Latinos in the Global Context: Beneficiaries or Irrelevants?

Abstract

It is well established that the impact of globalization is immediate and widespread. Yet the public institution most affected by this force of change is slow in responding to the need for change in content and its conceptualization of the learner and citizen. This article examines at ground level the impact that this inertia has on one of the youngest and fastest growing groups in the United States: U.S. Latinos. Although gifted with many of the skills and dispositions highly valued in the global economy, U.S. Latinos face three major educational roadblocks that impede their access to the global village: a low-quality education, resegregation across the educational system, and limited access to higher education.