Ethnic Identities and Patterns of School Success and Failure among Mexican-Descent and Japanese-American Students in a California High School: An Ethnographic Analysis

Abstract

This paper addresses the interrelatedness of three variables: ethnicity and ethnic identity, minority status and perceptions of adult opportunities, and how this interrelation affects school performance. The research draws on fieldwork in an agricultural/suburban community along the central California coast. The analysis employs a cultural/ecological framework for explaining variability in patterns of school performance among Japanese-American and Mexican-descent students.