(2010). Making Schools Work. 2010 Annual Report. The New Mexico Public Education Department 2010 Annual Report was created as a way to reflect on the accomplishments in education that occurred under Governor Bill Richardson's administration from 2002-2010. In 2003, the Governor outlined a reform agenda and pledged his commitment to improve education in New Mexico. In the fall of 2003, Governor Richardson nominated New Mexico's first cabinet level Secretary of Education, Dr. Veronica Garcia. She began her term by outlining an aggressive, integrated action plan to raise expectations and close the achievement gap in New Mexico. Together with the Governor, Secretary Garcia drafted a state strategic plan for education, Making Schools Work, to address the unique needs of New Mexico students. They identified the following reform areas to target: (1) Academic Rigor and Accountability; (2) Closing the Achievement Gap; (3) School Readiness; (4) Quality Teachers; (5) Parent & Community Involvement; (6) 21st Century Classrooms; and (7) College & Workforce Readiness. These seven areas provide the structure for this annual report. Due to Secretary Garcia's effort up to her retirement in July of 2010, New Mexico leads the nation in comprehensive approaches to education reform and has received significant national recognition. In August 2010, Dr. Susanna Murphy was appointed Secretary Designate and continued the momentum of reform. The accomplishments listed in this report illustrate the profound transformation that took place in education in New Mexico over the past eight years, truly confirming Bill Richardson as the Education Governor for the state. [More] Descriptors: Strategic Planning, Schools of Education, School Readiness, Recognition (Achievement)
(2015). Comparative Analysis of Visitors' Experiences and Knowledge Acquisition between a 3Dimensional Online and a Real-World Art Museum Tour, Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia. This paper discusses a study conducted in the fall of 2011 and the spring of 2012 which explored the use of existing 3D virtual environment technologies by bringing a selected permanent museum exhibit displayed at a museum located in central Mexico into an online 3Dimensional experience. Using mixed methods, the research study analyzed knowledge acquisition, preferences and users' perceptions after using a virtual museum, and compared these experiences to the ones obtained by visitors in a real museum tour. [More] Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Museums, Computer Simulation, Simulated Environment
(2015). Ownership of Language in Yucatec Maya Revitalization Pedagogy, Anthropology & Education Quarterly. This classroom-based study examined a Yucatec Maya language course for teachers and the pedagogical implementation of national language policy in Mexico. Analysis of this teacher education program focused on various dimensions of teachers' Maya-language expertise, the teaching of the emergent standard Maya, and hegemonic constructions of Maya-speakers in language planning discourse. Ownership of language, defined as a speaker's authenticity and authority vis-Ã -vis the language, emerged as an important concern. [More] Descriptors: Mayan Languages, Ownership, Policy, Teacher Education Programs
(2015). "The Only Mexican in the Room": "Sobrevivencia" as a Way of Knowing for Mexican Transnational Students and Families, Anthropology & Education Quarterly. Drawing upon multisited ethnographic case studies in the United States and Mexico, I demonstrate "sobrevivencia", a survivalist way of knowing of Mexican-origin families. Through an underdog mentality, family members persisted and sometimes thrived. However, the grittiness of the underdog mentality did not always work out. By understanding "sobrevivencia", educators can better engage transnational families, and researchers can further explore transnational ways of knowing with continuing multisited research. [More] Descriptors: Ethnography, Case Studies, Mexican Americans, Foreign Countries
(2015). Students' Perception about Online Interaction, Access and Publishing Content for Academic Use, Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – TOJET. In this document we show preliminary results of students' perception about their level of ICT competencies in public secondary schools in Veracruz, Mexico. It was a quantitative study using a survey applied to 979 students from two schools. Survey was composed of 72 items. Preliminary results indicate a low level of ICT use in the students of secondary schools in the city of Veracruz related with online interactions, access and publishing content for academic use. [More] Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Interaction, Secondary School Students, Student Surveys
(2015). Education as Part of the Migratory Project of Latin American Migrant Women Traveling to the United States in Undocumented Conditions, Journal of Latinos and Education. Education is an indispensable element for the development of society. In Latin America, the point of origin of most of the undocumented immigrants to the United States, equal opportunity in access to education and educational achievement is still pending. The study presented here focuses on the analysis of the expectations of female migrants via Mexico's northern border, focusing attention on educational attainment as an important aspect of the "American Dream" of the migrant women interviewed and their dependents. [More] Descriptors: Undocumented Immigrants, Females, Interviews, Equal Education
