University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Expectation, education, enactment: A case study of women in Tlacotalpan, Mexico

(USC Thesis Other)

Expectation, education, enactment: A case study of women in Tlacotalpan, Mexico

PDF

Download

Open document

Flip pages

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content EXPECTATION, EDUCATION, ENACTMENT: A CASE STUDY
OF WOMEN IN TLACOTALPAN, MEXICO
by
Elena Marie Garate
A Dis sertation Presented : td the . -
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Education)
December 1983
UMI Number: DP24894
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
DissPrtat on Pubi sNng
UMI DP24894
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L
U N IV E R S IT Y P A R K
L O S A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
1 FVD„
G> 2/2,
T'A/j dissertation, written by
Elena Marie Garate
under the direction of h.^F... Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by The Graduate
School, in partial fulfillm ent of requirements of
the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
Date November 22, 1983
'ATIQN COMMITTE
Chairman
DEDICATION
This dissertation is dedicated to the women in
Mexico who seek to maintain traditional values, while
living in a modern society. May formal education serve as
a positive instrument in fulfilling their expectations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
i i i
Many people were instrumental in assisting me in
completing this study. First, I thank the members of the
families in Tlacotalpan who so graciously opened their
personal lives to me. I also thank the people of Tlacotal
pan for their cooperation and hospitality.
I thank Professors Jeffrey Nugent and William
Partridge for their introduction to Tlacotalpan and field
experience in the Papaloapan River Basin.
I would like to thank Professor Tap Steven for
his initial encouragement to enter the Ph.D. program in
International Education.
I am grateful, to Professors Bridr& and O'Neill for
their support. I thank Professor Moore for his guidance
and Professor Rideout for his extraordinary patience and
encouragement.
I appreciate the friendship and support of my
colleague Dr. Ruth Essein, and the encouragement from
Dr. Florence Kleminger.
I thank the members of my staff in the Office for
International Students and Scholars for their understanding.
I also thank my parents, my three stepdaughters,
and my husband, Professor David Eskey, for their unwavering
support.
i v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DEDICATION............ ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................ iii
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND OF
THE S T U D Y.......... 1
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Importance of the Study
Research Questions
Assumptions
Limitations
Delimitations
Methodology
Organization of the Remainder
of the Study
II. THE COMMUNITY OF TLACOTALPAN, MEXICO , . 8
III. REVIEW OF LITERATURE . 18
Modernization
Society and Women's Changing
Role Within It
Education and Changing Traditions
and Values
IV. METHODOLOGY .................... 43
The Design
Subjects
Methods and Procedures
Participant Observation
Interviews
Histories/Biographies
Map-Making
Organization of the Data
V
Chapter Page
V. FINDINGS.......................... 49
Description of Family A
Description of Family B
Responses to the Research Questions
VI. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS............ 72
Summary
Conclusions
Recommendations
Recommendations for Further Study
BIBLIOGRAPHY.......... 79
APPENDIXES........................... 94
A. Map of Region................... 95
B. Educational Structure of Mexico .... 97
C. Female Respondents ...................... 99
D. Centro de Estudios Cientificos y
Tecnologicos (CECyT #174) Enrollment
Figures 1977-1980 ..... ........... 101
E. Map of Tlacotalpan . . . . . . . . . . . 107
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION ANE^ BACKGROUND
OF THE STUDY
Just because everything is different doesn't
mean anything has changed. (Irene Peter,
p. 99)
Statement of the Problem
Education for women in Mexico has been a right,
at least on paper, since 1860 when Benito Juarez declared
.a policy of universal education and education for women
(Elmendorf, 1977). However, Mexican women today remain
less literate with fewer options than their male counter
parts. In 1970, Williamson reported that, despite great
strides, the status of women in Mexico is possibly lower
than anywhere outside the Arab world.
Traditional attitudes toward the role of women
stemming from Mexico's beginnings are evident in the laws,
educational curriculum, and career opportunities in
present day Mexico. The women in the town of Tlacotalpan,
in the State of Veracruz, are representative of many women
in Mexico whose expectations for their futures, to some
extent, conflict with traditional attitudes toward the
role of women.
2
Historically, women in Mexico have been second-
class citizens, the property and servants of men.
Patriarchial patterns of Spain were brought by Spanish
conquerors who took Aztec women as servants and mistresses
Williamson (1970) claimed the Moorish influence until
1492 on Spanish culture greatly affected the family role
structure. The Catholic Church supported the male-
dominated society of the New World, encouraging women to
be humble, virtuous, and obedient to men.
From these beginnings grew the "machismo”
syndrome, a cultural and psychological phenomenon still
present in Mexico today. Machismo reinforces male domina
tion by granting men the freedom to satisfy sexual needs
beyond the bonds of marriage. Machismo's counterpart
"marianismo" defines the role of women. While the macho
male is sexually-oriented, the female must be pure, a
representation of the Virgin Mary (Williamson, 1970). The
machismo-marianismo construct, which constrains women to
be demure and dependent, conflicts with opportunities for
role development outside traditional patterns.
With the modernization of traditional societies
such as Mexico, there has been a rise in expectations on
the part of the populace (Lerner, 1958). Mexico, a
country rich with natural resources and cultural heritage,
finds itself at a crossroad. Despite many government
programs and educational opportunities for both men and
3
women, traditions have continued to influence the
perpetuation of the original role expectations and enact
ments of men and women.
Tlacotalpan was chosen for this study because
modernization has not been imposed on the inhabitants.
Modernization is defined as "social change generally
derived from Western models and leading to nontraditional
patterns of economic and social behavior" (Essein, 1981,
p. 18). That is, no major industry has appeared in the
town to provide jobs and the trappings of modernization
found in the urban sector. That is not to say that the
traits of modern living are not present, however. In
fact, the citizens of the town enjoy the comforts of
refrigerators, electrical lighting, and television. Their
contact with the urban sector is evident in the standard
of living found in the most modest homes. Clearly the
citizens of the town are aware of the modern world and
want a place in it.
Purpose of the Study
The study describes the attitudes and expectations
of the women in two families in Tlacotalpan, Mexico, in
relation to their roles as women, and the extent to which
formal education affects the development of those attitudes
and the realization of their expectations.
4
The study identifies those factors which lead to
expectations and describes the strategies employed in
meeting those expectations. The study of the women in the
two families also provides a view of the community and the
changes over time in attitudes toward women's roles. The
study presents an example of the consequences of moderniza
tion in a community setting.
importance of the Study
This study of the women in two families in
Tlacotalpan is important because it seeks to explain the
motivation for the behavior of women within the environment
of their home and community. The case study research
approach employed in this study provides a deeper and more
comprehensive view of the subjects than could have been
obtained from such research procedures as short term
interviews or statistical surveys.
Despite the fact that Tlacotalpan has no major
modern industry it is representative of the semi-rural
towns and cities along the Popaloapan River and therefore
of the kinds of communities in which most of the people of
Mexico live. The people of these towns are not the much
studied illiterate poor who leave the rural sector to live
on the fringes of the modern urban city. Rather, they are
literate middle-class people who live in a semi-rural
environment with material goods and attitudes which allow
5
them to maintain their traditions while persuing the
rewards of modern life.
Research Questions
The study asks the following questions:
1. What attitudes do women in Tlacotalpan hold
toward roles for women?
2. What roles are acceptable for women and why?
3. What expectations do women have for their futures
within one year, five years, ten years?
4. What do women expect from formal education?
5. What changes in role enactments are predicted
for women?
6. What role expectations do mothers have for their
daughters and to what extent have these expecta
tions changed over time?
7. To what extent have role expectations been enacted
by women within one family in Tlacotalpan?
8. How have women1s role expectations changed over
generations within one family in Tlacotalpan?
9. What coping strategies do women employ in order to
deal with unrealized expectations?
6
Assumptions
The study makes the following assumptions:
1. The subjects were representative of a wider
population within the community itself and the
specific region of Mexico.
2. The subjects were honest in their response to
questions asked and normal in their observed
behavior.
Limitations
The study recognizes the following limitations:
1. The subjects knew the purpose of the study prior
to interview and observation.
2. The time period for data collection was restricted
by the resources of the researcher.
Delimitations
The following delimitations were placed on the
study:
1. The subjects were selected by the researcher.
2. The subjects were residents of Tlacotalpan at the
time of the study.
3. Data collection reflects information gathered
between 1978 and 1980.
7
Methodology
The methodology employed in the study includes data
collection by means of case study techniques, direct
observation strategies for determining family structure
j
and internal relationship patterns/ indirect observation
strategies (open-ended and free interviews, biographies
and local personal histories, letters, essays, documents)
and map making.
Organization of the Remainder
of the Study
Chapter II is a description of the community in
which the study took,place. Both the specific community
of Tlacotalpan and the larger cultural, socioeconomic
community of Mexico are described and discussed.
Chapter II is a discussion of the literature which
pertains to the study. Although the focus is on specific
questions and subjects, a broad knowledge of the many
variables which affect the lives of the subject is
essential for a full understanding of the study.
Chapter IV outlines the methodology for the study.
The rationale for the case-study approach within a
community framework, as well as a description of data
collection and methodology, is presented.
Chapter V presents the findings of the study and
Chapter VI includes conclusions and recommendations for
further study. We end with the Bibliography and Appendix.
CHAPTER II
THE-COMMUNITY OF TLACOTALPAN,
MEXICO
Tlacotalpan, a community settled by Spaniards in
1699, became an official "village" in 1862 and a "city"
in 1865. It is situated on the Popaloapan River where the
climate is tropical. Low swampy lands flood annually
during the rainy season. Historian Don Francisco del Paso
y Troncoso reports from Spanish archives some history
of Tlacotalpan, translated as follows:
In the town of Tlacotlapa on the 18th day
of February in 1580, Juan de Medina, mayor
of said town and Justice of the Valley of
Tustla and Costa by his (majesty) authority
gave a description of the town by the mandate
of Senor Don Martin Enrriques vice-king
(viceroy) of new Span. . . .The town of
Tlacotalpan is 70 leagues from Mexico City;
is in the Obispado of Tlaxcala and 50 leagues
from Cuidad de los Angeles where the cathedral
is located? has five sections under its
control, Atlicintla also known as Alvarado
. . . Tlacentla, Aguatevpa, Tlapazola,
Chuniapa, all of which are surrounded by water.
(Pasquel, 1961, p. 4)
This tropical environment encourages the growth of
bananas and other fruits. Horses were imported by
Spaniards, and great ranches were established by prominent
families whose descendants remain in the region. Appendix
A is a map of the area.
9
Tlacotalpan is the first city one reaches when
traveling up the Popaloapan River from the port of
Alvarado. Alvarado is known as the stepchild of Veracruz,
for the Mexican government developed Veracruz as the major
port on the Gulf of Mexico. Alvarado is the city one
passes through on the way to somewhere else. Nightclubs
and restaurants, which serve fresh seafood, attract
youths from the cities in the river basin. Serious
shoppers, however, go on to Veracruz for a better
selection of goods and urban restaurants and nightlife.
Tlacotalpan enjoys a friendly rivalry with not
only Alvarado but Cosamoloapan, an industrialized town
10 miles north. Once the sugar capital of the world, or
so residents boast, Cosamoloapan is filled with transients
and workers who man the three shifts at the sugar
refinery. Tlacotalpanos say industry has made Cosamo
loapan a tough, uncivilized town. Others, aware of the
drawbacks of urbanization, covet the modern houses and
goods now available in the city. Any major surgery needed
in Tlacotalpan is done at the new modern clinic in
Cosamoloapan.
A strong influence of Caribbean culture in
language and music is kept alive. Music and dance styles
came directly from Spain via the Caribbean. The town
itself, with its brightly-colored buildings, reflects an
Italian influence as well. Some people compare the
10
riverfront of days past to Venice, Italy, as the river
traffic was the only means to join this virtual island
city with the mainland. In 1961 Andres Iglesias wrote
that in 1856, Tlacotalpan, despite its problems with
health, especially for the poor,
is one of the prettiest populations of the
north coast and also the most important,
because of its advantageous location
(topographically) which makes it the key
to all the inland towns which are in
frequent contact with Veracruz, and inter
act with the commerce of Tlacotalpan.
(p. 12)
Today the population reflects the inbreeding of
Mexican Indians with descendants of Spain. However,
unlike other towns in the river basin, Tlacotalpan has a
more distinct identity that suggests purer strains of
European blood. Andres Iglesias (1961) quoted don Emilio
Perez Arcos' description of the Tlacotalpano in 1856.
"The Tlacotalpano has pure patriotism, is happy, communi
cative, religious, loyal, frank, bright, intrepid, and
hospitable" (p. 13).
