Medina, Christina A.; Posadas, Carlos E. (2012). Hispanic Student Experiences at a Hispanic-Serving Institution: Strong Voices, Key Message, Journal of Latinos and Education. A symposium at New Mexico State University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution, revealed Hispanic students' attitudes about their experiences at the university. Discussions concerned the campus climate, mentors, the experiences of first-time students, cultural challenges, retention, and accountability. Discussion of the resulting data yields policy recommendations to help address the issues raised. [More] Descriptors: Hispanic American Students, Student Experience, Student Attitudes, Organizational Climate

Trujillo, Michael L. (2008). Onate's Foot: Remembering and Dismembering in Northern New Mexico, Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies. This essay analyzes the historical construction of "Spanish" icons in northern New Mexico and the complex Hispanic and Chicano identities they both evoke and mask. It focuses on the January 1998 vandalism of a statue depicting New Mexico's first Spanish colonial governor, Don Juan de Onate. The removal of the Onate statue's foot references a brutal colonial encounter in 1599, when Onate ordered the amputation of one foot each from Pueblo men in the rebellious Native American village of Acoma. In this case study, national and regional narratives as well as self-consciously oppositional narratives collude, conflict, and supplement one another. I conclude that the vandalized statue offers a dynamic and "open" icon that powerfully represents the contradictions of New Mexican Chicana/o identity, shedding light on the complex and contradictory identities of all Mexican-origin peoples in the United States. [More] Descriptors: Mexican Americans, American Indians, Mexicans, United States History

Amezcua, Luis G. (2013). An Exploration of the Relationships between Language, Culture, Safety, and Training in the Construction Workforce in New Mexico, ProQuest LLC. The purpose of safety training is to avoid or at least decrease the number of work-related accidents and deaths. This study was concerned with the role that native language plays in effective training of adult construction workers in New Mexico. Specifically, this study examined workers' and trainers' perceptions of the effectiveness of safety training as these perceptions relate to language and cultural considerations. Bilingual safety training is often ineffective because the trainers are limited in their use of the second language. In some cases, individuals without a true grasp of the second language become trainers due to the large demand for bilingual trainers in what may be lucrative job opportunities. In other cases, trainers may be competent in both languages on a social level, but are not able to convey accurately technical information. Four instruments were used: Questionnaire for Workers, Questionnaire for Trainers, "Cuestionario para Trabajadores," and "Cuestionario para Entrenadores." Each questionnaire had two sections. The first section asked a series of demographic and contextual questions; the second section asked the two groups, workers and trainers, for levels of agreement with safety training statements. A comments section at the end of the survey encouraged participants to offer suggestions for improvements and/or include any general remarks. This exploratory study of the relationships between language, culture, safety, and training in the construction workforce in New Mexico provides a solid basis for further research and also may be utilized as a tool to raise awareness of trainers and companies of the importance of health and safety training. Most importantly, qualified trainers who understand the principles of andragogy are needed. The ANSI Standard Z490.1 includes all aspects of adult education and provides guidance as to how to implement effective training. The conclusions of the study have clear policy implications, which are discussed in detail in this study. [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/disserta… [More] Descriptors: Safety, Training, Construction Industry, Skilled Workers

Anhalt, Cynthia Oropesa; Rodríguez Pérez, María Elena (2013). K-8 Teachers' Concerns about Teaching Latino/a Students, Journal of Urban Mathematics Education. In this article, the authors examine elementary and middle school mathematics teachers' concerns about teaching Latino/a student populations across three regions in the United States: southern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and central California. Surveys were administered to 68 teachers who participated in professional development activities on language and culture diversity. Survey questions consisted of items from three domains: (a) concerns about social issues central to teaching Latino/a students, such as discrimination, multiculturalism, and stereo-types; (b) concerns about the task of teaching Latino/a students focusing on methods, strategies, materials, and new ideas for teaching; and (c) concerns about Latino/a students' learning, which dealt with factors that impact student performance in school, such as home environment, family culture, and expectations. In general, the authors found that the surveyed teachers were highly concerned with issues about teaching Latino/a students and their learning and were less concerned about social issues in teaching Latino/a students. [More] Descriptors: Elementary School Mathematics, Middle Schools, Secondary School Mathematics, Mathematics Teachers