(2012). Practicing the Four Seasons of Ethnography Methodology while Searching for Identity in Mexico, Qualitative Report. This narrative is an account of my field experiences and challenges practicing Gonzalez's (2000) Four Seasons of Ethnography methodology in Mexico City. I describe the complexities and tensions inherent in managing two scientific paradigms: Western scientific logic vs. a more organic ontology. The experiential knowledge produced in this text is useful to ethnographers who face questions of identity and ethics in the field. To evoke a sense of experience, I re-present the ethnography for the reader in the way it unfolded for me–sometimes painful, other times insightful, oftentimes both. This dual text exposes my struggles as emergent ethnographer grappling with issues of voice, identity, and representation while describing scenes from life in Mexico drawn from observations and narrative interviews. At the forefront of this text are the methodological choices and ontological experiences of the Four Seasons of Ethnography methodology, while observations and conversations in Mexico City form the backdrop. [More] Descriptors: Field Experience Programs, Ethics, Ethnography, Foreign Countries
(2017). Variables Affecting Proficiency in English as a Second Language, European Journal of Contemporary Education. This study explores different variables leading to proficiency in English as a second language. Level of English on a placement exam taken upon entering a private university in Mexico was correlated to several variables. Additionally, participants (N = 218) were asked their perception of their own proficiency. A linear regression and a one-factor ANOVA were carried out. Three variables best explain the level obtained on the placement exam. These are: number of instruction hours, type of school, and how frequently the learner reads in English. Findings also show that the participants' perception of their proficiency corresponds to the results obtained on the placement test. [More] Descriptors: Language Proficiency, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Student Placement
(2017). De los Derechos Humanos: Reimagining Civics in Bilingual & Bicultural Settings, Social Studies. Dominant approaches to teaching social studies often marginalize bilingual and bicultural students. This is particularly troubling because the explicit goal of the social studies is to cultivate civic participation. Educational inequalities are thus tied to political inequalities. In light of this, this article shares a narrative case study of the author's own bilingual and bicultural approach to teaching middle school civics at a dual-language American school in Mexico. Through the illustration of a comparative civics curriculum that incorporates translanguaging practices, the author argues that embracing bilingualism and biculturalism in the social studies can lead to more expansive possibilities for justice-oriented civic education. [More] Descriptors: Civics, Bilingualism, Biculturalism, Social Studies
(2017). Imagined Community of Education: Voices from Refugees and Immigrants, Urban Education. To challenge deficit thinking concerning immigrants and refugees in urban schools, we engaged members of local immigrant and refugee communities from China, Mexico, Liberia, and Sudan in focus group discussions about their prior educational experiences, their hopes and aspirations for education, and the supports and challenges they encountered in their perceived reality of PK-12 education in the United States. In an effort to promote asset-based approaches, we employed Yosso's framework in our analysis to highlight the community cultural wealth and to describe the process of creating an "imagined community" of education shared among our participants. [More] Descriptors: Refugees, Immigrants, Communities of Practice, Urban Schools
(2017). Who Is Going to Build the Wall? A Building Trades Crisis in the U.S.A, Online Submission. A significant workforce shortage exists in most skilled trades areas in the U.S., but this is especially true in building and construction trades. The number of jobs in the construction industry is expected to grow by almost 20% between 2008 to 2018, while only growing by 11% for all other industries. With the prospect of significant shortages in the building trades, coupled with stronger border security and stiffer immigration enforcement, the question begs to be asked, who is going to build the wall politicians are calling for on the border between the U.S. and Mexico? [More] Descriptors: Construction Industry, Building Trades, Supply and Demand, Labor Market
