Language and Reading Problems of Spanish Speaking Children in the Southwest

Abstract

In recent years a revival of interest has focused on an acute human problem and educational challenge long present in the American Southwest. According to Ximenes (1968) approximately 7 million Hispanic Americans, mostly of Mexican descent, live in a five-state area of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Roughly, one-sixth of the school-aged population in this area is Spanish-speaking (Manuel, 1965) and their drop-out rate is more than twice the national average (Ximenes, 1968). Estimates of the average number of school years completed by Spanish-speaking pupils in the Southwest (7.1 years) are significantly below figures of Anglo children (12.1 years) and Negro pupils (9.0 years). A recent report by Melcer (1967) of the percentage of Mexican-Americans completing one or more years of college (1.4%) as compared with the rate of the total population (21%) is more than suggestive of the educational problem of these people. While this review is concerned with the language and reading problems of Spanish-speaking children in the Southwest, it