The principal traditional festival occurs the
first two weeks of February. At that time homage is paid
to the patron saints of the town. San Cristobal signifies
his power to cross the waters with the baby Jesus on his
shoulders. The Virgin de la Candelaria is revered because
it is believed she lit candles on the ships' prows in
order to light the route safely home to Tlacotalpan. The
11
patron saints reflect the preoccupation with the waters
that surround this virtual island. The days of prosperity
that resulted from the waters and the commerce produced
from them are reflected in the art, folklore, and culture
of Tlacotalpan (Pasquel, 1961).
The festival begins with a parade of young people
dressed in typical Jarocha costumes and riding on horse
back through the town. The second day there is a run of
the bulls through the town, with would-be matadors, fueled
by liquor, dressed in red, taunting and eventually
subduing the bulls. At the end of the day, people
congregate in local restaurants and bars' to exchange
tales of running with the bulls.
The third day at three in the afternoon people
assemble at the church "La Capilla de Nuestra Senora de
Candelaria" where the bishop from the region and the local
priests officiate. The ceremony consists of men lifting
the life-size statue of the Virgin, which stands on a
hand-carved pedestal, and carrying her through the park
to the riverfront. A large boat from Alvarado decorated
with palm branches awaits the procession. People walk
with the procession in the hope that they will be able to
board the boat already filled with earlier arrivals.
Other boats follow the larger one up the river to the
boundary of the town. Upon its return, the procession
returns to the church where blessings are given by the
12
bishop, candles are lit, and people wait in line to touch
and kiss the robe of the Virgin.
The estimated population is 10,000 today. This
figure varies during the school year when as many as 1,000
pupils from outlying areas reside in the town. Population
figures for 1976 show a total of 7,913 with 3,683 men and
4,230 women. The women, who now outnumber men, have
always held traditional roles in Tlacotalpan. Iglesias
(1961) again quoted Perez Arcos in describing the women
from Tlacotalpan.
The Tlacotalpan women are pretty in general,
sociable, lively, sensible, honest, and the
married ones are noted for the pure love they
show their husbands and for the diligent
eagerness with which they dedicate themselves
to the domestic work and fulfill the saintly
and noble mission as mothers of the family.
(p. 13)
Today women who are heads of households earn an
income from front door stores in their homes or from
recently received payment for bed and board from students
who come to attend local schools. Approved "work" outside
of housework includes sewing, tailoring, buying wholesale
garments in Veracruz and selling them at home to friends,
making handmade goods for babies and for the festival.
Food is sold in homes, door to door by children, and on
portable carts in several locations in the town. The most
modern restaurant is run by a young married woman. The
best hotel is run by a married woman who inherited it from
13
her parents. Women sell the use of their telephone to
neighbors who do not own phones. The town has six
pharmacies which are all run by women. One is a single
matron, three are widows, and two are married.
Permission of the male head of the family controls
the economic means for women who are married.
Although the town has a relatively high standard
of living, the major illness that plagues most every
resident is gastro-intestinitis and colitis. Bottled
water is available, but not always used. Sanitation
measures include plumbing in 70 percent of the homes.
However, trash is dumped in the river by many who live
near the waterfront. This practice has led to pollution
of the river and infection of marine life.
The most significant economic activity is cattle
ranching. The surrounding lands are subject to flooding,
which makes ranching difficult, but not unproductive.
Cattle are moved often from low to higher ground in the
process of breeding and fattening.
Milk is another large source of income for
ranchers. It is delivered fresh daily from the ranches
as far as two hours away. The local Cattlemenrs Associa
tion, with 440 members, clearly controls the economic
policy of the town. The majority of ranchers are from old
money, tradition-oriented families.
14
Town government is led by a mayor, a trustee, a
councilman, an official of the registrar/recorder, a
treasurer, and a secretary. They are responsible for the
collection of annual taxes of $1,600,000 pesos (approxi
mately $727,272 U.S., at the time of the study). Of that
$10,000 pesos ($454 U.S.) is used for public works. The
balance is given to the schools.
Schools are either state or federally supported.
State-supported schools receive one-half of their support
from the state government and the other half from municipal,
taxes. Some municipal funds are in the form of fees paid
by the students themselves. The educational system in
Mexico is centralized. All monies taken in from taxes and
fees are sent to Mexico City and then redistributed by the
Central Office of Education. Schools which charge fees
collect them prior to the beginning of each term.
Appendix B contains the structure of the Mexican Educa
tional System.
Tlacotalpan has three state schools at the
elementary (ages 6-12) level and one federal school. The
town prides itself in having two kindergartens (ages 4-6),
one Preparatoria (ages 15-19) which is a two-year pre
professional school, and two schools which offer special
instruction in art, music, and dance.
There are some major problems in the schools in
Tlacotalpan. On the elementary level, the federal school,
15
Cuidad de Tlacotalpan, is extremely overcrowded. High
attendance is attributed to the influx of children of
workers in outlying areas near the town. The condition
has become severe enough to lead to the formation of
double sessions. Major drawbacks to this arrangement
include reduced teaching time and the unavailability of
teachers for conferences and guidance of students outside
of class.
Critics of the educational training at the
elementary level come to the same conclusions. They cite
poor teacher-training, double sessions, a general lowering
of standards, inadequate texts, and the changing nature of
students as the major reasons for the students* poor
performance at higher levels.
Perhaps the most successful of all educational
institutions in the region is the preparatoria. The
Centro de Estudios Cientificos y Technoldgicos (CECyT
#174) provides instruction in three major areas: electro
mechanical technology, laboratory science technology, and
accounting for both male and female students between the
ages of 15 and 17. Older students attend the school as
well. Twenty percent of the graduates continue studies
at technical universities in urban areas such as Veracruz,
Jalapa, Puebla, Mexico City, and Tuxtepec. Appendix 3 3
contains enrollment figures for the period of September
1977 to January 1980. The majority of females were
16
enrolled in the accounting and laboratory sciences. The
director of curriculum informed the researcher that
electromechanical technology was thought to be inappro
priate for female students, whereas laboratory science was
more suitable for the "delicate hands" of females.
Although technical education/training at this
middle level is vital for Mexico’s development, there are
still too few jobs for the number of trained students who
graduate at higher levels. The rising expectations Lerner
(1958) spoke of apply here, for those expectations often
lead to rising frustrations. Employment quite often means
resettlement in already overcrowded larger urban areas.
Sometimes employment means "underemployment" with the
scarcity of available jobs (Irizarry, 1980).
With the threat of flooding, as in the great flood
of 1969 when people lost almost everything in waters that
stood five feet high for over a month, ranchers and other
prominent townspeople are hesitant to encourage new
industry in the town. This lack of industry has greatly
affected the life style of the town. Midday one can see
gentlemen playing dominoes and drinking beer in the town
square. Young men are absent except when school is in
session or when weekends are filled with parties and
dances. Jobs are in towns and cities as far away as
Veracruz. This necessitates commuting several hours per
17
day, or staying away from friends and family for up to a
week at a time.
Despite the migration or "hiving-off" Redfield
(1956, p. 26) spoke of, the people of Tlacotalpan remain
a cohesive group. People return to the town not only for
the yearly festival, but on weekends and for special
family occasions. With the completion of the bridge in
1977 which links Tlacotalpan with Alvarado and other major
cities by paved road, changes have taken place, but not
much growth has occurred. Some people are content to
visit urban areas to buy what they cannot find in
Tlacotalpan, but then return to the predictibility and
security of their homes. Others, mainly youths, visit
urban areas only to return to Tlacotalpan with a clearer
view of the limitations of their town.
18
CHAPTER III
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Modernization
The Advent of
Modernization
The gentleman sits in his antique rocking chair,
sipping coffee while conversing with his friend. Over the
past 30 years the two men have sat in this parlor, dis
cussing current issues, relating old tales, exchanging
opinions as old friends do. They sit among antiques; a
piano with pearl keys, a sofa with silk embroidery, tables
inlaid with marble. All were brought from Spain by
grandfather at the turn of the century and remained housed
in elegant surroundings on Italian tile floors. A huge
roar from the local bus passing in front of the window
deafens every ear, causing the gentlemen to pause. The
bus route that links this town with the other world now
passes by other mansions which originally lined the "main
street" at the time of settlement. One gentleman comments,
"Ah, progreso." As the bus passes, they continue their
conversation.
Modernization is a phenomenon that opens the world
to many and diatnrbs_the world of others, sometimes________
19
affecting the same person in both ways. Lerner (1958)
described four stages for modernization: (1) urbanization,
(2) literacy, (3) media participation, and (4) political
participation. All the stages require not simply a
physical deluge of new material goods which are guaranteed
to provide an "easier" way of life, but a new attitude, a
new conceptualization of a way of life that must be
present in order for modernization to be fully realized.
As Lerner rightly pointed out, urban living does not
guarantee literacy, especially where overpopulation from
rural flight has occurred. In less densely populated
areas, education cannot be effective unless an urban
"attitude"is present.
That "attitude," when adopted by members of a
society, serves as an indicator of the extent of modern
ization possible within that society. Such, an attitude
creates expectations which lead to a desire for upward
mobility. However, these expectations are often
unfulfilled, hs Breese (1966) stated, especially for rural
people who migrate to the urban sector seeking employment
and a better standard of living.
Development for Third World countries involves
more than migration from the rural to urban sectors.
Schumacher (1973) stated
Development does not start with goods;
it starts with people and their education,
20
organisation, and discipline. Without
these three, all resources remain latent,
untapped potential. (p. 168)
Moreover, there is a price to be paid for the rewards
and benefits of modernization... Conflicts may arise when
people realize they must exchange a former custom or
behavior in order to reap the benefits of living a more
"modern life.n
The benefits of developing a modern attitude,
i.e., seeking a life style of convenience similar to that
of the larger urban sector demands trade-offs which often
lead to difficult choices. When a society seeks a better
way of life, new goods are often its first focus.
The urban sector has goods not found in the v
rural sector. People may be willing to travel long
distances to obtain those goods. The local familiar
shopkeeper will lose his clientele and they, in turn, may
lose the personal services he provided. The people may
tire of their isolation from the modern conveniences
available in the urban sector and may be willing to forego
their traditional environment to acquire them.
Change is the result of modernization as much as
modernization is the result of change. John Johnson (1964)
wrote of changes in Latin America, "A philosophy of
constant change has supplanted one of stability" (p. 3).
21
Education and Development
In 1961 at Addis Ababa, the Conference of African
states on the Development of Education in Africa, a call
was made for universal primary education in Africa by
1980. This charge to developing nations was encouraged by
UNESCO which in Learning to Be (1972) set the standard for
seeking democratic education. Coombs (1968) summarized
the aims of this education as
1. universal primary education;
2. universal literacy;
3. equal educational opportunities for
women;
4. increased secondary and university
participation; and
5. broader adult education. (p. 100)
Lerner (1958) claimed literacy to be the key that unlocks
the door to the development of individual independence,
empathy for one's fellow man, and greater access to
communication and change. Bowman and Anderson (1963) and
Harbison and Myers (1971), supported Lerner*s claim in a
study that related literacy levels to levels of develop
ment, although La Belle (1975) reminded the reader that
these and similar studies presented correlations rather
than causations.
Carnoy (1974) stated,
Thus, the concept of individual material
and moral improvement combined with social
mobility— ali purportedly due to schooling—
is generalized into national economic growth
and improvement into nations— through
expenditures on schooling— increasing their
22
income per capita, "civilizing” themselves,
and raising their status among nations in
a competitive, industrializing world. (p. 2)
Theoretically, universal primary education and
universal literacy were believed to be two of the most
important goals for a nation on its way to full develop
ment. As Coombs (1968) stated, however, all noble aims
for the greater good of a nation can be undermined by
students, parents, teachers, and administrators with
varying philosophies and differing sociopolitical loyalties.
Development planners have sought the correct
formula for using education to produce social equality and
national development. The school was assumed to be the
training ground for whatever services the nation needed
be they increased literacy, manpower demands, or economic
and social development. The demand for education persists
according to Edwards and Todaro (1974) because the
students' perception of earning power is contingent upon
the level of education achieved and the educational costs
students and parents are willing to pay. The demand for
education is inflated because of employer preference for
educated workers and the income differential between the
urban and rural sectors.
The theory that education leads to a better
quality of life socially and economically has been
challenged by Carnoy (1974). He stated,
23
The educational system was no more just
or equal than the economy [capitalism]
and society itself--specifically, we
argue, because schooling was organized
to develop and maintain, in the imperial
countries, an inherently inequitable and
unjust organization of production and
political power. (p. 3)
This perception of education is shared by Illich (1972)
who argued from an economic standpoint that rising costs
of education can only lead to an elitist educational
system, i.e., the "development of an educational caste
system" (La Belle & Verhine, 1975, p. 7).
Three types of educational systems are defined by
Coombs and Ahmed (1974, in La Belle, 1975): Informal
education is "the lifelong process by which every person
acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes, and
insights from daily experiences and exposure to the
environment" (p. 8). Nonformal education is, "any
organized, systematic, educational activity carried on
outside the framework of the formal system to provide
selected types of learning to particular subgroups in the
population, adults as well as children" (p. 8). And formal
education is "institutionalized, chronologically graded
and hierarchically structured educational systems, span
ning lower primary school and the upper reaches of the
university" (quoted from La Belle & Verhine, 1975, p. 9).
