By: Valeria Ojeda

EDU 280 -2001

Prof. Robert Skorupa
 Understanding the Hispanic
American family can be
helpful to educators because
of the major influence they
play in learner’s identity and
behavior.
CHAPTER 8
QUESTION 3
How can school personnel
become more acutely aware
and further educate
themselves toward a positive
comprehension of Hispanic
Americans?
UNDERSTANDING HISPANIC AMERICAN
FAMILIES
▪ Extended Family plays a major role in each family members life
▪ This included parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.
▪ Families value this structure and interaction of the extended family in their daily lives
▪ Compadres and other adults in the extended family have a right to give advice and
correction
▪ Putting the needs of family ahead of individual concerns.
▪ This aspect leads to individual achievement and advancement.

▪ Children learn early the importance of

▪ Deep sense of family responsibility
▪ Rigid definitions of gender roles
▪ Respectful and reverent treatments of the elderly
▪ The male’s position of respect and authority in the family
 Machismo
refers to the male’s stance of manhood
• Responsibility for household
• Courage to fight
• Traits of honor and dignity
• Keeping one’s word
• Protecting one’s name
Marianismo
refers to a female version of machismo
• Caring and nurturing nature
• Respect to family, community, or
church
• Balancing care for others, while also
focusing on a career or school
• Stricter gender roles, less vocal, and
less assertive

Females are taking steps to improve themselves both economically and socially, which is
leading to some Hispanic American female to adhere less and less to traditional gender
expectations.
 Latino vs Hispanic

• Used interchangeably, but have different

meanings
• Latino indicates geographic origin,
whereas Hispanic indicates linguistic
CULTURAL heritage

DIFFERENCES AND Language

CONFLICT FOR THE
• Language difficulties that learners
HISPANIC experience may have a major impact on
their self-esteem and their developing
AMERICAN YOUTH identity
• Many Hispanic American learners tend to
hold onto the native tongue rather than
make a cultural transition to English
• Those who do not consider proficiency in
English, risk their survival in a primarily
English-speaking country
The level of education achievement of
Hispanic American students has been
concerning for a while, with high dropout
rates and low number of students eligible
for college
Graduation rates and other performance
criteria have been improving dramatically
for Hispanics; however, they still have lower
high school completion rates then African,
European, and Asian Americans.
Even with a decrease in high school
dropout rates, and an increase in the
number of Hispanic American students
preparing for and attending college, Latino
students still face challenges that educators
should keep in mind.
▪ To understand and work closely with
Latino parents and families
educators need to
▪ understand and work to support and
increase Hispanic parents’
involvement.
▪ be aware that Latino parents desire to
be involved in their child’s education
▪ understand that although Latino
families want a good education for
their children, many families suffer
from poverty and personal problems
which hinder participation in school,
both by children and by their parents
WHAT SHOULD SCHOOL
PERSONNEL DO?
▪ Overall, for school personnel to
become more acutely aware and
further educate themselves toward a
positive comprehension of Hispanic
Americans, they need to
▪ Gain considerable insight into their
students’ cultures by understanding
several unique characteristics
▪ Avoid stereotyping Hispanic
American students as misbehaving,
emotional, or violent
▪ Bear in mind the gender-role
differences that occur among the
various Hispanic cultures
▪ Baruth, Leroy G, and M L. Manning. Multicultural Education of Children and
Adolescents. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1992. Print.