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Hispanic Culture Hannah Smith (Hannah McComie) Chaminade University of Honolulu

Abstract This is a research paper about the Hispanic culture. It describes parts of the Hispanic culture, identifies the ELL factors of the Hispanic population, talks about the pros and cons of the public school servicing the Hispanic students, and it talks about over-representation. The over-view of the research project is that teachers need to be trained in how to teach this growing population. Hispanics are almost half of the population of the United States. If we do not change our teaching structures than America will greatly feel the consequences.

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Culture/Language Society Hispanics are very family oriented. They take care of the needs of the family before they consider their individual self. Hispanics are brought up to work together and cooperate with one another versus competing against each other and focusing on their individual self. Hispanics share everything from materialistic items to information. In their culture, it is alright for them to help each other with homework, quizzes and tests. Families are very closely-knit. The elder children take care of the younger ones, but parents dictate the lives of their children. For example, families often gather together for holidays and celebrations. Hispanics place a great value on looks and appearance; ones appearance gives one a sense of honor, dignity, and pride. Concept of Time Hispanics focus on the present versus the future. Most Hispanic students are more comfortable with setting shortterm goals than long term goals. Hispanics allows time to work for them. They do not set time-limits for themselves. This contradicts with timed activities and tests. Communication Respect is HIGHLY valued. Hispanics show affection through touching; hugs and kisses. Hispanics tend to be very polite. Adapting Ones Environment Hispanics try to adapt to a new environment as best as possible. Rituals and Religions The church influences Hispanics culture and values. More than 90% of Hispanics are Roman Catholic. Saints Day is of great importance in the Hispanic community.

ELL About 27.4% of Hispanic children live in poverty where serious educational and environmental problems occur. The impoverished environment also causes more stress due to the loud noises, drugs, gang violence, and home situations. This section is going to look at the factors associated with the underachievement and success of Hispanic students. Factors that are associated with underachievement are lack of qualified teachers, inappropriate teaching practices, and at-risk school environments. Lack of qualified teachers There are not many qualified teachers teaching in urban schools. Most teachers have very little experience working with bi-lingual students. According to a study done by Lewis, Parsad, Carey, Bartfai, Smerdon & Green 67% of teachers in urban schools report that they have never participated in professional development for addressing the needs of ELL students. More than 38% of public school report vacancies in ESL or bilingual education teachers. Low qualified mainstream teachers are trying to fill these positions. These teachers also struggle with factors of differences between ethnic and cultural backgrounds of the students. Example, Hispanic students who were born in America verses Hispanic students who migrated to America. Some students may have been born in American but speak Spanish at home; other students may have emigrated from Mexico. Table 3.6. State policies regarding teaching of English Language Learner (ELL) students, by state: 200809

According to the table published by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), only three states require their teachers to demonstrate competence in ELL instruction. Although thirty-three states set standards for ELL instruction thirty of those states are stating that those standards do not have to be met.

Inappropriate teaching practices Most teachers teach the traditional way. They lecture in front of the whole class and have the students take notes. Researchers Haberman (1991) Padron , Juang & Waxman (1995) argue that these instructional practices constitute a pedagogy of poverty. A majority of Hispanic students speak Spanish or Spanglish at home, and the only opportunities they have to speak English are in the classroom. Thus, students are not provided with enough experience to practice their English-reading and writing. This results in poor test scores, low self-esteem, and dropping out of school, and not pursuing a college degree. These students are unable to obtain high paying jobs, which forces them to remain in poverty. The Regional Education Laboratory Center sets the following standards, which are followed by seven states.

All of these standards reflect ways in which the students should be taught (I will talk more about this later on), but yet none of the states meets all of these standards (topics). At-risk school environment The school systems, school programs, and organizational and institutional features of the school environment contribute to the conditions that influence students academic success or failure (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 4, 2002). Some schools do not meet the needs of the students. In particular, they lack resources, qualified teachers, and many do not provide a safe learning environment. According to Padron, Waxman, & Rivera, studies have found that many school cultures set low expectations for their students. Several characteristics of an at risk environment have been identified.