In Latin America, education has a reputation as
"la clave del futuro prospero" (the key to the prosperous
24
future). Despite this great faith in education's promise
of upward mobility, many have found Latin American
educational systems nothing more than a microcosm of the
greater society, stratified by class and perpetuating
themselves. Myers (1965) presented the case of Mexico, a
regionally developed nation which has invested in the
development of human resources in the leading economic
sectors. The result can be viewed as a classic example of
push-pull. "Internal migration, government policy, the
early economic advantages of the leading regions, and the
early concentrations of education" have all contributed
to a "self-perpetuating situation" (p. 138).
With the best education available only in selected
regions, education on the local level in both rural and
urban settings does not receive the best-trained teachers,
materials, financial backing, or quality students.
Delgado (1975) cited the high dropout rate in the first
years of primary schools in Latin American countries as
the major cause of a relapse into illiteracy, especially
in the rural areas.
La Belle and Verhine (1975) found that education
in the rural sector of Latin America consisted of
curricula "unrelated to his [the student's] needs and
experiences" because "the schools are generally controlled
by the urban elite" (p. 35). La Belle and Verhine argued
that "a primary function of schools is to socialize people
25
into the dominant status culture" (p. 60). Urquidi*s
(1967) study found the existing educational system in
Mexico an insufficient and inadequate force in relation
to the actual and probable tendencies of the Mexican
economy. He suggested the development of education in
technical sciences, especially at the secondary level in
order "to prepare the new generations for an industrial
and modern life in general" (p. 74).
At the level of informal education, Inkeles (1969)
surveyed men from six countries, Argentina, Chile, India,
Israel, Nigeria, and East Pakistan, to measure their
"attitudes and values touching on the basic aspects of a
man's orientation to nature, time, fate, politics, women
and God" (p. 212). He contended that education was
important but "occupational experience in large scale
organizations and especially in factory work, makes a
significant contribution in 'schooling* men in modern
attitudes and in teaching them to act like modern men"
(p. 208). A study by Barbieri (1972) has found that
females in Latin America are trained for jobs where there
is low demand and high supply, while males train in
vocational and technical courses.
Buvinic (1976) believed education was "probably
one of the most direct and effective ways available
of reaching, motivating, and changing people-— both
women and men" (p. 20). However, she pointed out,
26
it could be "one of the greatest liabilities to the
improvement of the condition of women" (p. 20) if it only
served to perpetuate traditional, sex-related beliefs
through traditional programs.
Modernization and Culture
Several authors have written about the impact
modernization has made on culture. Miller (1973)
documented the sudden transformation of a village into
a town. That occurs when industry appears in a rural
setting. Cultural changes take place when both the
environment and attitudes of the people become modern.
Schnailberg (1970) claims that by living in an urban
area, people have more exposure to a modern style of
living which may lead to a change from traditional to
modern values. Higher education for females leads to more
modern living in two respects: (1) women have greater
access to media which "extends the effective environment
for the woman beyond her immediate community, and/or its
traditional responses to situations," (p. 82) and (2)
indirectly "it enables a woman to marry someone who is
more likely to be a participant in the modern occupational
nexus, who will have more education, and who will likely
thereby also free the woman to explore more facets of the
total environment than is true of the rural, frequently
patriarchial family structures" (p. 82).
27
Yogev (1980) believed national* youth organiza
tions were important agencies of non-formal education in
the Third World, for they may contribute to social change.
Participation may affect later status attainment by
influencing the youths' status aspirations. Women are
greatly affected by changes in their lives due to modern
ization. Spindler (1977) included a section on adaptation
to modernization in her collection of case studies. She
cited the adaptation to the consequences of modernization
by the Menominee Indian women in Wisconsin as an example
of how a society, which is flexible and egalitarian in
traditional situations, provides a cultural basis for
women and men to work as they please in non-proscriptive
roles in a modern setting.
When they moved to an urban setting, German women
who had played integral roles in their small rural
societies became isolated when they gave up the small
seemingly insignificant role they played tending the vine-
culture. Although the males found sufficient work in
industry, women had less to do in their new environment,
their "noncommunity of other uprooted people" (p. 110).
Despite many disappointments, women, according to Spindler,
are
more oriented than men toward the new life
style of the modern world. The gadgets and
apparent affluence of the urban world are
especially appealing. In many cases change
28
will mean a loss of prestige and status
for the women, but they are willing to
take their chances. (p. 105)
Positive and Negative Effects
of Modernization on Women
Rosen and La Raia (1972) applied a modernity scale
to identify the level of modernization reached by the
subjects surveyed in Brazil. The study found that
industry changes the thinking of women, i.e., women in
industrializing areas participate more in family decisions,
have a higher opinion of females, encourage more inde
pendence in their children, and are more activistically-
oriented toward their environment than their counterparts
in villages or non-industrialized communities. The study
found that attitudes and behavior related to modernity
were positively related to a woman's level of education
and work experience, and negatively related to her pre
ferred and actual family size.
Huston's study (1979) analyzed the effects of
modernization on women from both rural and urban areas in
six developing countries. Through personal interviews,
Huston found that some changes from traditional to modern
living were accepted as beneficial— education, health,
social participation, and political and legal rights.
Negative reactions to change centered on deteriorating
husband-wife relations, less attention to and respect for
the elderly, less communication with the extended family,
29
and some economic changes that affected the cash economy,
higher prices, food shortages, and loss of property owner
ship. Education beyond basic literacy was seen as a
direct means of increasing their economic productivity.
Mexican women claimed interference by the local priest
was the main obstacle to successful family planning.
Husbands were also opposed to any use of contraceptives,
fearing sterilization and/or female sexual permissiveness.
The majority of women perceived that they could make
positive changes economically if given the proper educa
tion. They realized that education is no guarantee of
upward mobility and greater income, especially if they
remain in "traditional" female jobs.
Huston dismissed the myth that the rural or
illiterate woman does not know what is happening around
her and cannot speak for herself.
Boserup (1970) provided a comprehensive view of
the effects of modernization on the status of women.
While modernization may elevate the job status for men, it
actually hinders women's participation in the work force.
Boserup contended "modernization widens the gap in the
levels of knowledge and training between men and women and
augments men's prestige at the expense of women's" (p. 57),
Mead (1976) stated that the "professionalization
of agriculture" (p. 10) resulted in prestige for male work
and devaluation of female work. Women are replaced by
30
machines and thereby changed from producers to consumers.
Modern marketing planners rarely consult women for con
sumption and market allocations. Mead believed the
exclusion of women from modern development plans resulted
in "segregated occupational training" (p. 11) based on a
model from the United States.
Tinker (1976) cited developing nations’ elites'
preoccupation with Western models of women's subordinate
roles as a major factor in preventing women from contribu
ting to national development. The Western stereotype of
the male head of household is not a viable model for
countries such as Kenya where in 1969 one-third of the
rural households were headed by women, or Latin America
where female heads of households reach 50 percent. Tinker
proposed "an adaptation of development goals to each
society— an adaptation that will ensure benefits for
women as well as men" (p. 34).
Youssef (1976) listed five adverse effects of
modernization upon women: (1) when traditional jobs held
by women are challenged by new methods and technologies,
women lose much of their economic independence. (2)
Modernization may "maximize the differentiation of sex
roles," enhancing the "status of men and lowering the
status of women" (p. 72). (3) Migrant women are often
exploited, reduced to prostitution and urban slum life.
(4) Modernization can "increase the inequities of the
31
system and widen the gap between men and women of the lower
and middle classes" (p. 72). (5) Protective legislation
for workers may raise the cost of employing female labor
and may lead to "sex discrimination in employment" (p. 72).
Bowman and Anderson (1980) stated that moderniza
tion could be present in an urban setting, yet many people
remained insulated from its effects. Men and women can
experience different mixtures of exposure to the modern
and the traditional.
Society and Women's Changing
Role Within It
Role Development
Women have been trying hard these days to get
out from under the images that have been im
posed on them. The difficulty is there is
just enough truth in the images that to
repudiate them often involves repudiating
also part of what you really are. Maybe men
are in the same boat, but I don't think so.
I think they rather like their images, find
them serviceable. (French, 1977, pp. 287-288)
An egalitarian society is a wonderful idealized
world where there are "as many positions of prestige in
any given age-sex group as there are persons capable of
filling them" (Fried, 1967, p. 177). Why there are few if
any eglitarian societies or whether there will be, is a
topic of interest to development planners. Historically,
however, we find that most societies have clearly defined
an unequal role for men and women, with males in control
of leadership and females in support of males.
32
The roles assigned to men and women take on a
specific status within the society in both the public and
private sectors. Publicly the status of women is rarely
higher than that of men.
Four theories on women's positions in national
development are discussed by Elliott (1977). (1) Cultural
dualism explains the position of woman universally as
second to man primarily because of woman's inability to
develop her relationship with nature. Woman is not free
to "transcend the limitations of perishable nature through
culture" (p. 2) due to the task of reproducing and sus
taining life. (2) Social Evolutionary Theory measures
inequality between the sexes in terms of the extent to
which the economy of a society is efficient in its degree
of specialization. Women have consistently been found on
the lower end of the "productivity gap" (p. 3) and thus
they suffer inequality. (3) Developmentalism as a means
of achieving modernization has so far not incorporated
women as viable participants in the developmental process.
Even though developmental!sm was set as a goal at the 1975
United Nations Conference in Mexico City, developmental!sm
practices still do not recognize nonmarket work done by
women nor provide access to public roles and employment,
while they focus solely on increasing the value of the
Gross National Product (GNP), which "undervalues the full
production of a society and ignores the question of
33
distribution" (p. 5). {4) Dependency Theory portrays the
plight of the woman on the bottom of the industrial scale
as even more unequal in countries which are dependent upon
larger, industrialized western nations. As industrial
ization increases in the Third World, the status of
women*s work decreases. Domestic workers are placed in
the "informal labor market" (p. 7) and not counted in the
GNP.
Chinas (1973) refers to a social system as an
iceberg, with the visible part representing formalized
roles and the submerged part representing the nonformalizec
roles in any society as;, those which are not "clearly
perceived or rigidly defined by members of the society"
(p. 94). Because most formalized roles, those given
status and recognition by the members of the society, are
held by men, Chinas suggested some roles which are not
formalized may be carried out by women, and contribute to
the greater good of the society. Universally, women hold
the major responsibility for the rearing of children, the
preparation of food, and the domestic work within the
home.
Giele and Smock (1977) listed six major types of
human activity in every society that provide life options
for both men and women. The extent to which these
activities are accessible by either sex is determined by
cultural traditions and structural features of the greater
34
society. Giele and Smock believed that the life options
for males and females in simple societies are almost equal,
but during the transitional stages of modernization, these
options are most inaccessible to women. Once the move to
a more complex society is made, the status of women seems
to improve. Women's status is described universally in
terms of "proper" roles, "suitable" education, and
"appropriate" work (p. 14). The environments which
determine these conditions for women are the family and
community in which the woman is raised and must function.
Sanday (1974) defines female status within two
frameworks:
1. The degree to which females have authority
and/or power in the domestic and/or public
domain;
2. The degree to which females are accorded
differential treatment and are respected and
revered in the domestic and/or public domain.
(p. 191)
Chodorow (1974) believed a woman repeat®, her own
mother-child history. In her study Chodorow explored the
relationship between mother and daughter in terms of the
development of the feminine personality.
Lewis (1959) contended that the mother figure is
an "internalized symbol which not only affects a man's
relationship with his mother but also carries over to his
wife" (p. 18).
In Latin America a girl learns her future role
from the training she receives at home. Elmendorf (1977)
35
stated that women were destined to live a life of child
bearing and childraising with the male absent from home
frequently.
Motherhood is a rite of passage to adulthood, for
it establishes woman's place within the acceptable frame
work of the family and the greater society. Rainwater
(1976) found that women believed they must not show too
much interest in sex; they must enjoy it enough to keep
their husbands from straying, but not so much as to
threaten them sexually.
The female respondents in Huston's (1979) study
identified the most significant basic values in their
lives as family, dignity, and service to others. The
women surveyed wanted contemporary roles, but "roles that
draw their strength from the collaborative traditions of
the past" (p. 115). Their role in the community is
largely one shaped by the family and sanctioned by the
society as a whole. The power of the community in
determining female behavior is illustrated in the study
by Cohen (1981) of estate housing in England. The study
revealed the demand for females to assume the roles of
housewife, wife, and mother forsaking all other roles due
to a frequently absent male head of household. Women
bolstered the absent father's image to their children,
while gaining support from the shared norms of other women
within the commune-like housing arrangement.
36
In Latin America, daughters and sons are trained
differently according to Williamson (1970) , with an
emphasis on paying deference to fathers and males. The
father's role is to protect the chastity of his daughters
and insure the acquisition of machismo by his sons. The
mother's main object in life is to rear her children.
