"Martin Luther King Stopped Discrimination": Multi-Generational Latino Elementary Students' Perceptions of Social Issues

This study explored how multi-generational, middle-class, fifth-graders from Latino families responded to classroom discussions of social issues--particularly discrimination--and draws upon sociocultural views of culture, educational theory, and sociological perspectives of immigration to provide insight into the learning experiences of one group of children of the Mexican diaspora. Findings include students: 1) perceived discrimination as historical; 2) maintained a distance from personal experiences; 3) understood social conflict through popular culture; and 4) promulgated American values of equity, fairness, and justice. Children's perceptions reveal complexities in negotiating their ways of knowing gleaned from varied in-school and out-of-school experiences. (Contains 2 figures.)