…The Struggle Continues: An Analysis of Chicago City Politics, Education Policy, and the Experiences of Young Mexican and Mexican-American Men from Social Justice High School

Science Center A155

This study begins by locating the development of Social Justice High School (SOJO) in Chicago and examining the educational experiences of young Mexican and Mexican American men. Through scholarship by education policy and reform scholars that talk about issues of neoliberal practices and school policies in the Chicago Public School (CPS) network, an analysis of the implementation efforts of policies that focus on standardized testing and discipline are examined. This research analyzes the student experience and development of these young men using the conceptual framework of socialization and social control. The top-down implementation of standardized testing and discipline fails to enhance the overall learning of the participants. Their experiences are unique, but reinforce similar results that other education scholars have found about the educational experiences of young men of color. Thus, this study contributes to the existing scholarship on urban public high schools and their influence on young men of color, specifically through the lens of achievement, resistance, and policy.