Women are revered as reflections of the Virgin Mary, and
acknowledged as the managers of the households. William
son quoted Reichel-Dolmatoff's (1961) description of
males' birthrights which include "sexual promiscuity,
laziness, and aggressiveness. Men have the authority to
do what they please" (p. 193).
Harris (1977) contended that women can do most of
what men do, as well as bear children. He believed that
male supremacy is a by-product of warfare with a male
monopoly over weapons and a use of sex for the "nurturance
of aggressive male personalities" (p. 81).
Nash (1980) critiqued social science roles in
Latin America under the headings of "Modernization,"
"Dependency," and "Development Solutions and Feminine
Stereotypes." She reminded researchers that women are
consistently neglected in samples because men are
considered the primary measurement of change (p. 5).
Women are the primary target for consumer marketing plans,
thus becoming recognized for their part in modernization
by the goods and products they buy.
Nash contended dependency theorists rarely linked :
the relationship of the results of the shift from artisan
and household production to industrialized urban centers ;
to the "chain of dependency forged in the international
market" (p. 7) . Feminine stereotypes which are pepetu-
ated by developmental strategists"’ prevent women from
breaking out from their "primary" responsibilities of home
and family before they can develop their- own careers or
activities, Nash likens this practice to the cow being
let out to pasture after being milked.
Although women1s roles and their accompanying
status may appear constrictive, women's roles are pepetu-
ated through their daughters and granddaughters. Women
adopt coping strategies in order to wield power within
their acknowledged domain, the church, the home, and the
j
family structure.
Corwin (1963) reasoned that religious values "have
a pronounced and sustaining influence, for they seem to
offer psychic compensation for the socially devalued
female" (p. 47). Corwin stated further that the church
plays a decisive role in "defining the civic and social
role of women in the culturally strategic upper classes"
(p. 46).
Elmendorf (1977) believed that a woman's power in .
Latin America is maintained behind the scenes. Women 1
control their fertility rates to please and keep their men.
38
Eckholm and Newland (1977) reported that although
abortion is illegal in Latin America, the rate is equal
to that of the United States. Simmons and Culagovski
(1975) found knowledge of contraceptive techniques wide
spread in Latin America, but an avid reluctance to
practice family planning due to cultural and religious
taboos which prevented discussion of sexual matters with
young women. Newland (1977) and Giele and Smock (1977)
reported the correlation between lower birthrates and
more education. Giele and Smock attributed this correla
tion to a decline of patriarchial attitudes, an increase
in women's independence from society's acceptance of
traditional female behavior, and the availability of
government programs that provide social security and
other forms of family assistance.
Huston (1979) reported that women wanted more
practical instructions in health, nutrition, and family
planning. Women are locked into a system which measures
their worth according to standards set by men, condoned
by religious belief, and supported by society. Mexico
has a birthrate of 3.5 percent. The population doubled
in the 25 years between 1950-1975 (Elmendorf, 1977). In
Latin America self-induced abortion is still the leading
cause of death among women.
Rosaldo and Lamphere (1974) called for a change
in two directions; (1) men must be integrated into the
39
domestic sphere of childrearing and domestic work, and
(2) women must have an opportunity to work as equals in
economic production. Rosen and La Raia (]972) saw
modernity for society as
the extent to which a woman (1) has a sense
of her own worth as a member of a sex which
is perceived as competent and deserving of
serious attention; thus (2) enabling her to
take part in a more egalitarian nuclear family
structure, relatively free of extended ties,
which emphasizes communication between spouses
and places importance in husband-wife participa
tion, in decision-making, and where (3) children
are not overprotected, but socialized to be
independent and to have high aspirations in a
(4) world perceived as being controllable
through activistic behavior. (p. 354)
Education and Changing Traditions
and Values
Western education is thought by many to lead to
more egalitarian societies. Thus, universal primary
education has been a major goal of developing nations.
McGrath (1976) believed that education was the one insti-
tuion that could counteract the "tenacious foundations of
sexual inequality" (p. 42) that are instilled in the minds
of children through traditions that are handed down
generation to generation.
The school serves quite another purpose, however.
Through school experience people become socialized.
Schwartz (1975) stated that people "can neither develop as
social beings nor effectively participate in society
without social learning" (p. 51).
40
Expectations from educational experience on the
part of teachers, students, and parents do not always
concur. For example, Emendorf (1977) reports that some
Latin American men believe that education defeminizes
women.
Teachers in the study by Masemann (1974) ranked
male and female characteristics and predicted female
employment. Females were praised for "neat appearance"
while males were designated "likely to succeed at higher
education." The most likely careers for female students
were nurse, office worker, housewife, hairdresser,
seamstress, primary school teachers, and midwife. The
female secondary school students, however, chose nurse-
midwife, clerical, doctor, professional, semiprofessional,
lawyer and teacher as expected careers.
Bowman and Anderson (1980) found that "rising
aspirations for schooling normally difuse down the status
scale and along the networks of ecological structure"
(p. 526) . Their study revealed that the socioeconomic
status of the parents had more educational influence on
girls than boys. Goldblatt (1972) claimed the more
educated the parent, the greater the aspiration for the
childfs education as a value in itself.
Le Vine (1980) hypothesized that the more educated
the woman, the greater tendency she would have to prepare
her children for "participation in a new economic order
41
found in the urban sectors of Third World societies"
(p. 78). He stated further that women’s schooling could
lead to greater cognitive growth for children through
mothers who see "means-end relationships," greater self-
development from participation in school, and greater
identification with educated adult role models who can
provide a form of discourse to imitate when a mother
herself.
Despite the consensus that schooling for women
does bring about positive change for society, McGrath
(1976) reported that school enrollment for females was
below 50 percent and that girls* expectations were limited
by role stereotypes mentioned earlier: "Girls become
prisoners of their own experience and others * expecta
tions" (p. 20).
Kneller (1965) claimed that school reinforces and
transmits accepted values of a society through the
curriculum and its teachers. Curriculae have tradition
ally been specialized for males and females. Giele and
Smock (1977) stated that at the secondary level boys are
trained for saleable skills in agriculture and industry,
while girls are trained in home economics and domestic
service. She believed that the "way a country defines its
curriculum for girls is closely related to the adult roles
thought appropriate for women" (p. 24).
42
Kalia (1980) reported on textbooks in India which
reinforced sex-based division of labor, sanctioned the
dominance of males, and "condone the use of physical and
verbal abuse against women who fail to comply with archaic
sex-role expectations" (p. 223).
Little*s study (1973) of women in urban Africa
found that education was used to obtain an influential
and wealthy husband.
43
CHAPTER IV
METHODOLOGY
The Design
-The study is based on data from field notes,
biographies, histories, formal and informal interviews
collected during the periods between June-August 1979,
February 1980, and between November 1980 to February 1981.
The respondents were residents of Tlacotalpan at the time
of the study.
Subjects
The women in two families in Tlacotalpan consti
tute the first source of information. Each family
consists of five generations of females.
The women who make up the network of friends and
extended family members of the women in the two families
constitute the second source of information.
Residents of the town of Tlacotalpan, both male
and female, make up the third source of information.
The subjects can be considered representative of
the community as a whole, for they come from various
socioeconomic levels, educational backgrounds, and
environmental conditions.
44
Methods and Procedures
The study is set within the framework of the
community of Tlacotalpan. Lutz and Ramsey (1974)
advocated a community setting for anthropological field
research because this research was "concerned with the
careful study of a complete socio-cultural system" (p. 5).
Redfield (1956) described a community as a
commonly recognizable unit of subject matter with clearly
defined physical boundaries, face to face contact among
its members, homogenous activities and state of mind, and
a self-sufficient environment which provided for all or
most of the needs of its people.
Arensberg and Kimball (1965) recommended the use
of the community as a research tool in order "to study
social and psychological conditions in vivo, in their full
nature, living, setting, and relationships" (p. 30). They
believed the researcher should choose a community which is
"whole" from which a sample can be taken (p. 30). In
choosing Tlacotalpan as the community setting for the
study, the criteria set by Lutz and Ramsey (1974), Red
field (1954), and Arensberg and Kimball (1965) have been
met. Several research methods were chosen in order to
provide a flexibility in gathering the data.
45
Participant Observation
The method of participant observation was employed
in order to better understand the personality of the
community through direct observation and interaction with
a sample of its inhabitants. Redfield (1954) advocated
this method in order to obtain both an inside and outside
view. He stated that we could only understand by doing
from the inside, and we can only report by viewing from
the outside.
Although participant observation provides an
intimate view of the subjects and their lives, there are
some disadvantages to this method as outlined by
Kluckhon.; (1940). She stated that the researcher's role
is limited to observation, he may have to sacrifice some
uniformity of data, and it may be difficult to maintain
objectivity. Singleton (1974) listed four features of
this method which may cause problems. (1) The researcher
is a stranger within the system; (2) the language of the
system must be learned; (3) the minimum time frame should
be one year; and (4) the researcher must develop a social
role within the system that allows him to become a natural
part of the environment within the research design.
Despite the drawbacks, there are some significant
advantages of using participant observation in a community
setting. Kluckhon ■ . (1940) stated that it reduced the
outsider's distortion of community behavior to a minimum.
46
and the researcher may be more aware of his own biases.
Edgerton and Langness (1964) believed this method might
reduce the informants' "reactivity" to the researcher.
Crane and Angrosino (1974) claimed this method would
diminish the ethnocentrism of the researcher and allow the
researcher to develop an attitude of cultural relativism.
Interviews
Interviews with all informants were conducted on
two levels whenever possible. Initial interviews were
non-directive. These interviews were informal in nature.
The researcher gathered general information which helped
form a broad view of the informant. Once an atmosphere
conducive to friendly conversation was established,
directive interviews, focusing on specific questions,
followed.
The questions were answered by primary and
secondary respondents. Secondary and tertiary subjects
provided corroboration of the responses by primary
subjects. Langness (1965) recommended asking the same
questions repeatedly over a period of time in order to
gain consistency in the responses.
Informal, open-ended interviews provided reliabil
ity of the sample data.
47
Histories/Biographies
Histories and biographies provided important
personal information which served as a valuable tool for
gaining psychological insight into individuals (Langness,
1965) and the community as a dynamic representation of
their collective identity (Redfield, 1954).
Map-Making
In order to define physical boundaries, locate
certain styles of homes, and identify particular neighbor
hoods (Moore, 1978), the researcher prepared a map of the
town and its surrounding area. The map also identifies
the primary and secondary subjects in relation to each
other, (see Appendix E).
Organization of the Data
The data are composed of:
1. responses to specific questions;
2. discussion about specific topics;
3. historical/biographical information; and
4. observed behavior that relates to specific
topics and questions in the study
The questions and topics were the guides to this research.
Lutz and Ramsey (1974) pointed out that anthropological
field methods in educational research do not begin with
hypotheses, but, rather, with "tentative assumptions about
the phenomenon being studied" (p. 5). The questions
48
asked in this study were derived from a series of such
tentative assumptions. In addition, however, informal
discussions, historical/biographical information, and
observable behavior generated unanticipated data comple
mentary to the data derived from the questions. Thus,
the final data consist of a combination of data derived
from responses to questions based on prior assumptions,
and data derived inductively from new insights provided
by the research itself.
Data were organized according to the age group of
the primary and secondary female respondents.
Age s Status/Occupation
12-15 Girls in secondary school
16-20 Girls in prep school and/or
working at a first job
22-30 Young women, young mothers
31-50 Mothers, eldest daughters,
spinsters
51-70+ Grandmothers, widows, spinsters
49
CHAPTER V
FINDINGS
In this chapter the findings from the study are
presented. Each of the families is described according to
its kinship and extended family relationships, economic
standard of living, educational level, physical quality of
life, and authority roles enacted.
Responses to the nine research questions are
presented by age groups within each family. The responses
by age groups represent a generational change in attitude
and behavior over time. The socioeconomic differences of
the two families and their kinship and extended family
relationships reflect the extent to which expectations are
realized through education for women.
There were six (6) primary and seven (7) secondary
female respondents in Family A. In Family B there were
eight (8) primary and seven (7) secondary female respond
ents.
There were three (3) female respondents in the 51-
9 0 year-old age group, seven (7) in the 31-50 age group,
nine (9) in the 21-30 age group, seven (7) in the 16-2 0
age group, and two (2) in the 12-15 age group (see
50
Appendix C). There were a total of twenty-eight (28)
female respondents.
Description of Family A
Family A consisted of the following members who
resided in the same household: Father (age 44), mother
(43), daughter (23), son (21), daughter (19), daughter
(17), niece (13), and son (9).
