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TRACKING LATINO ATTITUDES & BEHAVIOR
Math Pathways Steps Up to the Challenge
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ETR’s Science Department has conducted many
longitudinal studies, on topics ranging from health
behaviors to computer science interests. We’ve usually
surveyed students in class or online, and often our biggest
challenge is just getting a consent form signed and returned by
the parents. Once we have consent, we work with the students,
gather and analyze data, and write up the results.
The Math Pathways project is different because it involves
gathering detailed information from mothers and students,
as well as teachers. We needed to meet individually with both
the mother and the student outside of class. This created some
challenges that helped us learn a lot more about the lives of
these students and their families.
We located the project in a rural town on California’s central
coast. The population is predominantly Latino, and most adults
work within the agriculture-based economy.
This is a population that’s not economically stable. They often
live in temporary housing, and all kinds of things about their
lives change frequently. We find phones have been shut off, or
we call some of the numbers at all different times of the day
and they just ring and ring.
The demands of the farmworker industry have a huge
influence on parents’ availability. In many cases, from sunrise
until nine or ten at night, the mothers simply aren’t in control
of their own time. They don’t know when they’ll be available
and have a hard time committing to a particular appointment.
I had a meeting scheduled with a mother the other day and
she was unable to make it because her boss asked her to work
late. I imagine she couldn’t say no—she needed the extra
money, and she needed to look good as a worker. For many
of these folks, the harvest is the only time they will be securely
employed all year.
I went to survey one of the mothers last night at the migrant
camp. As I was leaving, I told her I’d be following up in October
or November for the next survey. She said they might leave
the camp as early as the beginning of November—she doesn’t
know when the harvest will end, and the family has to leave
the camp once that happens. There will be no way to reach her
after that if she doesn’t return in the spring.
I’ve seen how much the parents care about their children’s
education. I’ve also seen the incredible frustration they
experience in trying to give their kids support. Often, parents
can’t help their children with homework. They may not have
the necessary literacy or learning skills. They may not be home
during the hours the kids are awake. The parents may have
learned math by a different system in Mexico and find their
child’s exercises confusing.
I believe Math Pathways will yield data that can better inform
teachers and administrators about how much these parents
care about their children’s education. Even if they can’t come
to classrooms or parent-teacher meetings, even if they’re not
responding to teacher communications, they do care.
The parents we’ve surveyed want their children to have a better
life. They’re concerned about the cycle their family is caught
in. They don’t have the knowledge or resources to support
their children. Their kids are likely to grow up underserved by
the educational system. They’ll miss opportunities just as their
parents did.
I hope the work we do in Math Pathways will be one step in the
effort to break that cycle and open up opportunities for these
children and their families.
Eloy Ortiz, MURP
Research Associate
The Math Pathways project, funded by the National Science Foundation and carried out in collaboration with Florida Atlantic
University, aims to track attitudes and behaviors concerning education generally, and math education specifically, in Latino
families as their children move from fifth through seventh grade.
The goal of the study is to gather information that can be used to increase
mathematics achievement among Latino students. Among all students, the
transition between elementary and middle school is a vulnerable time for math
education; for many students, attitudes become less positive and performance
declines. The Math Pathways team hopes to build better understanding of how
parents can reverse this trend.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
Math Pathways, contact:
Jill Denner, PhD
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Quarterly Review
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SUMMER 201
