"Mexican Americans Don't Value Education!" On the Basis of the Myth, Mythmaking, and Debunking

Abstract

Notwithstanding evidence to the contrary, a major myth lingers that Mexican Americans, particularly parents of low-socioeconomic status background, do not value education. As a consequence, the myth asserts, Mexican American children experience poor academic achievement. We examine this myth in 3 ways. First, we suggest that the basis for the myth lies in the pseudoscientific notion of "deficit thinking," a mind-set molded by the fusion of ideology and science that blames the victim, rather than holding oppressive and inequitable schooling arrangements culpable. Second, we explore the course of the mythmaking itself. In doing so, we examine several sources (e.g., early master's theses; published scholarly literature, particularly from the "cultural deprivation" and "at risk" child categories). Third, we provide discourse on how the myth can be debunked. This is done by providing strong evidence that Mexican Americans do indeed value education. Our evidentiary forms are (a) the Mexican American people's long-standing struggle for equal educational opportunity, (b) the scholarly literature documenting parental involvement, and (c) a case study of transgenerational parental involvement.