Family members who resided in the same community
were the maternal grandmother (68) who lived with her
second husband (approximately 68 years of age), the
widowed sister (36) of the mother who lived with her son
(15) , daughter (.10) , and son (12) . A second sister (35)
of the mother lived nearby with her son (15). She was
separated from her husband. The widowed brother (29) of
the father lived in the.same community with his five sons
and two daughters aged 17 to 5 years old. A half-brother
of the mother often visited the home with his three-year-
old daughter whose mother was his common-law wife.
Close friends in the community included the
immediate neighbors, husband and wife, approximately 60
years old, their widowed daughter (40) and her two
daughters, aged 21 and 3. The other significant friend
who spent many hours visiting was a spinster, approxi
mately 39 years old, who lived several blocks away.
51
Economic Standard of Living
The father was a fisherman whose daily catch pro
vided enough money to buy food for that day. The food fed
members of the household three meals a day. Occasionally
friends who were present at lunchtime ate with the family.
The family had its own chickens which provided
eggs, and turkeys which were eaten on special holidays.
The family was supported by the daily catch and the money
the father had won in the National Lottery five years
earlier. That money was used to purchase a small ranch
property on the far side of the river and to buy household
appliances.
The eldest daughter in residence earned money
while working as a secretary in the city of Jalapa, the
State Capital. Her paycheck was delayed almost one year
because the Ministry of Education, her employer, had not
paid the teachers or its employees for that period. A
large portion of the money she did finally earn was given
to the family. The eldest son who worked in a bank in
another city sent money to the family also.
Daily expenses included the purchase of food, milk,
corn masa for tortillas, vegetables, and household
products such as paper goods and cleaning agents. Monthly
expenses included the purchase of clothing and the cost
of entertainment. Yearly expenses were primarily for
school fees for the following: The son (21), daughter (19)-
52
and daughter (17) who all attended the Preparatoria which
cost 350 pesos ($17.50 U.S.) per semester; son (9)
attended elementary school which cost 50 pesos ($25.00
U.S.) per term; a niece (9) and nephew (12) also attended
elementary school and their fees were paid by the family.
The widowed sister of the mother worked as a cleaning
woman at the church rectory where she earned 300 pesos
($15.00) per month. Her elder son (15) and her elder
daughter (13) did not wish to attend school. He had a
part-time job in a carpentry shop and she lived in the
f ami ly * s home.
The family*s electrical appliances included a
hand wringer washing machine, hand mixer, hair dryer, hair
curling iron, blender, refrigerator (not working)** The
four-burner stove was fed by gas from portable gas tanks.
The sewing machine was run by a foot pedal.
Electrical usage included five light bulbs, a
portable radio-tape, player, a , stereo-console with a record
player, a black and white television with picture but no
working sound. In case of power failure there were two
flashlights and one oil-burning lantern. Water was
available for cooking from the single kitchen tap. Water
from the tap in the bathroom (non-automatic flushing
toilet and tap) was used for flushing the toilet and
bathing from a large bucket, water from a tap on the
53
patio was used for washing clothes. River water was
available for washing down the front porch.
Other possessions included five beds, a sofa
frame without pillows, a matching chair frame, two rocking
chairs, a kitchen table, and eight chairs. The father had
an open boat with a Johnson outdoor motor which was used
for fishing and traveling to the family's ranch property.
The father had a set of fishing traps for shrimp, and
there were cages in front of the house where the fowl and
dogs were kept.
The family had a collection of records, both
traditional Mexican music and popular modern music. The
children had cassette tapes for the radio-tape player.
Clothing was washed every other day by the mother,
the two daughters, and the niece, and hung on the patio
to dry. Clothing was interchangeable among the daughters.
The niece had her own clothes and cast-off clothing from
her cousins.
The family had a cat and two dogs which were fed
table scraps and were given no special attention. The
dogs provided guard dog service by barking at every noise.
Each family member had a few private personal
possessions which s/he kept tucked away from other members.
The eldest daughter kept a small piece of paper folded
under a glass of water on a shelf in the bedroom she
54
shared with her sisters. This shrine was dusted and the
glass kept full of fresh water daily by her sisters at her
request.
Money was kept in the mother's coin purse. She
kept it locked in a cabinet and hid the key while she was
away.
Educational Level
The father and mother were both illiterate and the
children of illiterate parents. The father was the son of
a peasant who never tried to better himself. He died
three months after the father was born. The father became
a fisherman to help his mother support the family. He did
not attend school.
The mother attended school until age 9. She left
school because she had to work in a bakery from 6 a.m. to
noon daily to help support her mother. She dropped out of
school because she was too tired to study.
The eldest daughter and son not living at home had
completed their studies in accounting at the local
Preparatoria. The eldest daughter at home was studying
in a three-year teacher-training school in Jalapa on
Saturdays. The eldest son at home and the two youngest
daughters at home were studying accounting at the local
Preparatoria. The.younger son at home was attending
elementary school.
55
The eldest nephew and niece chose not to attend
school. The younger nephew and niece attended elementary
school. Their mother had attended secondary school. She
was functionally literate.
The close friends of the family were also educated
to the secondary level.
Physical Quality of Life
The family members at home ate a diet of corn
tortillas, fresh cheeses, homemade tomato and chili sauce,
fresh milk, homemade soups, rice, coffee, fish, and
occasionally meat. Three meals a day were served. Fresh
fruits were eaten seasonally.
The parents were 20 pounds overweight and the
mother suffered from hypertension. She had begun to
practice birth control after her seventh child died at
birth. After the birth of her eighth child she began
wearing an IUD. She was beginning her menopausal stage
during the time of the study.
The children did not show signs of their parents'
obesity. The eldest daughter at home suffered from a
five year old back injury. All family members had their
original teeth except for the mother who wore dentures and
the three youngest daughters who had capped teeth.
The family had a cabinet filled with prescription
and over-the-counter drugs labeled as remedies for
56
ailments from which any person might have suffered. A
local brujo (witch, spiritualist) visted the house on
weekends every six weeks. He treated the eldest daughter's;
back ailment with massage. He induced her to keep the
folded paper under the glass of water on her shelf so that
she would always have an income.
The maternal grandmother who lived nearby with her
second husband was overweight and had only two or three of
her original teeth. She ate a meager diet, as her husband
was an alcoholic and provided little for her. She and her
daughter rarely spoke.
The younger nephew was physically below his age
group due to malnutrition. He needed vitamins and medica
tion which were too expensive for his mother to buy.
The friends in the conununity were in good health.
The neighbors had a store front where goods were sold and
the elder woman charged for the use of the telephone. Her
husband still worked full-time at the sugar mill in a
neighboring city. The significant spinster friend,
however, was quite obese. She ate a diet of primarily
dried foods and did not get much exercise.
Authority Holes
In the household the father had the final author
ity over family members. He and the mother discussed
discipline openly. The mother and daughters stated that
57
the man should have authority over his wife and the house
hold. In his absence the mother wielded direct rule. She
was totally responsible for the functions of the household
including the household money.
The father stated that before marriage a man must
be ready to accept the responsibility of a wife and
children. "Man should decide when to have a child, not
God," said the father. "Ignorant people," he stated, "do
not practice birth control. Machismo is apparent in
ignorant men who marry, have children# and become
1desobligado'[are not obligated to their families]. These
men boast the children they have, but do not care for
them."
The eldest daughter who did not live at home was
married to an engineer. They had three children. She and
her husband discussed discipline, but the father was the
final authority. They practiced birth control.
The eldest son who lived away from the family
deferred to his father when he visited. He showed great
respect for his father who, in turn, relied on his son1s
literacy and banking advice.
The eldest daughter at home was herself an
authority figure. She and the parents consulted over
financial matters. Other children at home deferred to
her authority even in the presence of her parents.
58
The eldest son at home had just recently returned
home at the time of the study. He had been living in
Campeche, ten hours away, and had been trying to work as
an artist. Upon his return he attended the local Prepara
toria. He had little interest in helping his parents on
their ranch or in attending school. He wanted to live on
his own, but he.knew of no job opportunities in the city
or elsewhere. His parents1 authority over him was rarely
respected.
The parents had authority over their four nieces
and nephews. Their father, who was murdered on a ranch in
1972, was the father's brother. Their mother was the
mother's sister. The elder nephew, however, responded
negatively to his uncle's discipline and rarely visited
the family's home. The younger niece and nephew were
happy and well loved. The younger niece was doted on, as
everyone believed she was the good student and shining
hope of the family.
All members of the household had authority over
the 13 year-old niece. She was essentially a Cinderella
with little chance to break out of the role. Family
members laughed at her because she refused to attend
school. She stated that she loved children and that she
wanted to marry and be a housewife. Her uncle was the
only person who showed affection for her while at the same
time chastized her for not attending school., She stated
59
that she still missed her father and she was happy with
her life at home.
Description of Family B
Family B consisted of the following members who
resided in the same household: Father (age 56) , mother
(50), daughter (24), daughter (15), son (11). The eldest
son (26) attended school in Puebla, the second daughter
(25) worked in Veracruz, and two daughters aged 20 and 17
attended school in Veracruz. All family members lived at
home on the weekends. The mother's parents (age 82) lived
next door in their half of a home that had been divided
when the mother married.
Family members who resided in the same community
were the eldest daughter (2 8) who lived with her husband
and her daughter (.2) three houses down the street, the
mother's sister (43) who lived across the street with her
husband and three children, the father's eldest sister who
lived two houses away, the father's eldest sister's
daughter who lived with her husband and three children one
block down the street. A female cousin (age 28) lived
down the street. Her paternal grandfather was the brother
of the mother's father.
Close friends in the community included a spinster
(43), a Mexican-American woman (4 0) who married a
Tlacotalpano and returned from Mexicali to live across
69
The role of mother will be limited by the demands of her
job outside the home, and therefore women will limit the
size of their families.
6. What role expectations do mothers have for
their daughters and to what extent have these expectations
changed over time?
Women respondents stated that in the past mothers
were concerned that their daughters marry well so that
they would be cared for by their spouses. Today mothers
want their daughters to be educated so that they will have
a career as well as a good marriage and children. In the
past women served their families first. Today, women in
the study stated that careers should come before family
matters.
7. To what extent have role expectations been
enacted by women within one family in Tlacotalpan?
In both families the women in the 51-82 and 31-50
age groups fulfilled female roles expected of them by the
community. They were wives, mothers, and worked at menial
labor or in family businesses for little pay if they
worked outside of the home.
The women in the 21-30 age group who were married
fulfilled the expectations of the community, but also
added formal education and full-time work to their roles.
Unmarried women in this age group planned to marry and
bear children. However, they planned to limit their family
60
the street from the family, a young woman (21) who lived
with her husband and two year old daughter two blocks
away. A best friend (28) owned the local hotel and lived
with her husband and three children three blocks away.
Economic Standard of Living
The father was the primary source of income. He
worked in his office, located across the street: from : the
house, as the regional chief inspector for licensing and
contraband control for the Federal Government of Mexico.
His income figures were unavailable. The second daughter
earned $340 (U.S.) per month working as a secretary in
Veracruz. She used her income to maintain her car, which
was a gift from her father, pay for her clothes, and pay
her monthly rent at the boarding house-where she lived
with her two younger sisters. The third daughter earned
an income from her dental practice. The father financed
her initial establishment and equipment. She lived at
home rent free. The mother earned a small income from
selling dresses wholesale to friends in the community.
She kept this income for herself.
Daily expenses centered around buying fresh food
for the midday meal. Meats, fish, vegetables, and staples
were purchased once a week at the open market and were
delivered to the house in crates by vendors. Trash was
picked up by a trash collector twice a week.
61
Monthly expenses included paying a housekeeper who
worked Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. She
received 1,000.00 pesos ($50.00 U.S.) per month and lunch.
A woman was engaged to clean the kitchen after the daily
lunch. She received $0.00 pesos ($2.50 U.S.) per day and
the leftover food from the meal.
Laundry was sent out every Monday. Three large
boxes of hand washed and pressed clothing were returned
on Friday. Single pieces were sometimes given to an old
woman who charged 10 pesos ($.50 U.S.) for each item.
Monthly expenses covered gas and maintenance of
the car, a 1978 Chevrolet, payment for gas, electricity,
and water in the house.
Yearly expenses included living and school fees
for the eldest son who attended school in Puebla, the two
daughters who lived in a boarding house while attending
school in Veracruz, and the younger daughter and son's
school fees at the local high school and elementary
school.
Possessions and Energy Consumption
The family's electrical consumption included three
electric fans, two ventilators, two color televisions, an
iron, freezer, refrigerator, microwave oven, blender, can
opener, toaster, juicer, hair curling iron, two hand hair
dryers, a sewing machine, stereo, and 14 lamps. The water
62
heater and the stove were gas. Water was available in the
kitchen which had two taps, one with a water filter, at
two taps in the service room, at one tap on the patio, and
in each of the two bathrooms. Each bathroom had a shower
and a flushing toilet. The house had three telephone
outlets.
The house had four bedrooms with nine beds and a
crib, two bathrooms, a kitchen, service room, patio, a
dining area with a round table and chairs for 12 and a
china cabinet, a living room with a sofa,, two chairs, two
rocking chairs, and a coffee table. Rocking chairs were
also found in the bedrooms.
