This project supports the ethnographic research by a team of 3 anthropologists and 5 student research assistants in Dade County, Florida on minority school performance and orientation. The study will assess the social capital of students' families and communities in five disadvantaged groups: Native-born African-American, immigrant Haitians, Cubans, Nicaraguans and Mexicans living in 3 neighborhoods of Dade County. Using in-depth ethnographic methods of intensive interviews, focus and `rap` groups, and participant observation in schools, homes and communities, the project will explore the interrelations between family structure, social class, gender, and migration history. Students representing `positive` and `adversarial` orientations towards education from each ethnic group will be chosen for long-term study. This research is important because education is the fundamental source of human capital which makes for productive citizenship. Understanding the sources of variation within broad ethnic categories -- why some disadvantaged young people take full advantage of their educational opportunities while others seemingly from the same backgrounds and circumstances spurn them -- is the most promising strategy to advance our understanding of workable designs for intervention and improvement.
