Framing Hostilities: Analysis of Mission Statements From Segregated Chicana/o Schools

This study examined discourses used in mission statements from segregated Chicana/o and White schools. The words and phrases used in segregated Chicana/o school mission statements produce negatively oriented frames that make transparent low expectations and negative attitudes compared to those used in segregated White schools. These frames become part of a hegemonic milieu that produces hostilities in the schooling of Chicanas/os. I argue that schools can contribute to the creation of counter-hegemonic spaces by critically reflecting upon the discourses used in mission statements and selecting words and phrases that construct optimistic frames of Chicana/o students.