The family had a 1978 Chevrolet which was parked
in front of the house. The father and older children were
the only drivers.
Educational Leve1
The father was schooled at a Preparatory Commerce
School. The mother attended primary school to the sixth
year. She attended a special school for girls for one
year where she learned to cook. The eldest son was
attending dental school in Puebla. The second daughter
attended the local Preparatory to learn secretarial skills.
The third daughter graduated from dental school in Veras-
cruz. She completed one year of service in Tlacotalpan
and then began her practice one year prior to this study.
63
The third daughter was studying Business Administration
and English in Veracruz. The fourth daughter was studying
at a Normal School in Veracruz. She wanted to become a
kindergarten teacher. The fifth daughter was studying at
secondary school and planned to join her sisters in Vera
cruz where she would study to become a teacher. The
youngest son was in primary school.
The grandmother was educated at home by tutors and
she later attended a school for girls for six years where
she learned to cook and sew.
The eldest daughter attended a Normal School for
women only in Veracruz. She was a kindergarten teacher
in Tlacotalpan. The mother's sister was educated through
the second year of a special school for commerce, but quit
school due to a lack of interest and a lack of family
funds.
The young woman related to the family through her
grandfather was educated in Puebla and then completed
coursework as a secretary of correspondence at a school in
Veracruz. She managed her family's real estate after her
mother's death.
The spinster was educated through a school for
commerce (secretarial training). She worked as a
secretary until she was 30 and devoted herself to caring
for her sick mother. The American-born woman from
64
Mexicali was educated to the second year of high school.
She left school for lack of interest.
The woman who owned the hotel completed her
bachelor of arts in French and English at school in Jalapa,
She was planning to complete a Ph.D. but had to give up
her studies to return to Tlacotalpan to help her parents.
As the only unmarried daughter, it was her duty to return.
The young woman (21) who lived several blocks away
was completing her studies at the Normal School affiliated
with an elementary school in Tlacotalpan.
Physical QUlity of Life
The family members in the household ate a balanced
diet daily. Breakfast consisted of cereal, eggs, bread,
tortillas, fresh orange juice, coffee or tea. The main
family meal at midddy consisted of a main dish of fish,
meat, or poultry, soup, salad, rice, tortillas, juice or
soft drinks, and dessert. The menu was different every
day. In the evening each family member ate a light meal.
Those at home ate leftovers or sandwiches. Those who ate
outside the home ate tortas, tacos, or fresh fish at local
restaurants.
The family members and friends in the community
had the same diet. Few people drank alcohol except on
special occasions. The father and the eldest son some
times drank to excess. The eldest daughter's husband had
65
been a member of Alcoholic's Anonymous since the birth of
his daughter, and he did not drink.
Every member of the family was in good health and
not excessively overweight. Everyone except the two
youngest children smoked cigarettes. The eldest daughter's:
first child died at birth of a brain tumor. She did not
smoke or drink during her pregnancy with her second child.
She began to smoke after the child was born, however.
Everyone's teeth received regular professional
care. The third daughter, the dentist, provided dental
care for the immediate and extended family.
Authority Roles
Within the household the father had absolute rule.
Permission to visit friends in other towns, attend
seminars out of town, or be absent from the midday meal
had to come from him. The daughters who lived in Veracruz
called home to ask him permission to travel to friends'
homes.
Young women were not allowed to ride the bus
without a female companion. Boyfriends were usually not
acknowledged to the parents.
The mother was under constant scrutiny by the
father who often left work from his office across the
street and visited at home. He would deny his wife
66
permission to leave the house if he had planned to be
absent from the home.
The mother had authority in the absence of the
father except with her two male sons. The elder son
showed his mother respect, but the younger son was
contemputous of all female authority. His sisters all
attempted to control his conduct.
The family members in the community followed
similar authority roles. The eldest daughter believed
her husband had final authority in the home. He, however,
wanted her to take more responsibility for family
decisons.
The mother's sister believed the father of the
house had final authority, but her husband was at home
only in the evenings and did not keep constant watch over
her.
The friends in the community were either not yet
married or their husbands were away from home several days
a week. They all believed that males should have final
authority, but they claimed to have equal authority in
making family decisions.
67
Responses to the Research Questions
1. What attitude s> do; women'’ :in‘. Tlacotalpan hold
toward roles for women?
The women in the 51-82 age group believed a
woman*s role was to be a wife and mother and serve her
family.
Those respondents in the 31-50 age group agreed
with the 51-82 age group, but recognized the need for
women to work outside the home in order to live comfort
ably.
The women in the 21-30 and 16-20 age group said
that a woman's role in Tlacotalpan is still as a wife and
mother, yet women should be educated beyond secondary
school. The women in Family A thought that higher educa
tion would improve their economic life. In Family B women
stated that higher education would attract a better spouse
and allow women more independence. Respondents from both
families believed women should have careers if they wanted,
yet their first obligation was to fulfill their family
role.
2. What roles are acceptable for women and why?
All respondents in every age group believed that
the most acceptable roles for a woman were wife and mother.
Acceptable professions in addition to those primary roles
were teacher, secretary, accountant, bank manager, and
tourist agent.
68
3. What expectations do women have for their
futures within one year, five years, ten years?
The respondents in the 21-3 0 age group had varied
answers to the question. All unmarried women planned to
either complete their education and go to work or to
improve their salaries at present positions. They all
planned to marry within the next five years and postpone
childbearing until established in a career. Married
women in this age group planned to continue working part-
time until their next child was born.
The women in the 16-20 and 12-15 age groups
planned to follow the path of the unmarried women in the
21-30 age group.
4. What do women expect from formal education?
The women in the 51-82 age group stated that
formal education in the past was available to only the
wealthier families* They conceded, as did the respondents
in all age groups, that formal education leads to a good
paying job, a better spouse, a career, and a comfortable
life style. The women in the 12-16 age group could not
articulate what they expected from formal education.
5. What changes in role enactment are predicted
for women?
The women in all age groups believed women will
continue: to: accept the role of wife and mother‘ but . . ,
will have a career or job outside of the home as well.
70
size. The women in this age group were trained for
traditional careers in teaching and secretarial work.
8. How have women's role expectations changed
over generations within one family in Tlacotalpan?
In Family A women expected to use education to
pursue work that would lead to a better standard of living
than that of their parents.
In Family B women expected to be educated and have
careers. This attitude included the expectation of
marrying an educated man.
In both families all age groups, except the 12-16
group expected to limit the size of their families.
9. What coping strategies do women employ in
order to deal with unrealized expectations?
In Family A women expressed the most numerous
cases of unfulfilled expectations. A woman in the 51-82
age group had to learn to cope with illiteracy which
doomed her to a life of menial labor after the death of
her husband, A second women in the same age group had to
learn to cope with her disappointment with her father's
decision to educate her brother and not her.
In the 21-30 age group the eldest daughter at
home had to learn to cope with the financial setbacks
which forced her to work full-time and study in the
evenings and on Saturdays in order to receive her teaching
certificate. The promise held by that certificate was her
71
primary incentive in completing her program under diffi
cult conditions.
In Family B, a secondary source in the 31-50 age
group stated her resentment of her parents1 demand for her
to give up her master's program and return home to care
for them. She did her duty to her family. She coped with
the disappointment by focusing on her children's education.
The second daughter in Family B, in the 21-30 age
group, stated she often regretted not completing her
education. As a secretary she was underpaid and saw
little opportunity for advancement. She had received the
car from her father, while her sister received the higher
education.
72
CHAPTER VI
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Problem
The researcher's background and experience in the
city of Tlacotalpan and an awareness of the changing role
of women in Latin America led to the selection of the
topic. A review of the literature revealed a dichotomy
between the expectations from education and the enactment
of career opportunities for women. The basic perception
of women and their roles by a male-dominated society
provided a framework in which the study could take place.
Purpose
The purpose of the study was to ascertain to what
extent women in two families in the community of Tlacotal
pan, Mexico,/utilized education to fulfill their expecta
tions. The study also sought to identify perceptions of
female roles with respect to changes over generations
within the individual families. The study intended to
articulate changes as a result of modernization and the
73
impact of the urban sector on the traditional semi-rural
community of Tlacotalpan.
Procedure
The study was divided into two segments. In the
first a review of the literature identified the major
components of the educational, economic, and social
parameters of the topic. The second segment presented
data collection from participant observation methodology
and personal interviews with the members of the families
and the community.
Analysis of the Data
Responses to the research questions were reported
by age groups which represented generational changes in
attitude and behavior over time. Descriptions of the
families according to their kinship and extended family
relationships, economic standard of living, educational
level, physical quality of life, and authority role
structure provided comparative data on the extent to which
expectations were realized through education for women.
Principal Findings
Throughout the study the issue of change was an
overriding factor in determining attitudes toward women
and their roles. Generationally changes in attitudes
moved from traditional to modern. Grandmothers and
mothers lived lives narrowly defined by a small community.
74
However, with the advent of modernization urban attitudes
became more apparent within the community. Literacy,
media participation, and transportation to urban centers
contributed to the community's development of urban
awareness. Although the community itself did not develop
an urban industry,- urban consumer habits were established.
The result was the presence of sophisticated electrical
and mechanical appliances in the midst of a semi-rural
environment.
Urban consumer buying habits influenced by mass
media led to rising expectations of an economic life
superior to the one of the past. In order to participate
in this modern consumer world, people in the study turned
to education as the vehicle that would lead to a better
economic standard of living. Economic expectation was an
acceptable rationale for financial investment in education
by parents of both males and females. Although Goldblatt's
(J.972) study found that the more educated the parent the
greater education is valued, in Tlacotalpan the community
as a whole shared the same high value of education.
The study found that the community believed that
education for women would provide a means of economic and
social stability not experienced by women in the 51-82
and 31-50 age groups. In fact, in some cases, education
that led to a career was a modern day dowry that attracted
a better husband.
75
It is interesting to note that despite the support
for education and careers for women, the community con
tinued to rank marriage and motherhood as the primary
responsibilities for women. The respondents in all age
groups stated that a career was essential to their
economic well-being, but duty to husband and family took
precedence over all. Thus the expectation of women
remained modest as a result of the socially conservative
attitudes of the community. Female respondents in all age
groups, except 12-15, believed that women who held dual
roles would have to limit the number of children they
would bear. Economic factors such as inflation and con
sumer expectation were the primary motivators for control
ling family size. Family planning was not limited to any
particular age group or socioeconomic level in the study.
Conclusion s
On the basis of the findings, the following
conclusions were drawn.
1. The expectation for education held by the
respondents in the study were unrealistic because women
were educated in professions and areas that are tradi
tionally female-dominated. Teaching, secretarial work,
and accounting were the primary fields. Only when women
become part of the male-dominated professions such as
medicine, engineering, and business will they truly
76
participate in careers which are not viewed as merely jobs
outside the home.
2. There was a change in perception over time of
the acceptable role of women in Tlacotalpan. However,
education and career were only additions to the primary
role of wife and mother. Women in the study wanted the
convenience of maintaining a role ascribed by the com
munity while participating in the world outside the home.
Their work did not diminish their primary role in the
home, nor their household duties.
3. Women who sought employment outside the home
expressed a desire to limit the number of children they
would have. Birth control and family planning were
unspoken necessities for the economic life style they
wished to pursue.
4. Women believed that their participation in
the workforce would allow them more opportunity to
participate in the decision-making process in the family.
Husbands may continue to have final authority, but women
would play a part as partners in family planning, economy
ics, and education for the children.
5. Economic resources separated the families in
the study by the extent to which education was available
to the children. The family with fewer economic resources
could not afford intensive full-time study. The wealthier
77
family sent their children to the better schools and
provided comfortable living conditions during the time of
the study.
6. Urban influences were apparent in all aspects
of life in Tlacotalpan. Media participation and trans
portation to urban centers allowed members of the
community to maintain their traditional surroundings with
the comforts of modern conveniences. Youth, however, were
not satisfied with the life style and the community
suffered from out migration of young people who sought
life in urban environments.
Re c omme ndat i ons
1. Women should be encouraged to increase the
scope of their career expectations and to penetrate the
more prestigious and higher paying professions, which are
currently male-dominated in Mexico.
2. Schools should attempt to break up sole
stereotypes for males and females by identifying out
standing female students at every level and providing
encouragement and career counseling in nontraditional,
non-female professions.
78
Recoinmendations for Further Study
1. Follow-up studies of the participants in the
study should be conducted to determine the extent to which
women fulfilled their expectations. Factors that
influenced the enactments of particular roles should be
investigated in order to identify and predict educational
influences on the economic and social life of the
participants.
2. Studies should be conducted to determine if
indeed the level and quality of education perpetuates the
socioeconomic levels of the community. Investment in
time and money should be evaluated in terms of outcome
from expected rewards.