Freeman, Janet (2010). It's Time to Talk: Tribal Colleges Tackle Culture of Silence about Suicide, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Compared to the general population, American Indians are experiencing an alarmingly increased rate of suicide, which some estimate at 50% higher than other ethnic groups. On the campuses of some tribal colleges, things look equally bleak, with 15% of students reporting that they seriously considered suicide over the past 12 months. While the reasons for this tragedy are myriad and complex–and much remains to be done–some tribal colleges in New Mexico, Montana, Nebraska, and North Dakota, are facing the crisis head-on, instituting prevention programs designed to reach students before they even set foot on campus. Culture-specific programs are pivotal for the success of suicide prevention at tribal colleges; research indicates that students who are more culturally and spiritually connected exhibit fewer suicidal tendencies. By engaging the community at large and incorporating cultural traditions, a tribal college can go a long way toward ensuring its students will seek help when they need it. [More] Descriptors: Prevention, American Indians, Suicide, Tribally Controlled Education

Kachina, Olga A. (2011). Teaching a Geographical Component in World History Curriculum, Contemporary Issues in Education Research. This article is devoted to the topic of teaching a geographical component in World History curriculum in American public high schools. Despite the fact that the federal legislation entitled "No Child Left Behind" (2001) declared geography as a "core" academic subject, geography was the only subject dropped from federal funding. As a result, geography as a separate subject in the majority of public schools around the country ceased to exist. California, New Mexico, and Rhode Island have adopted state standards of combined course of World History and Geography. However, a small geography segment included within the World History course has not been sufficient to provide students with a satisfactory level of geographical literacy. American students show their lack of geographical knowledge in one study after another even though the 21st century is an era of globalization and increasing international relationship. The geopolitical approach to teaching the World History course promoted in this paper can improve the situation significantly in a relatively short period of time. This geopolitical approach stresses the connection between history and geography. It involves an analysis of a county's economy, culture, domestic and foreign policies as directly connected to its geography. This approach improves students' analytical thinking and conceptual understanding. [More] Descriptors: World History, History Instruction, Geography, High Schools

Goodkind, Jessica R.; Gonzales, Melissa; Malcoe, Lorraine H.; Espinosa, Judith (2008). The Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale: Understanding the Multiple Social Stressors of U.S.- and Mexico-Born Hispanic Women, Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. Measurement of social stressors among Hispanic women is a growing and important area of study, particularly in terms of understanding explanatory mechanisms for health disparities. This study involved adaptation of the Hispanic Stress Inventory and the Latin American Stress Inventory to create a measure of social stressors specifically for both immigrant and nonimmigrant Hispanic women. The measurement development process included review of existing scales, focus groups with Hispanic women (U.S.- and Mexico-born) in New Mexico, and creation, pilot testing, and factor analysis of a 41-item scale. Results indicate that the Hispanic Women's Social Stressor Scale is a reliable and valid measure of the social stressors experienced by U.S.-born and Mexico-born Hispanic women in the Southwest. Factor analyses revealed six reliable and conceptually distinct sub-scales of social stressors: immigration, socioeconomic, racism-related, familial, parental, and employment. Convergent and criterion validity were supported. [More] Descriptors: Stress Management, Females, Focus Groups, Predictive Validity

Johnson, Natasha Kaye (2009). Cross Country, Rodeo, Archery: Navajo Athletic Programs Give Students Running Start, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. While tribal college athletic programs were not designed to market the colleges, there is no denying they have generated positive attention and have perhaps even helped to highlight the colleges' purpose. Dine College and Navajo Technical College are among a handful of tribal colleges who have made athletic programs a priority. They have since witnessed the positive impact on their students' overall success and in the process, have been able to tout the colleges' achievements to the general public. Mainstream 4-year colleges clearly have advantages over the chronically under-funded tribal colleges in athletics, such as state-of-the-art facilities and financial backing, but tribal colleges are making strides in building strong athletic programs. The cost of facilities and travel prevents a number of tribal colleges from participating in intercollegiate sports. Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) was established in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1971 and has an enrollment of 900 students annually. While it has had athletic programs in the past, it has not been able to establish a permanent intercollegiate athletic program. As SIPI and other tribal colleges try to build athletic programs, the strong tribal college athletic programs may help pave the way for them. This article highlights the successes of the nationally recognized Navajo Technical College and Dine College cross country, rodeo, and archery teams. [More] Descriptors: Navajo (Nation), College Athletics, Technical Institutes, Tribally Controlled Education

Vigil, Antonio (2006). Aztlanscape, Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies. "Aztlanscape" is a painting that explores the notions of history, migration, and cultural exchange. It depicts various places with significant relationships to one another, reconfigured into a new landscape. The specific locales used in this painting are Albuquerque, New Mexico; Oakland, California; and Mexico DF, Mexico. These cities have a personal significance because the author has lived in all three. Much of the author's work takes place between two societies and cultures, Mexican and American. Between these spaces, notions are challenged, negotiated, and combined. Identities both personal and cultural begin to evolve. Through these images, the author explores ideas of history, memory, and migration on both personal and cultural levels. He uses landscapes with shared political, economic, and cultural histories to illustrate both the cohesion and disjuncture created by migration and cultural exchange. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Migration, Cultural Influences, Painting (Visual Arts)

