Variability in Minority School Performance: A Problem in Search of an Explanation

Abstract

This article traces historically the different research approaches in educational anthropology. In doing so, the author presents a theoretical approach to minority school performance based on the important differences that arise from a minority community's experiences in the postschool opportunity structure and how minority community members' perceptions of dismal future opportunities influence their perceptions of and response to schooling. MINORITY EDUCATION, SCHOOL PERFORMANCE, MICROETHNOGRAPHY