3. Economic realities determined by the devalua
tion of the Mexican peso should be articulated in terms
of the limitations placed on middle and lower income
families for education for their children. The question
of the value of education should be re-evaluated in
strict economic terms.
4. Studies should focus on the attitudes and
behaviors of the males associated with the female
participants in the study. To what extent have male-
female relationships been affected by female participation
in the workplace is a question that should be addressed
by male respondents.
79
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
80
Anderson, C. A. The social context of educational plan
ning. In K. I. Gezi (Ed.), Education in comparative
and international perspectives. New York: Holt,
Reinhart, and Winston, 1971.
Arensberg, C. M., & Kimball, S. T. Culture and community.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1965.
Arosemena de Tejeira, 0. A. La jaula invisible: La
mujer en America Latina. Mexico: B. Costa-Amic, 1977.
Asayeghn, D. Higher education: Labor market linkage.
Comparative Education Review, February 1982, 26(1),
88-94.
Barbieri, M. T. de. Acceso de la mujer a las carreras y
ocupaciones technologicas de nivel medio. Mimeo.
Prepared for the Escuela, Latinoamerica de Sociologia
(ELAS) and UNESCO, Santiago, 1972.
Bedoy, H. G. Critica al pensamiento de Jose Medina
Echavarria sobre el papel social de la educacion en
America Latina. Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios
Educativos, 1979, 9_(1) , 83-95.
Biraihah, K. C. The impact of Western education on girls’
expectations: A Togolese case. Comparative Education
Review, June 1980, 24^(2) , Part 2, Sl96-S250;8'*-\>
Blaxall, M., & Reagan, B. (Eds.). Women and the work-
place. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press,
1976.
Blumberg, R. L. Fairy tales and facts: Economy, family,
fertility, and the female. In I. Tinker and M. B. ;
Bramsen (Eds.), Women and world development. Overseas t
Development Council, 1976. '
i
Blumer, H. Symbolic interactionism. Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1969.
Bodley, J. H. Anthropology and contemporary human
problems. Menlo Park, California: Benj amin/Cummings,
1976.
81 !
Boserup, E. Women's role in economic development. New
York: St. Martin’s Press, 1970.
Bowman, M. J. , & Anderson, C. A. Concerning the role of
education in development. In C. Geertz (Ed.), Old ,
societies and new states. New York: Free Press, 1963. 1
Bowman, M. J., & Anderson, C. A. The participation of
women in education in the Third World. Comparative
Education Review, June 1980, 24(2), Part 2, S13-S32.
Breese, G. Urbanization in newly developing countries.
Englewood Cliffs; New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.,
1966.
Buvinic, M. Women•and world development: An annotated (
bib1iography. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development
Council, 1976. -
Carnoy, M. Education as cultural imperialism. New York:
David McKay Company, Inc.,1974.
Catellanos, R. Participacxon de la mujer, en la
educacion formal. Colegio de Mexico, 1972, 44, 4-10.
Chaney, E. M., & Schmink, M. Women and modernization:
Access to tools. In J. Nash and H. I. Safa (Eds.),
Sex and class in Latin America. Massachusetts, J. F. '
Bergin Publishers, Inc., 1980.
Chiiias, B. The Isthmus Zapotecs. Women ’ s roles in
cultural context. New York: Holt^ Reinhart, and
Winston, Inc., T973.
Chodorow, N. Family structure and feminine personality.
In M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (Eds.), Women, culture,
and society. California: Stanford University Press,
1974.
Cohen, G. Culture and educational achievement. Harvard
Educationa1 Review, 1981, 51 (2), 270-285*
Conference of African States on the development of
education in Africa. Final report, 1961. U.N.E.C.A,
UNESCO.
Coombs, P. H. The world educational crisis. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1968.
Coombs, P. H., & Ahmed, M. Attacking rural poverty, how
nonformal education can help. Baltimore, Maryland:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974.
The Cocyoc declaration. In G. B. Erb and V. Kallab (Eds.),
Beyond dependency. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Develop-’
ment Council, September 1975, pp. 170-177.
Corwin, A. F. Contemporary Mexican attitudes toward
population, poverty, and public opinion. Gainesville,/
Florida: University of Florida Press, 1963.
Coverdale, G. M.. Planning education in relation to rural
development. Fundamentals of educational planning #21.
Paris: UNESCO International Institute for Educational
Planning, 1974.'
Crane, J. G., & Angresiino, M. V. Field projects in
anthropology. New Jersey: General Learning Press,
1974.
Delgado, C. Education today blocks change in Latin
America. In Education on the move. Paris: The UNESCO
Press, 1975.
Dewey, J. Experience and education. New York: Collier
Books (A Division of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.),
1938.
Eckholm, E., & Newland, K. Health: The family planning
factors. Worldwatch Paper 10. Washington, D.C.:
Worldwatch Institute, January 1977.
Edgerton, R. B., & Langness, L. L. Methods and styles in
the study of culture. San Francisco, California:
Chandler & Sharp Publishers, Inc., 1964.
Edwards, E. O., & Todaro, M. P. Education and employment
in developing countries. In F. C. Ward (Ed.),
Education and development reconsidered. New York:
Praeger Publishers, 1974.
Elliott, C. M. Theories of development: An assessment.
In Wellesley Editorial Committee (Ed.), Women and
national development: The complexities of change.
Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1977.
Elliott, C. M., & Kelly, G. P. (Eds.). Women and educa
tion in the third world. Comparative Education
Review, June 1980, 24(2), Part 2.
83
Elmendorf, M. The dilemma of peasant women: A view from a
village in Yucatan. In I. Tinker and M. B. Bramsen
(Eds.), Women and world development. Washington, D.C.:
Overseas Development Council, 1976.
Elmendorf, M. The many worlds of women: Mexico. In J. Z.
Giele and A. C. Smock (Eds.), Women, roles and status
in eight countries. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1977.
Elu de Lehero, M. del C. Hacia ddnde va la mujer
mexicana? Mexico: Institute Mexicano de Estudios
Sociales, A.C., 1969.
Erb, G. F., & Kallab, V. (Eds.), Beyond dependency.
Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development Council,
September 1975.
Essein, R. A. Perceptions of Nigerian college students
toward the role of women in Nigerian development.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of
Southern California, 1981.
Faure, E., et al. Learning to be. Paris: UNESCO, 1972.
Field, A. J. (Ed.). City and country in the third world.
Issues in the modernization of Latin America.
Cambridge,. Massachusetts: Schenkman Publishing Company,;
Inc., 1970.
Finn, J. D., Reis, J., & Dulberg, L. Sex differences in
educational attainment: The process. Comparative |
Education Review, 1980, '24(2),. Part 2, 33-52.
Flora, C. B. Female stereotypes and social change.
Phonotape #526-528. Fort Lee, New Jersey: Sigma
Information, 1972.
Flora, C. B. The passive female: Her comparative image
by class and culture in women's, magazine fiction.
Journal of Marriage and the. Family, 1971, 33(3) , 435-
444.
Fox-Lockert, L. Women novelists in Spain and Spanish ■
America. Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1979.
French, M. The women's room. New York: Jove Publications,
Inc., 1977.
Friday, N. My mother, myself. New York: Dell Publishing
Co., Inc., 1977.
84;
/
Fried, M. The evolution of political society. New York:
Random House, Inc., 1967.
Gallegos, et al. Recent trends in contraceptive use in
Mexico. Studies in Family Planning, 1977, £(8), 203.
Garcia-Ruiz, R. Educacion, cambios y desarrollo de la i
communidad. Mexico: Editorial Pax-Mexico, 1970.
Georgiades, W. How good is your school? Reston, Virginia:
National Association of Secondary Principals, 1978.
Georgiades, W. , Hilde, R., & Maccaulay, G. New schools
for a new age. Santa Monica, California: Goodyear
Publishing Company, Inc., 1977.
Giele, J. Z., & Smock, A. C. (Eds.). Women, roles and
status in eight countries. New York: John Wiley &
Sons, 1977.
Gil, E. La mujer en el mundo del trabajo. Buenos Aires:
Edicidnes Libera, 1970.
Glasser, W. Schools without failure; New York: Harper &
Row Publishers, 1969.
Goldblatt, P. Education in relation to social and economic
change in Mexico. Unpublished doctoral dissertation,
University of Chicago, 1968.
Goldblatt, P. The geography of youth employment and
school enrollment rates in Mexico. In T. j; La Belle
(Ed.), Education and development. Latin America and
the Caribbean. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American
Center, 1972.
Griffiths, V. L. The problems of rural education.
Fundamentals of Educational Planning #7. UNESCO:
International Institute for Educational Planning, 1968.
Halsey, A. H. Can education contribute to changing
society? In The Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education (Ed.), Education on the move. Paris: The
UNESCO Press, 1975.
Hanna, P. Conventional and unconventional education. In
K. Gezi (Ed.), Education in comparative and inter
national perspectives. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and
Winston, Inc., 1971.
85
Harbison, F. , & Myers, C. A. Qualitative indicators of
human resource development. In K. Genzi (Ed.),
Education in comparative and international perspectives.
New York: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, Inc., 1971.
Harris, M. Cannibals and kings. New York; Random House,
1977.
Hayner, N. S. New patterns in old Mexico. New Haven,
Connecticut: College and University Press, 1966.
Henderson, J. D. , & Henderson, L. R. Ten notable women
of Latin America. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1978.
Howard-Merriman, K. Women, education, and the professions
in Egypt. Comparative Education Review, June 1979,
23(2), 256-270•
Hurn, C. J. The limits and possibilities of schooling.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1978.
Huston, P. Third world women speak out: Interviews in six
countries on change, development, and basic heeds.
New York: Published in cooperation with the Overseas
Development Council, 1979.
Iglesias, A. Tlacotalpan en 1856. Revista Jarocha,
April 1961, 12, Ano II, pp. 10-14.
Illich, I. Deschooling society. New York: Harper & Row
Publishers, 1971.
Illich, I. The futility of schooling in Latin America.
In T. J. La Belle (Ed.), Education and development in
Latin America and the Caribbean. Los Angeles: UCLA
Latin American Center, 1972.
Inkeles, A. Making men modern: On the causes and conse
quences of individual change in developing countries.
American Journal of Sociology, September 1969, 75,
203-225.
Irizarry, R. L. Overeducation and underemployment in the
third world: The paradoxes of dependent industrializa
tion. Comparative Education Review, 2_4 (3) , 338-352.
Johnson, J. J. (Ed.). continuity and change in Latin
America. Stanford, California: Stanford University
Press, 1964.
86 '
*
Kahl, J. A. The measurement of modernization. Austin,
Texas: The University of Texas Press, 1968. s
Kahl, J. A. Modernization, explietatiop, and dependency
in Latin America. New Brunswick, New Jersey:
Transaction Books, 1976.
Kalia, N. N. Images of men and women in Indian textbooks.
Comparative Education Review, June 1980, Z4(2), Part 2,
S209-S224.
Kandiyoti, D. Sex roles and social change: A comparative
appraisal of Turkey's women. In Wellesly Editorial
Committee (Ed.), Women and national development: The
complexities of change. Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 1977.
Kearney, M. The winds of Ixtepeji. New York: Holt,
Rinehart, and Winston, Inc., 1972.
Kinzer, N. S. Priests, machos, and babies: Or, Latin *
American women and the manichean heresy. Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 1973, 35, 300-312.
Kluckhon, .F. B. The participant observer technique in
small communities. American Journal of Sociology,
1940, 46, 331-343.
Knaster, M. Women in Spanish America: An annotated
bibliography from preconquest to contemporary times.
Boston: G. K. Hall, 1977.
Kneller, G. Educational anthropology: An introduction.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1965.
Koslow, L. E. (Ed.). The future of Mexico. Tempe,
Arizona: The Center for Latin American Studies,
Arizona State University, 1977. ;
La Belle, T. J. (Ed.). Educational alternatives in Latin
America. Los Angeles! UCLA Latin American Center, 1975.
La Belle, T. J. (Ed.). Educational development: Latin '
America and the Caribbean. Los Angeles: UCLA Latin
American Center, 1972.
La Belle, T. J., & Verhine, R. E. Eduation, social
change, and social stratification. In T. J. La‘ Belle
(Ed.), Educational alternatives in Latin America..
Los Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center, 1975.
Langness, L. L. The life history in anthropological
science. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,
1965.
Lavrin, A. (Ed.). Latin American women; Historical
perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, -
1978.
Laws, J. L. Work aspiration of women: False leads and
new starts. In M. Blaxall & B. Reagan (Eds.), Women
and the workplace. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press , 1976«
Lederer, W. The fear of women. New York: Grune &
Stratton, 1968.
Lerner, D. The pas sing of traditional society. New York:
The Free Press, 1958.
Le Vine, R. A. Influences of women’s schooling on
maternal behavior in the third world. Comparative
Education Review, June 1980, 24(2), Part 2, S78-S105.
Lewis, 0. Five families. New York: Basic Books, Inc.,
1959.
