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##  Mexican Immigrant Youth and Resiliency: Research and Promising                  Programs. ERIC Digest.                                                       

Recent RAND Corporation reports underscore the uneven educational               achievement of various immigrant groups in the United                           States (Vernez & Abrahamse, 1996; Schoeni, McCarthy, & Vernez,                  1996). Mexican immigrants lag behind other immigrants in educational            completion, and they have scored lower on reading and math                      achievement tests than have White and immigrant Asian                           children (Kao & Tienda, 1995). The preponderance of data paints a               gloomy picture of the status of Mexican immigrant youth, but at the             same time, researchers are reporting the successes of many resilient            youth who have overcome the toughest of odds to succeed. This Digest            examines both the research about resiliency and some promising                  programs for Mexican immigrant youth. DEFINING                                RESILIENCYResiliency theory identifies protective factors                   present in the families, schools, and communities of successful                 youth that often are missing in the lives of troubled                           youth (Krovetz, 1999). When at least some of these protective                   factors are present, children develop resiliency, that is, the                  ability to cope with adversity. According to Bonnie Benard (1991;               1997), there are at least four common attributes of resilient                   children: 
*  social competence 
*  problem-solving skills 
*                autonomy 
*  sense of purpose and future 
Resiliency theory                   proposes that all of these attributes are present to some degree in             most people. Whether they are strong enough to help individuals cope            with adversity, however, depends on the presence of protective                  factors during childhood. RESEARCH STUDIESThe research on                 psychological resilience begins with the classic study by Emmy                  Werner and Ruth Smith (1992). Over a 40-year period, they studied               700 at-risk Hawaiian residents born under adverse circumstances,                including chronic poverty; about 200 of the sample were considered              high risk. The sample was composed of poor children whose parents               and grandparents had immigrated to Hawaii from Asia or Europe.                  Approximately two-thirds of the sample had various problems during              childhood, while the other one-third showed no problems at all. By              the time the study participants reached their mid-thirties, almost              all (including many who had experienced problems) had become                    constructively motivated and responsible adults. A distinguishing               factor shared by each resilient child was a long-term, close                    relationship with a caring, responsible parent or other adult. Only             about 30 of the original group of 700 did not effectively "bounce               back." Interestingly, the researchers found that socioeconomic and              ethnic backgrounds did not play a role. 
Lingxin Hao and Melissa               Bonstead-Bruns (1998) used National Education Longitudinal Survey               data (based on children who were eighth graders in 1988) to examine             family influences on children's achievement, paying special                     attention to ethnic variables. They found lower levels of                       parent-child interactions among immigrant Mexican Americans than                among immigrant Asian Americans; however, immigrant Mexican students            had one strong advantage: knowledge of their parents' language.                 Proficiency in the parental language significantly improved math                achievement and grades. 
Kimberly Gordon (1996) examined the                   self-concept and motivational patterns of 36 Hispanic youth in an               urban school setting. The principal difference between resilient and            non-resilient students was that the resilient youths had more faith             in their cognitive abilities. The resilient youths excelled                     academically because they believed that they could understand the               material and information presented in class and that they could do              well on homework and tests. 
Research in the fields of child and               human development, effective schools, and competent communities                 reveals that successful development in any human system relates                 directly to the quality of relationships in the system and                      opportunities for participation in those relationships (Benard,                 1991). Three key characteristics support productive development:                caring relationships, communication of high expectations and                    positive beliefs, and opportunities for participation. Werner and               Smith (1992) argued that the most important of these protective                 factors is a caring relationship with someone, regardless of whether            that person is a parent, teacher, or community mentor. 
Genevieve              Johnson (1997) surveyed 38 inner-city principals and teachers                   regarding their personal and professional experiences with at-risk              students who had demonstrated resiliency. The principals and                    teachers identified a broad range of compensatory factors focusing              on the home, school, and community. These findings support Benard's             study (1991). 
