Teaching and learning in rural Mexico: a portrait of student responsibility in everyday school life

Abstract

In this study, we examined on the sociocultural environment and personal experiences of children from a rural Mexican escuela unitaria (one-room, one-teacher school), because many of our immigrant children come to the US from rural Mexican communities. We present a portrait of everyday school life in which students assume responsibility: (a) for oneself, (b) to classmates, (c) for making decisions related to curriculum, and (d) to family and community. The findings have implications for challenging teacher beliefs about culturally diverse students and for supporting educational professionals in developing more culturally responsive teaching.