Del Otro Lado: Constructions of Literacy in Rural Mexico and the Effects of Transnational Migration

FAIN: FT-59164-11

Susan Virginia Meyers
Oregon State University (Corvallis, OR 97331-8655)

My project is a comparative analysis of the literacy values of Mexican-origin students and their families in Mexico and the U.S. In the context of rising numbers of Latino students in U.S. classrooms, it specifically asks how dynamics of a globally-networked economy might affect values and corresponding practices related to the Mexican school system. Further, if such changes have occurred, how are they being experienced by the teachers and students working in these schools, and how might these experiences impact students who migrate to the U.S.? Building on findings from a year of field research in rural Mexico, I propose to use funds from an NEH Summer Stipend to conduct a follow-up study in Marshalltown, Iowa, the receiving community for the site in which I worked in Mexico. Resulting data will serve as the necessary material that I need in order to complete the final chapter of my book manuscript.