Alienation of students and teachers Inferior standards and low quality of education Low expectations of students High drop-out rates Classroom practices that are unresponsive to students learning needs Inadequate preparation of students for the future

The factors that are associated with underachievement are changeable. Factors that are associated with success are effective teaching practices, culturally-responsive teaching, cooperative learning, instructional conversations, cognitively-guided instruction, technology-enriched instruction, effective communities and school-based programs, student and community empowerment, and school-based intervention programs. Effective Teaching Practices for Hispanic Students Studies done in 1988-2000 by Padron, Waxman, Tarp, Estrada, Dalton, and Yamauchi claim that research-based instruction have been very effective with Hispanic students. The curriculum has to be meaningful and responsive to students needs as well as culturally appropriate. Instruction must specifically address the concerns of Hispanic students who come from different cultures and who often are trying to learn a new language (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 5, 2002). The research practices include the following: Culturally-responsive teaching Cooperative learning Instructional conversations Cognitively-guided instruction Technology-enriched instruction

Culturally-Responsive Teaching This practice emphasizes the every-day concerns of students. It focuses on students families and community issues. It prepares them to become leaders in their community. This practice helps students develop the following: Improves the acquisition and retention of new knowledge by working from the students existing knowledge (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 6, 2002). Improves self-confidence and self-esteem by emphasizing existing knowledge (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 6, 2002). Increases the transfer of school-taught knowledge to real-life situations (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 6, 2002). Exposes students to knowledge about other individuals or culture groups (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 6, 2002). Cooperative Learning This practice allows students to discuss and defend their ideas, which, in turns, enables complex learning. Students work in small group arguing their ideas and learning from each other as opposed to teachers lecturing about the concepts. This practice helps students develop the following: Develop social, academic and communication skills Decreases anxiety Motivation for learning through the enhancement of instructional conversation Boosting self-confidence and self-esteem through individual contributions and achievement of group goals (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 6, 2002). Improves individual and group relations by learning to clarify, assist, and challenge others ideas (Padron, Waxman, and River, pg 7, 2002).

Technology-Enriched Instruction This practice connects content to the real-world. Students can use web-based picture libraries to help with their comprehension. They can use digital books that pronounce words to help them with their pronunciation. The teacher acts as a facilitator guiding the students through their learning. This practice is about utilizing technology to help students hone their English skills. Additionally, this practice helps students develop the following: A desire for learning\ Comprehension, auditory and communication skills Computer and telecommunication skills The use of these practices help increase academic achievement. More importantly, they develop the whole child by incorporating their interests, needs, and culture. Students are not being lectured all day; rather, they are doing hands on activities which encompass real-world problems. Moreover, they are offered numerous opportunities to develop their English skills. Thus, they perform better on tests, increase their self-esteem, and graduate from high school and/or college. These practices will play a vital role, reflecting the type of success Hispanic students will continue to have. Over Representation/Population As stated earlier, about 27.4% of the Hispanic population lives in poverty. Based on the 2010 census report the Hispanic community accounts for over half the growth of the total population in the United States for the past couple of years. The growth of the population results in a growth of the over representation of the Hispanic community.

English Language Learners represents the fastest growing segment of the schoo-age population (Flynn & Hill, 2005). As mentioned earlier, most teachers do not feel prepared to teach ELL students. These students are then misidentified and their quality education depreciates.

649,121 Hispanic lives in one of the poorest cities in the United States-El Paso, TX. California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois account for 68% of the ELL elementary school students. These students are at a higher risk of being misidentified. The Hispanic population has drastically diversified our country. Teachers need to adopt the five practices today in order to help these students achieve and allow our society to stay sound.

Works Cited Apthorp, H., Wang, X., Ryan, S., & Cicchinelli, L. F. Institute of Education Sciences, Regional At Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning. (2012). Educational Laboratory

Teaching english language learner students: Profession in elementary education in regional states (122). Retrieved from National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional assistance website: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/central/pdf/REL_2012122.pdf Clutter , A. D., & Nieto, R. D. (n.d.). Understanding the hispanic culture. Retrieved from http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5237.html Deninger, M. Elementary & Secondary Education, Education Research Brief. (2008). Disproportionality: A look at special education and race in the commonwealthOffice of Strategic Planning, Research, and Evaluation. Ennis, S. R., Rios-Vargas, M., & Albert, N. G. U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. census Bureau. (2010). The Hispanic Population: 2010 (C2010BR-04)Census Briefs. Flynn, K., & Hill, J. Department of Education, Policy Brief. (2005). English language learners: A growing populationMcrel. Hispanic culture . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://literacynet.org/lp/hperspectives/hispcult.html Institute for Education and Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (n.d.). Table 3.6. state policies regarding teaching of english language learner (ell) students, by state: 200809. Retrieved from website: http://nces.ed.gov/programs/statereform/tab3_6.asp Padron, Y. N., Waxman, H. C., & River, H. H. (2002). Educating Hispanic Students: Obstacles and avenues to improved academic achievement. Santa Cruz: Center for Research on Education, Diversity & Excellence. Robinson, J. (2008). Americas's top 10 poorest cities. Retrieved from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2465282/posts