A Legacy of Racial Capital: How the U.S. Education System Produces a School-to-Farm Pipeline

Abstract

The U.S. public education system focuses on providing student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness and to ensure equal access for all students. Despite this emphasis on equal education, Mexican migrant youth continue to have low graduation rates. The legal status of farmworkers makes them vulnerable to hard labor and poor working conditions resulting in frequent mobility (within the U.S.) for their survival. Along with frequent mobility, the criminalization and negative stereotypes of Mexicans and Mexican Americans influence the way in which migrant children are perceived by their educators and peers in educational institutions causing them to drop out and therefore be more likely continue the migrant lifestyle. This paper will explore the pattern of historical practices that reproduce generations of cheap and docile labor for the purpose of capital accumulation in which the education system functions as a school-to-farm pipeline, including the Pacific Northwest. Possible micro and macro solutions that can serve to provide equitable education and resources for migrant families will be discussed.