work to engage and empower low-income urban youth who are disengaged from school. Extensive interviews and observations with Latino and Black youth demonstrate how the intervention program mediates against social and academic failure. Using grounded theory, this case study explores four student- identified dimensions that impact his (re)engagement with school:(a) the importance of space that promotes peer relations, (b) incentive structures within programs,(c) the need for social networks, and (d) youth advocacy as a mechanism for institutional accountability. Implications for combating truancy,...

School Reform for Students of Color and English Learners: Leaving Pedagogy Behind

Mon, 7 Mar 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The current federal policy environment draws unprecedented attention to the achievement of English Learners and Latinos by requiring schools to accelerate the achievement not just of all students, but of those students historically under-served by public schools. School reform organizations have responded to these policies by marketing their services to schools serving high numbers of English Learners and students of color in order to work as key intermediaries between schools and the state. This policy brief shares the results of research on reformer's attempts to strengthen teacher's instruction for English Learners and Latinos, and the next steps that schools and reformers are poised to take.

Where Do We Go From Here Undocumented Youth and an Effort Requiring the Entire Village?

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

For 1.5-generation undocumented youth, the transitions from childhood to adolescence and adulthood involve exiting the legally protected status of K-12 students and entering into adult roles that require legal status as a basis for participation. Gonzales’ research finds that this collision among contexts makes for a turbulent transition and has profound implications for identity formation, friendship patterns, aspirations and expectations, and social and economic mobility. As undocumented children make important life course transitions, they move from protected to unprotected, from inclusion to exclusion, from de facto legal to illegal. Moreover, as these young people move into early adulthood between shifting legal contexts, they must learn to be “illegal,” a process involving an almost complete retooling of daily routines, survival skills, aspirations, and social patterns. These findings have important implications for the studies of immigrant 1.5 vs. 2nd generations,...

Immigration’s Echo: Educating the Immigrant Generation

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 +0000

As we enter the second decade of the 21st Century the lives of millions of people are shaped by the experience of migration. Immigration is the human face of globalization – the sounds, colors, and smells of a miniaturized, interconnected, and fragile world. This lecture examines the challenges of making migration work with a focus on immigration's inter-generational echo and the transition of immigrant origin youth via education to the labor market, to belonging, to citizenship and to the narrative of the nation.

Untapped Potential: Latinos and California Community Colleges

Wed, 8 Oct 2008 00:00:00 +0000

Latinos are now the largest group of students who begin their postsecondary studies at a California community college after graduating from a public high school. This represents an opportunity to improve bachelor degree attainment among Latinos via the community college transfer function. This research brief describes current transfer rates among Latinos, reviews the literature on the barriers to transfer, and concludes with a cohort analysis of Latino community college students that describes their demographic profiles, coursework patterns, transfer readiness and outcomes. The author concludes that California’s community college system is not close to reaching its potential as a stepping-stone to four-year colleges and universities for Latino students.

Disconnected: A Community and Technology Needs Assessment of the Southeast Los Angeles Region (SELA)

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 00:00:00 +0000

This technology needs assessment report of populations living in the Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) region addresses the root causes and dilemmas of the “digital divide” problem. This study addresses the central question: how can the Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative (SCTC) structure a regional intervention project that spearheads development in the productive use of information technology and benefits a low-income population with low educational attainment in Southeast Los Angeles (SELA) cities?

The study first provides a regional survey of the fiscal, institutional, and technological challenges facing this demographic region. The SELA region is a sub-section of Los Angeles County and comprised of eight cities and one unincorporated district: Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon, Walnut Park, and the Florence-Firestone area. The demographic survey identifies that the SELA region has strong indicators of digital divide inequality.

The...

Is the Bay Area Preparing Latino High School Graduates for College? A Statistical Portrait of College Preparation in the San Francisco Bay Area

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Latinos are the fastest growing racial ethnic group in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area and now constitute 21 percent of the total population. Their representation among K-12 public school enrollment is even higher at 30 percent. Despite this, few studies have examined how well the Bay Area is preparing this group of students for entry into the state’s public four year colleges. This research brief explores college preparation in each of the nine counties that consist of the Bay Area and finds that Latinos trail behind non-Latinos in two major indicators of college preparation (completing the A-G course requirements and taking the SAT as high school seniors).