In sum, the literature on resiliency identifies five            key protective factors of families, schools, and communities: 
*               supportive relationships, particularly encouragement from school                personnel and other adults 
*  student characteristics, such as                self-esteem, motivation, and accepting responsibility 
*  family               factors, such as parental support/concern and school                            involvement 
*  community factors, such as community youth                     programs (e.g., sports, clubs, hobbies) 
*  school factors, such as            academic success and pro-social skills training PROMISING                     PROGRAMSA number of promising programs have helped Mexican                  immigrant children increase their resiliency. Advancement Via                   Individual Determination (AVID) in San Diego placed students from               low-income, ethnic and linguistic minority backgrounds in college               preparation classes along with high-achieving peers. The project                resulted in higher college enrollment compared with school district             and national averages. The ethnic and language minority students                developed an academic identity, formed academically oriented peer               groups, and recognized the necessity of academic achievement for                occupational success (Mehan, Villanueva, & Lintz, 1996). 
In                   Houston, Project GRAD (Graduation Really Achieves Dreams) targets               high schools with high drop-out rates, providing support and                    scholarships for students. The program begins preparing children for            college while they are still in kindergarten; it then targets                   elementary and junior high schools that feed the high school. The               project has resulted in higher attendance rates, reductions in                  teenage pregnancies, fewer disciplinary problems, and better test               scores (McAdoo, 1998). 
AVANCE (Spanish word meaning "to advance"),            a preschool parenting program in San Antonio, has incorporated the              family culture to achieve significant success with recent and                   second-generation Mexican immigrant families (Romo, 1999). It helps             low-income, often single, mothers to provide educationally                      stimulating and emotionally encouraging environments for their young            children. AVANCE has succeeded in reducing isolation and depression.            As a result, mothers are more emotionally and verbally responsive to            their children, avoid restrictive and punishing behaviors, and                  provide more variety in their children's daily routines (Hamburg,               1994). An added benefit is that the mothers have developed larger               networks of friends, know more about community resources, and have              more frequently enrolled in and completed General Educational                   Development (GED) courses and English-as-a-second-language (ESL)                classes. 
Mujeres y Hombres Nobles, Spanish for "honorable men and             women," is a model program for students who have dropped out of the             public school system. Its primary emphasis is to instill in students            a sense of self-pride, including an appreciation for their culture              and language. It fuses the talents and resources of East Los                    Angeles, helping pregnant teenagers, gang members, drug users, and              juvenile offenders get back into school, off drugs, out of gangs,               and into counseling. The program also invites non-program students              and adults from the community to participate. Data for measuring                long term success of the program are not yet available; however,                participants report "We're showing a lot of success in just a short             period of time and we know that we are already positively affecting             young lives and in the future we will make a difference" (Pulido,               1995, p. 12). 
Achievement for Latinos through Academic                        Success (ALAS) focused on educating Latino youth with disabilities              and high-risk Latino youth who live in urban areas (Gandara, Larson,            Rumberger, & Mehan, 1998). The program emphasized psychosocial                  interventions as well as academic and cultural interventions. It had            a positive effect on mobility, attendance, class passing rate, and              graduation credits; unfortunately, when the program was                         discontinued, the students lost the gains they had made and failed              to graduate. This is evidence that a program must be ongoing and not            just a one-time intervention. 
The MegaSkills Program has been the             foundation for a comprehensive school wide reform effort at a Texas             elementary school where many of the students are recent Mexican                 immigrants and live in colonies a few miles from the Mexico border.             MegaSkills, developed by Dorothy Rich of the Home and School                    Institute, outlines 11 attributes and skills needed for success at              school and work: confidence, motivation, effort, responsibility,                perseverance, caring, initiative, teamwork, problem solving, common             sense, and focus. The program has resulted in multifaceted and                  broad-based school improvements: test scores improved, attendance               increased, behavior improved, teacher and staff morale increased,               parent involvement increased, and community participation increased.            Much of the success was due to the program beginning early; drawing             on the talents and resources of the community; and including all                teachers, staff, parents, and students, and the community (Mattox,              1999). IMPLICATIONSThe research on resiliency and examples of             successful resiliency programs share one common factor: community               collaborative programs that recognize and capitalize on the assets              and strengths of Mexican immigrant youth and their families. Mexican            immigrant families have many strengths, which need to be identified.            It is clear that more resiliency programs should use these strengths            to foster caring relationships, active participation, increased                 parent-child interactions, and high expectations. Families, schools,            and communities must work together to achieve this                              goal. REFERENCESAVANCE. (1999). AVANCE Research Activities.               http://www.avance.org/research/research.htm. 
