ABSTRACT
The history of Latino/a communities in the United States has been a long, complex, and diverse one in which the nature, level, and type of membership of Latinos in the larger society has been one of the contested aspects of the relationship between these communities and the dominant institutions of power and control. An extensive literature now exists that documents the various historical forms of discrimination andmarginalization confronted by Latinos, as well as the continuous efforts to overcome these.1 And one of themost important factors in understanding the particular pattern of development of Latino/a communities in the United States since the end of World War II is the role education has played in determining both the internal characteristics
of these communities as well as their relationships and access to institutions of power. It is a mixed record of expanding opportunities for a relatively small number of Latinos on the one hand and a dismal record of substandard schools and unresponsiveness to community needs on the other.2 Whereas the gains of the Civil Rights movement stimulated the growth of a Latino/a middle and professional class by providing for the first time greater access to universities, graduate and professional schools, at the same time themajority continue to struggle with realities of falteringeducational structures, restrictedoccupational opportunities, low incomes, substandard health care, and poor housing conditions. Despite this uneven record and the many ways that the educational system has failed Latino/a families, achieving equal access to quality educational systems continues to be one of the consistent and key elements in the strategies of empowerment embraced by Latino/a communities and has been seen as a primary means for transforming political and economic conditions and achieving both individual advancement and community development.
