Educating Hispanic Students: Effective Instructional Practices. Practitioner Brief #5

Effective instructional practices are crucial to addressing the educational crisis facing many Hispanic students in the United States. The number of Hispanic students attending public schools has increased dramatically in recent decades, yet Hispanic students as a group have the lowest levels of education and the highest dropout rate of any student group. Conditions of poverty and health, as well as other social problems, have made it difficult for some Hispanics living in the U.S. to improve their educational status. Cultural and historical practices have also placed numbers of Hispanic children at risk for educational failure. Research-based instructional practices are thus vital to improving the academic success of Hispanic students. Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) researchers have synthesized the research on strategies that have been significant in advancing the achievement of these students. This brief presents these identified teaching practices, which can be applied in any classroom and are beneficial for all students. [This brief draws from CREDE Educational Practice Report 8, Educating Hispanic Students: Obstacles and Avenues to Improved Academic Achievement, by Yolanda N. Padron, Hersh C. Waxman, and Hector H. Rivera.]