Chapter 4: A Conversation With Latino/Latina Families and its Implications for Teacher Beliefs about Cultural and Linguistic Diversity

We both came to the Midwest from the Caribbean as doctoral students in literacy and language education. Considering the demographic patterns of this region, in some aspects, we exemplify the type of community members who have recently moved to the area. While Latino/Latina populations have had a long history in states such as Arizona, Illinois, and Florida (Passel, Cohn, & Hugo Lopez, 2011), Indiana has seen a robust growth since the 1990s, which has ignited statewide debates (Baldos, Lee, Simon, & Waldorf, 2009). Interestingly, and quite significant to our research, the largest group are immigrants from Mexico, in their 20s–40s, who have spent less than 10 years in the country (Baldos et al., 2009). This information hints at the needs and services these families may require, such as employment (Millard & Chapa, 2004) and education (Littlepage, 2006).