(2017). Early Childhood Investment Zones: A Learning Approach for Authentic Community Partnership, ZERO TO THREE. Many professionals in the early childhood field are inspired by community-driven initiatives that hold great promise for transforming outcomes for the youngest children and their families. However, most collective impact efforts are mobilized in large urban areas, where early childhood professionals and civic leaders take the lead. New Mexico has been experimenting with a community-based approach for Early Childhood Investment Zones in targeted rural, frontier, and tribal communities. This kind of authentic engagement of both formal and informal grassroots leaders for early childhood systems change carries important lessons learned for other states and communities. [More] Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Partnerships in Education, Community Programs, Rural Areas
(2015). Autonomous Pluralistic Learning Strategies among Mexican Indigenous and Minority University Students Learning English, Canadian Modern Language Review. This critical ethnographic case study draws on Indigenous and minority students' process of learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Mexico. The study specifically focuses on students who enrolled in a program called "A Wager with the Future." The aim of the study is to identify and understand contributing factors in these students' struggles with the process of learning English by focusing on factors that influence their investment in EFL. The research is framed by (critical) applied linguistics and post-colonial theories that favour the integration of an understanding of these students' socio historical context in their learning of English, and question (unequal) power relationships between languages and cultures in Mexico. The methodology was designed to ensure trustworthiness by adopting multiple data collection techniques, and to decolonize the research process by using participatory methods that featured researcher/participant co-analysis of the data. On a macro level, findings show that students enrolled in the program experience a relationship with English that is rooted in Mexico's colonial legacies (as expressed through discrimination in the EFL classroom), which has an impact on their subjectivities; specifically, they feel afraid and inferior in the EFL classroom. On a micro level, the programming adopted in the university's Language Department does not draw on diverse students' multi-competences in other languages. Nonetheless, some Indigenous students manage to invest in EFL by creating imagined communities, and appropriating English through the creation of autonomous pluralistic language learning strategies. [More] Descriptors: Learning Strategies, Mexicans, English (Second Language), Power Structure
(2018). My Classroom: Mexico, English Teaching Forum. During a recent English class at the Universidad Tecnológica El Retoño (UTR) in Aguascalientes, the teacher, Celeste Fernðndez, asked a student a question. When the student paused for a few seconds, other students shouted out answers. Ms. Fernðndez reminded those students, "Give her time to think, please!" This short moment shows the heart of Ms. Fernðndez's teaching philosophy. She wants students to try their hardest and participate, even if they are unsure. She encourages them to think for themselves. She wants every student to have a chance to participate, and she wants each one to feel a part of the classroom and feel excited about the lesson. This brief article discusses the circuitous path Ms. Fernðndez took to becoming an English teacher in Aguascalientes and how her passion and encouraging attitude at school impacts her students. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Classroom Techniques, Student Participation, English (Second Language)
(2013). Determining the Essential Components of State and Institution Dual Credit Program Policy in New Mexico: A Delphi Study with High School and College Experts, ProQuest LLC. The purpose of this Delphi study was to determine the essential components of dual credit in New Mexico. Dual credit experts from colleges and high schools in New Mexico were asked to participate in a three-round Delphi study to determine what the future policy of dual credit should be, and why it should be that way. Definitions of dual credit may vary significantly from one state or program to another. For the purpose of this study, "dual credit program" will be defined as "a program that allows high school students to enroll in college-level courses offered by a postsecondary institution that may be academic or career technical but not remedial or developmental, and simultaneously to earn credit toward high school graduation and a postsecondary degree or certificate" (SB 943, 2007, p. 1; Title 5, Chapter 55, Part 4, New Mexico Administrative Code, 2008, p. 1; Title 6, Chapter 30, Part 7, New Mexico Administrative Code, 2010, p. 1). Dual credit courses may be offered on a college campus, online, or at a high school location. The first round instrument was developed by the researcher based upon an extensive literature review regarding Dual Credit and specific items relating to the structure of dual credit in New Mexico. Subsequent instruments were developed based upon responses from the expert panel in the previous round. Consensus and non-consensus items were used to develop recommendations for dual credit policy and can be used by stakeholders to guide institution dual Credit procedures. Recommendations from this study may be used by other states to analyze dual credit policies. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.%5D [More] Descriptors: Dual Enrollment, Delphi Technique, College Bound Students, High School Students