Latino Political Representation: The 1993-94 California Latino Legislative Caucus

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

As the number of Latino elected officials grows, it is critical that their effectiveness and accountability by evaluated. A recurring theme in ethnic politics is the degree to which ethnic representatives provide a special voice for their constituents. “There has been a tendency to equate political presence with political power; it is assumed that by simply electing Hispanics to office, benefits will begin to accrue” (Vigil, 1987). However, Latinos have trouble agreeing on a unified approach because the vested interests they represent are not monolithic (Maharidge, 1993). The California Legislature’s Latino Caucus consequently has been regarded by critics as lacking much impact on legislation. Ethnic politicians must resolve their internal differences before they can commence to resolve the ills of their constituents. This study will examine their records of Latino legislators who were members of the Caucus during the 1993-94 term to assess how effective they have been...

Workplace Health-and-Safety Violations in Agriculture: Epidemiology and Implications for Education and Enforcement Policy

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Agriculture is one of the most important industries in California, enjoying over $22 billion in farm cash receipts annually. In addition to economic benefits, national and state data show that agriculture is on of the most dangerous industries with respect to occupational illnesses and injuries. Because Latino and Latina workers provide the majority of production in the industry, they are uniquely increased risk for occupational injury and illness.

The fragmentation of regulatory activities causes inefficiency and confusion on the part of employers, employees, and regulators. In particular, lack of information sharing between agencies leads to ineffective enforcement and educational efforts. Consequently, a pilot program was begun in 1992 that partnered agencies to improve efficiency through sharing of resources and information. The program, intended to target industries with a history of regulatory problems, was named the Targeted Industries Partnership Program (TIPP)....

Remedying Racial and Ethnic Inequality in California Politics: Watsonville Before and After District Elections

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Three major legal and public policy arguments are made to justify a rollback in the application of federal civil rights remedies to electoral under-representation of African American and Latino voters: 1) political exclusion by race and ethnicity is now the exception; 2) existing barriers to minority political participation are internal to the populations and therefore not susceptible to external remedy; 3) external intervention will not change anything, because electoral inequality is not based on discrimination. If race and ethnicity no longer represent a major barrier to political participation, the argument goes, then federal intervention in state and local electoral affairs is no longer necessary.

To examine these claims, I analyze a legal challenge to at-large elections waged by Latinos in Watsonville, California, in the late 1980s, and found each of them wanting. Although Watsonville is a relatively small community of 33,000, it is symbolic of Latino political...

The Development of a National Information Infrastructure and its Implications for Latinos

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Technologies that alter a nation’s infrastructure affect all sectors of society. The changes wrought by anew infrastructure ripple throughout the nation’s social, economic, and political institution and transform its culture. They erode old forms of livelihood and create new ones; they supplant preexisting notions of space and time and connect formerly disparate parts into a more integral whole. The development of a national information infrastructure is such a phenomena.

The United States today is an advanced post-industrial society in which political and economic activity is increasingly conditioned by one’s relationship to information. The development of a national information infrastructure—the so-called information superhighway—attenuates this relationship. The national information infrastructure is an economic, political, and social phenomena that ill fundamentally transform society. Since it undergirds the nation’s economic and social institutions, the development...

Dispelling the Job Competition Myth: An Analysis of Undocumented Immigrants' Impact on U.S. Workers

Wed, 2 May 2007 00:00:00 +0000

Fears that U.S. workers are displaced form their jobs and suffer depressed wages as a result of increased undocumented immigration are unfounded, according to the available empirical evidence. The comprehensive range of economic studies conducted at the national, regional, metropolitan, and industrial/sectoral level have clearly demonstrated that undocumented immigrants have a negligible impact on the U.S. labor market.

The empirical results suggest that the three theoretical models used to explain the labor market relationship between undocumented immigrants and native workers, the “segmentation” and “job ladder” hypotheses are the best depiction of the data. Segmentation theorists believe that native workers remain unaffected by undocumented immigrants because the labor market is sufficiently divided into at least two different types of job markets: more skilled employment and relatively unskilled employment. Job ladder theorists hypothesize that as native workers...

Access to A-G curriculum at San Jose Unified School District