Preventing teen pregnancy has become a national goal, but a one-size-fits-all strategy for achieving it may never be found. Because varying social and cultural factors lead to pregnancy among different ethnic/class groups, understanding these factors is essential in designing pregnancy prevention programs that work. This book explores the factors that lead to childbearing among Latina adolescents. Pamela Erickson draws on both quantitative data and case histories to trace the pathways to motherhood for Latina teens. After situating her study within current research on teen pregnancy, she looks specifically at teen mothers enrolled in programs at Women's Hospital in East L.A. She describes the teens' relationships to their babies' fathers and their own families and discusses how these relationships affect whether teen mothers want to become pregnant, their use of prenatal, postpartum, and family planning services, and their ability to prevent a repeat pregnancy. Erickson describes culturally appropriate intervention efforts and assesses the limitations of prevention programs in institutional settings such as schools and clinics.

The definitive source. Never before has the researcher had this kind of detailed subject access to the research literature on Mexican American women. Comprehensive in its scope, this guide covers not only traditional areas such as immigration, fertility, & sex roles, but also documents the ground-breaking studies on Chicana sexuality. The latest research on Chicanas & health issues such as AIDS, mental health, & medical care are also covered. Complete bibliographic citations for journal articles, books, dissertations, working papers, & articles in books are listed under appropriate subject headings from the Chicano Thesaurus. Author & title indexes also provide useful access.

School dropout remains a persistent and critical issue in many school systems, so much so that it is sometimes referred to as a crisis. Populations across the globe have come to depend on success at school for establishing careers and gaining access to post-school qualifications. Yet large numbers of young people are excluded from the advantages that successful completion of school brings and as a result are subjected to consequences such as higher likelihood of unemployment, lower earnings, greater dependence on welfare and poorer physical health and well-being. Over recent decades, most western nations have stepped up their efforts to reduce drop out and raise school completion rates while maintaining high standards. How school systems have approached this, and how successful they are, varies. This book compares the various approaches by evaluating their impact on rates of dropout and completion. Case studies of national systems are used to highlight the different approaches including institutional arrangements and the various alternative secondary school programs and their outcomes. The evaluation is based on several key questions: What are the main approaches? How do they work? For whom do they work? And, how successful are they in promoting high rates of completion and equivalent outcomes for all? This book examines the nature of the dropout problem in advanced industrialized countries with the goal of developing a broader, international understanding that can feed into public policy to help improve completion rates worldwide.

This text pulls together the major camps of the gender debate to illustrate how this issue affects every part of the educational enterprise. Topics covered include the nature/nurture debate, gender achievement gaps, and sexual harassment.

This publication explores the experiences of Latinas in the United States' educational system, utilizing the concept of "possible selves" to investigate the lives of Latinas in school, at home, and with their peers. The concept of "possible selves" articulates the interaction between Latinas' current social contexts and their perceived options for the present and the future. Part 1, "Overview of Trends of Latinas' Educational Participation," focuses on: graduation rates, suspensions, tracking and course-taking, standardized test scores, grades, college enrollment by type of college, completion of degrees, majors, Latina/o faculty, and economic effects of education. Part 2, "Characteristics of Communities Affecting Participation/Success," looks at family, peers and peer groups, and schools. Part 3, "Individual Characteristics Associated with Educational Outcomes," discusses culture and the individual and self-efficacy. Part 4, "Conclusions and Recommendations," analyzes the effect of family, school, and community on academic potential and offers recommendations for school personnel, families, and policymakers. The three appendixes provide information on the research methodology, a summary of data on Latinas for selected states, and some Latina-serving programs in the United States. (Contains 259 references.) (SM)

Hispanics and the Future of America presents details of the complex story of a population that varies in many dimensions, including national origin, immigration status, and generation. The papers in this volume draw on a wide variety of data sources to describe the contours of this population, from the perspectives of history, demography, geography, education, family, employment, economic well-being, health, and political engagement. They provide a rich source of information for researchers, policy makers, and others who want to better understand the fast-growing and diverse population that we call "Hispanic." The current period is a critical one for getting a better understanding of how Hispanics are being shaped by the U.S. experience. This will, in turn, affect the United States and the contours of the Hispanic future remain uncertain. The uncertainties include such issues as whether Hispanics, especially immigrants, improve their educational attainment and fluency in English and thereby improve their economic position; whether growing numbers of foreign-born Hispanics become citizens and achieve empowerment at the ballot box and through elected office; whether impending health problems are successfully averted; and whether Hispanics' geographic dispersal accelerates their spatial and social integration. The papers in this volume provide invaluable information to explore these issues.