Deschenie, Tina (2008). Sports Drove Silva to Teach Wellness, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. This article profiles teacher Leroy Silva (Laguna), 27, a.k.a. "Buster". Silva describes himself as an active guy who stays busy working out, playing basketball, softball, and more recently golf, soccer, and lacrosse. He teaches personal wellness and sports (not physical education), a job he began in 2006. Before that he was a trainer at the Laguna Pueblo Wellness Center, his first job after graduating from Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. He earned two degrees at Haskell: an Associate Degree in Health, Physical Education, and Athletics in 2003 and a Bachelor's Degree in American Indian Studies in 2005. Although he didn't plan to become a teacher, Silva says he has always known he wanted to make a difference with youth. When he began exploring the Native American Community Academy (NACA) position he spent two weeks deliberating before finally taking the leap at the urging of his mother, Joan Silva. Since he didn't major in education, Silva is working on alternative licensure by developing a portfolio that addresses New Mexico state teaching competencies. Kara L. Bobroff (Lakota/Navajo), the founding principal of NACA, says Silva is a strong role model for the students. He emulates the core values, mission, and vision of the school: college success, knowing his own culture and language, practicing personal wellness, and being committed to community and service. [More] Descriptors: Role Models, American Indians, American Indian Education, Wellness

Watts, Linda K. (2001). Applying a Cultural Models Approach to American Indian Substance Dependency Research, American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research. American Indian "cultural models" of substance dependency and recovery were developed based on discourse analysis during ethnographic studies at an Indian rehabilitation clinic and with New Mexico Pueblo youth. Incorporating such social constructions of everyday life into the design and implementation of prevention and intervention programs may support local cultural revitalization while increasing program relevance and effectiveness. (Contains 30 references.) Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Community Attitudes, Cultural Influences

Lubin, Shami (1972). New Mexico Campaigns Against Hunger and Malnutrition, Opportunity. Describes the nutritional needs of individuals in New Mexico, and the efforts of the Nutrition Improvement Program (NIP) of the University of New Mexico School of Medicine at Albuquerque to remove hunger and malnutrition. Descriptors: Cultural Influences, Health Programs, Hunger, Nutrition

Garcia, Flaviano Chris (1974). Manitos and Chicanos in Nuevo Mexico Politics, Aztlan. The article briefly reviews New Mexico's political history, surveys the present socio-political status of its Spanish speaking population, and examines the effects of the Chicano Movimiento on Manitos in New Mexico. Descriptors: Comparative Analysis, Cultural Influences, History, Political Divisions (Geographic)

Peshkin, Alan (2000). The Nature of Interpretation in Qualitative Research, Educational Researcher. Addresses the process of interpretation from a study of the academic achievements of Native American high school students in New Mexico, illuminating the relationship of researcher subjectivity to the many decision points that each process of interpretation embodies. The article also contains a counterpoint of problematics that reveals where alternative interpretive decisions could have been made. Descriptors: Academic Achievement, American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, American Indians

Aguirre-Bielschowsky, Ikerne; Freeman, Claire; Vass, Eva (2012). Influences on Children's Environmental Cognition: A Comparative Analysis of New Zealand and Mexico, Environmental Education Research. This paper investigates Mexican and New Zealand children's conception of the environment and their understandings of environmental issues, focusing on how personal experiences, culture and school-based environmental education (EE) programmes influence their perspectives. Sixty Year 5 children (age 9-11) from three schools in Dunedin (New Zealand) and three schools from Ensenada (Mexico), their teachers and school principals were interviewed. The study found that children from both cities had limited opportunities for contact with nature. Most children understood the environment as nature, and did not typically link environmental problems to human activities or social causes. Rarely were children critical of the effect of socio-economic structure on the environment. The analysis shows that children's understandings of the environment are connected to their personal experiences and mediated by culture. Children from Ensenada had a more global perspective on environmental issues but a more passive attitude towards their local environment, participating in fewer environmental activities than children from Dunedin. In both countries, children from schools with an EE programme did translate environmental practices learnt at school into environmental practices at home. Based on our results, EE could be improved by considering the cultural context, enhancing children's contact with nature, encouraging critical thinking and more environmental activities. [More] Descriptors: Environmental Education, Global Approach, Foreign Countries, Comparative Analysis