Healing Multicultural America

This is an historical and anthropological account of a group of Mexican immigrants who managed to understand and use the US democratic system, not least by reforming schools, in order to gain access to the "American Dream". It sets out to assist its readers in understanding the significance of the politics of education for ethnic minorities. Despite the power and policy of the "New Right", the authors try and show that ordinary people can become empowered and transform dominant institutions in order to enhance the possibilities of a more democratic culture, economy and policy. The authors suggest ways in which ethnographic research can help ensure that the language, culture and history of a minority community need not decline and eventually disappear in schools or other educational institutions. This book should be of interest to educators, researchers in education, anthropologists, ethnographers, school policy makers and all those faced by culturally diverse populations.