Latino education researched

When Latino children enter a school for the first time, the school may not be ready to deal with some of the cultural barriers the children encounter. \nEducation professor Gerardo Lopez's new research project is trying to do something about it.\n"Part of what we're trying to do with this research is look at how the two worlds -- the world of school and the world of home -- can understand each other," Lopez said. "What I'm trying to do is build bridges of understanding." \nThe two-year research study plans to outline the way Latino children fit into the context of a traditional education system. The study is being funded by an internal School of Education grant, the Maris M. Proffitt and Mary Higgins Proffitt Endowment Grant. \nThe study is being conducted in counties that have had the largest growth in Latino population in the last several years, including Marion, Lake, Elkhart, Dubois and Allen counties. Lopez said the study may expand to other counties as well. \n"We're looking at how families are coming here and establishing themselves, how they're perceiving and understanding the whole migration process," Lopez said. "The language issue is key, but there are a variety of different issues that they bring in their knapsacks, so to speak. There are cultural differences, there are linguistic differences, there are economic differences, and there might be legal issues. We want to demystify Latino culture."\nGraduate student Nelson Soto will be assisting Lopez in the study. Soto said he believes this project is coming at a crucial time in Indiana because of the growing Latino population. \n"As we know based on the census number, Latinos became the largest minority group," Soto said. "We've seen a demographic shift in Indiana, and our school system was not one to handle a migrant population."\nBoth Lopez and Soto said that while Latino parents may not be involved in their children's educations in a traditional way, they are involved nonetheless. \n"When we say that Latino parents aren't involved, what do we mean?" Lopez said. "They may be highly involved, but not in ways that we as a school system would like for them to be involved. What I try to do is make teachers and administrators aware that parent involvement can mean a lot of things."\nJorge Chapa, head of Latino Studies at IU, said he believes Lopez's studies will have long-term benefits for the state. \n"It's unique at this point in history, because there are a large number of immigrant children in large numbers all over the country. Latinos have become a national population," Chapa said. "What's significant about Professor Lopez's studies is that Latino children don't do well in U.S. schools. Because of language, parental background, cultural differences, parental education levels and, to some degree, racism and discrimination, it's a crucial issue." \nHopefully, Lopez said, the study will determine what patterns are recurrent when schools are faced with problems, and how those problems can be fixed. \n"This is important because of the demographic shift," he said. "Hispanics are coming in large numbers, and it's a population that's here to stay."\n-- Contact staff writer Kehla West at krwest@indiana.edu.