Benard, B. (1991).               Fostering resiliency in kids: Protective factors in the family,                 school, and community. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational             Laboratory. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 335                      781) 
Benard, B. (1997). Drawing forth resilience in all our youth.            Reclaiming Children and Youth, 6(1), 29-32. 
Gandara, P., Larson,              K., Rumberger, R., & Mehan, H. (1998). Capturing Latino students in             the academic pipeline.                                                          http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/pipeline.html. 
Gordon, K. (1996).                    Resilient Hispanic youths' self-concept and motivational patterns.              Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 18(1), 63-73. 
Hamburg, D.            A. (1994). Today's children: Creating a future for a generation in              crisis. New York: Time Books. 
Hao, L., & Bonstead-Bruns,                      M. (1998). Parent-child differences in educational expectations and             the academic achievement of immigrant and Native students. Sociology            of Education, 71(3), 175-198. 
Johnson, G. M. (1997). Resilient                at-risk students in the inner city. McGill Journal of Education,                32(1), 35-49. 
Kao, G., & Tienda, M. (1995). Optimism and                      achievement: The educational performance of immigrant youth. Social             Science Quarterly, 76(1), 1-19. 
Krovetz, M. (1999). Fostering                 resiliency: Expecting all students to use their minds and hearts                well. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. 
Mattox, B. A. (1999).                  Impact of the MegaSkills Program for students, teachers, parents                school-wide.                                                                    http://www.megaskillshsi.org/training%20programs/schoolprogram.htm.             
McAdoo, M. (1998). Project GRAD's strength is the sum of its                  parts. Ford Foundation Report, spring/summer, 9-10. 
Mehan, H. I.,             Villanueva, L. H., & Lintz, A. (1996). Constructing school success:             The consequences of untracking low-achieving students. New York:                Cambridge University Press. 
Pulido, J. A. (1995). A high school               program for "at-risk" Latino youth mujeres y hombres                            nobles (honorable men and women). American Secondary Education, v.              23, 10-12. 
Romo, H. (1999). Reaching out: Best practices for                  educating Mexican-origin children and youth. Charleston, WV: ERIC               Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document              Reproduction Service No. ED 432 432) 
Schoeni, R. F., McCarthy, K.             F., & Vernez, G. (1996). The mixed educational progress of                      immigrants. Santa Monica, CA: RAND. 
Vernez, G., & Abrahamse,                  A. (1996). How immigrants fare in U.S. education. Santa Monica, CA:             RAND. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 399 320) 
Werner,             E., & Smith, R. (1992). Overcoming the odds: High risk children from            birth to adulthood. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University                              Press. 
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Dr. Nancy Feyl Chavkin is Professor of Social Work             and Co-Director of the Center for Children and Families at Southwest            Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. 
John Gonzalez, LMSW,             was a graduate student at Southwest Texas State University at the               time of writing and is currently employed with Heritage Health                  Systems in Sequin, Texas. 
This publication was prepared with                  funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,                U.S. Department of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0027. The             opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the positions              or policies of OERI, the Department, or AEL.                                 **Title:** Mexican Immigrant Youth and Resiliency: Research and Promising                  Programs. ERIC Digest.                                                       **Document Type:** Information Analyses---ERIC Information Analysis Products (IAPs) (071); Information Analyses---ERIC Digests (Selected) in Full Text (073); **Available From:** ERIC/CRESS, P.O. Box 1348, Charleston, WV 25325-1348. For full text:            http://www.ael.org/eric/digests/edorc001.htm.                                **Descriptors:** Academic Achievement, Dropout Prevention, Educational Strategies,               Elementary Secondary Education, High Risk Students, Hispanic                    American Students,  Immigrants,  Mexican American Education,                     Mexican Americans, Preschool Education,  Resilience (Personality),              Social Support Groups,  Youth Programs                                      **Identifiers:** Adult Child Relationship, ERIC Digests                                       
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