Liebow, E. There are two kinds of women. In J. P. Wise
man (Ed.), The social psychology of sex. New York: s
Harper & Row, 1976.
Little, K. African women in towns: An aspect of Africa’s
social revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1973.
Lutz, F. W., & Ramsey, M. A. The use of anthropological
field methods in education. Educational ReView,
November 1974, pp. 5-9.
Masemann, V. L. Motivation and aspiration in a West
African girls V secondary school. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation, University of Toronto, 1972.
McBride, A. B. The growth and development of mothers.
New York: Harper & Row, 1973.
McGinn, N., & Street, S. The political rationality of
resource allocation in Mexican public education.
Comparative Education Review, June 1982, 26^(2), 178-198:
McGrath, P. L. The unfinished assignment: Equal education
for women. Worldwatch paper 7. Washington, D.C.:
Xtforldwatch Institute, July 1976.
Mead, M. A comment on the role of women in agriculture.
In I. Tinker & M. B. Bramsen (Eds.), Women and world
development. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development
Council, 1976.
Mead, M. Culture and commitment. Garden City, N.Y.:
Natural History Press/Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1970.
Meleisy- A. I., El Sanabary, N., & Beeson, D. Women,
modernization, and education in Kuwait. Comparative
Education Review, February 1979, 23 (1), 115-124.
■ i
Miles, M. B. (Ed.). Innovation in education. New York:
Teachers College Press, 1964.
Miller, C., & Swift, K. Words and women. New York:
Anchor Press, 1977.
Miller, F. C. Old villages and a new town: Industrial
ization in Mexico. Menlo Park, California: Cummings
Publishing Co., 1973.
Moore, A. Cultural anthropology. New York: Harper and
Row, 1978.
Moreira, J. R. Education and development in Latin
America. In T. J. La Belle (Ed.), Education and
development in Latin America and the"Caribbean. Los
Angeles: UCLA Latin American Center, 1972.
Morris, D. M. Measuring the•condition of the world1s
poor. New York: Pergamon Press, 1979.
Morris, D. M., & Liser, F. B. The PQLI: Measuring
progress in meeting human needs. Communique.
Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development Council, 1977.
Morris, V. C., & Pai, Y. Philosophy and the American
school (2nd ed.). Boston: Houghton Miffin Company,
1976.
Myers, C. N. Education and national development in
Mexico. Princeton, N.J.: Industrial RelationsSection,
Department of Economics, University of Princeton, 1965.
89;
Nash, J., & Safa, H. I. Sex arid class in Latin America.
New York: Praeger, i960.
Navarro, M. Research on Latin American women. Signs:
Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Autumn 1979,
5(1), 111-120.
Needier, M. C. Political aspects of urbanization in
Mexico. In A. J. Field (Ed.), City and country in the
third world. Issues in the modernization of Latin
America! Cambridge, Mass.: Schenkman Publishing
Company, Inc., 1970.
Newland, K. Women and population growth: Choice beyond
childbearing. Worldwatch Paper 16. Washington, D.C.: ,
Worldwatch Institute, December 1977.
Newland, K. The sisterhood of man. New York: W. W.
Norton & Co., 1979.
Orrego de Figueroa, T. A critical analysis of Latin
American programs to integrate women in development.
In I. Tinker & M. B. Bramsen (Eds.), Women and world
development. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development
Council, 1976.
Pasquel, L. Cincuenta distinguidas veracruzanas. Mexico:
Editorial Citlaltepetl, 1975.
Pasquel, L. Numero dedicado a Tlacotalpan puerto fluvial.
Revista Jarocha, April 1961, No. 12, p. 3.
Paul, L. The mastery of work and the mystery of sex in a 1
Guatamalan village. In M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphe^re
(Eds.), Women, culture, and society. California:
Stanford University Press, 1974.
Pescateilo, A. M. Female and male in Latin America:
Essays. Pittsburgh: University Press, 1973.
Programa regional del empleo para Amdrica. Latina y el
Caribe. New York: Praeger, 1978.
Rainwater, L. Marital sexuality in four cultures of
poverty. In J. P. Wiseman (Ed.), The social psychology1
of sex. New York: Harper & Row, 1976.
Ram, R. Sex differences in the labor market outcomes of j
education. Comparative Education Review, June 1980, i
24(2), 53-77.
90
Rama, G. W., & Tedesco, J. C. Education and development
in Latin America (1950-1975). International Review
of Education, 1979, 25(2-3) , 187-212.
Redfield, R. A village that chose progress. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1950.
Redfield, R. The little community and peasant society
, and culture. Chicago: Universaty of Chicago Press,
1956.
Redfield, R., & Villa Rojas, A. .Chan Kom: A Maya
Vi1lage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.
Reichel-Dolmatoff, G., & Reichel-Dolmatoff, A. The
people of Aritama. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1961.
Reining, P., & Tinker, I. (Eds.). Population: Dynamics,
ethics, and policy. Washington, D.C.: American
Association for the Advancement of Science, 1975.
Rich, W. Smaller families through social and economic
progress. Monograph No. 7. Washington, D.C.:
Overseas Development Council, January 1973.
Roca Senties, R. Algunas consideraciones sobre la
problematiea del baja Popaloapan. Unpublishedessay.
Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico, X970.
Rogers, C. Freedom to learn. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E.
Merrill Publishing Company, 1969.
Rosaldo, M. Z. , & Lamphere, L. (Eds.)* Women, culture, •
and society. California: Stanford University Press,
1974.
Rosen, B. C., & La Raia, A. L. Modernity in women: An
index of social change in Brazil. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 1972, 34(2), 353-360.
Rossi, A. S. The feminist papers: From Adams to de
Beauvoir. New York: Columbia University Press, 1973.
Rowbothan, S. Women, resistance and revolution. New
York: Random House, 1972.
Sanday, P. K. Female status in the public domain. In
M. Z. Rosaldo and L. Lamphere (Eds.), Women, culture,
and society. California: Stanford University Press,
1974.
Sarason, S. B. The culture of the school and the problem
of change. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1971.
Schnailberg, A. Rural-urban residence and modernism: A
study of Ankara province, Turkey. Demography 7,
February 1970, 71-85.
Schramm, W. & Lerner, D. (Eds.). Communication and
change. The last ten years— and the next. Honolulu:
The University Press of Hawaii, 1976.
Schumacher, E. F. Small is beautiful. New York: Harper
and Row Publishers, 1973.
Schwartz, A. J. The school and socialization. New York:
Harper and Row, 1975.
Simmons, A. B., & Culagovski, M. If they know, why don*t
they use? Selected factors influencing contraceptive
adoption in rural Latin America. Mimeo. Ottawa,
Canada: Population and Health Sciences, International
Development Research Center, 1975.
Singleton, J. Implications of education as cultural
transmission. In G. D. Spindler (Ed.), Education and
cultural process. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston,
Inc., 1974.
Skinner, B. F. Walden two. New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1948.
Smith, R. D. Women still denied access: Can you help?
Journal of NAWDAC, Summer 1978, 162-164.
Smock, A. Women1s education and roles. Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Spindler, G. D. Education and cultural process. New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1974.
Spindler, L. Culture and change and modernization. New
York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, Inc., 1977.
Stycos, J. M. Recent trends in Latin American fertility.
Population Studies, November 1978, 32(3), 407-425.
Sutton, F. X. Education and the making of modern nations.
In J. S. Coleman (Ed.), Education and political
development. Princeton: Princeton University Press,
1965.
92
Tinker, I. The adverse impact of development on women.
In I. Tinker & M. B. Bramsen (Eds.), Women and world
development. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development
Council, 1976.
Ubah, C. N. Western education in Africa: The Igbo
experience, 1900-1960. Comparative Education Review,
October 1980, 24(3), 371-388.
ul Haq, M. The poverty curtain: Choices for the third
world. New York; Columbia University Press, 1976.
Urdang, S. Fighting two colonialisms: Women in Guinea-
Bissau. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1979.
Urquidi, V. L. Educacidn superior, ciencia y tecnologia
preliminar. Mexico: Colegio de Mexico, 1967.
Vasquez de Miranda, G. Women’s labor force participation
in a developing society: The case of Brazil. In
Wellesley Editorial Committee (Ed.), Women and national
development: The complexities of change. Chicago:
The University of Chicago Press, 1977.
Vaughan, M. K. Women, class and education in Mexico,
1880-1928. Latin American Perspectives, Winter-Spring
1977, 4, 135-152. -
Ward, B. A people strategy of development. Communique on
Development Issues, No. 23. Washington, D.C.: Overseas
Development Council, October 1973.
Ward, F. C. (Ed.). Education and development recon s ide red.
The Bellagio conference papers. New York: Praeger
Publishers, 1974.
Wellesley Editorial Committee (Ed.). Women and national
development: The complexifies of change. Chicago: The
University of Chicago Press, 1977.
Williamson, R. C. Role themes in Latin America. In G.
Seward & R. C. Williamson (Eds.), Sex roles in changing
society. New York: Random House, 1970.
Wiseman, J. P. The social psychology of sex. New York:
Harper & Row, 1976.
Women and national development: The complexities of change.
Special issue of Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and
Society, Autumn 1977, 3(1).
93
Worthen, B. R. , & Sanders, J. R. Educational evaluation:
Theory and practice, Belmont, California: A Charles A.
Jones Publication, Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc.,
1973.
Yogev, A. Modernity and aspirations: Youth organizations
in the third world. Comparative Education Review,
October 1980, 24 (3) , 353-370.
Youssef, N. H. Women in development: Urban life and labor.
In I. Tinker & M. B. Bramsen (Eds.), Women and world
development. Washington, D.C.: Overseas Development
Council, 1976.
Youssef, N. H. Women and work in developing societies.
Berkeley: Institute of International Studies, University
of California, 1974. Monograph #15.
Zinn, M. B. Employment and education of Mexican-American
women: The interplay of modernity and ethnicity in
eight families. Harvard Educational Review, 1980, 50(1),
47-62.
94
APPENDIXES
95
APPENDIX A
MAP OF REGION
96
MAP OF REGION
G U L
* * * * * Mi
Z i * % . v :
XI C O
ala^Enrlq uetN
Jot* C*rd*l
£*?. . , . .-
n o t U t Owj«
i^ P tia K n s rv i: ‘ Sol
«nai
PVMIA COUM
Veracruz
j , Tlacotalpan
r B o c* 0cj«l R fO AJHtlCIFt CAacZA
' ' V ' T l icWTA w AVI 6 * u z a m o
Ivarado
cvtaliariAngai
A U M T A J A A O H T I**
^ . a oV c j ^ ^ ~ S a n t i « Q o * 1 t j r i l a ;
m Blanca
Mar Ac
a r ^ A n d r e s £•
U< fiwnV • A
, , . £ n c iv c « i^ « • ^ *h < o < 4 i
. /* . \ /.► *« » « » - /
j Jatpa de Marxlej • ‘ I
v f ' i & n i Z i t t t n l m
9 \ ia» B ahia C o atza coa tcos
•" r k
/£-fcosamalo*pan
G * » a i n m n Q * < * j
' V i l l a h e n n i pANanchita
otaacaqua
C «»r»
•»• V*™,# ib.«to
4*1 Val
H u iM a o Q u illc
7 s T ) / • ._r7V
# s t c h c B ^ p « v . - • > ) ' • • P t a TtVv^^
*• -•*< '£v J l^ - • % \c - iJ ■^cl'vpo
on _ ? » / .A-owano . .^gs- K
vwjiV. Y
««o,
f ST/MO
VERACRUZ
S a e tla g o .T u tla
. O A X A C A ,v^ « fe i.
P aao Raat- V
xCTBHUANTEPE
XSatrPa
ac3 *t« i______
” VfKa^
A /« ra /> u « te d ro W ~ ~ rX l
n M a a U a n
T H un lo d * 'M a r in * \ * . A J \
'' M«fia"v /-^ 'V '
^ C S « m « U p a w \ j r '
• Mill*
T uxtia p « -
tatape
Ion Hidalgo
uctiUin
a n 'B la l \
& = £ - C _
San M atao d#l M ai
Atempa
Salina d t l M ar
nrvala
Sdi^Mni
G o l f o e ft
T e h u & n t e p c c
\ b O
i Km Kilometers i
Statute Miles f
One centimeter represents 30 kilometers
3 0 00 0 00
...vA--.tA4; One inch represents approximately 47 miles
jm b«M CoM o/m #J C a r - M rn ,
97
APPENDIX B
EDUCATIONAL STRUCTURE OF MEXICO
H ie Basic Educational Structure in Mexico! 1976
Elementary Secondary
Higher 0)
P resc h o o l cycle Primary cycle B a s ic cycle Upper cycle
i
Age: | 4 | S |
'
l • l » l * I * l » i » i
| It | 13 | 14 | | 13 | II | It |
1
•
•
•
Technical
Vocational/
Technical
Vocational/
Technical
rO-GHD-rCHiHIl2
General General
GHZH3-
Normal
L G H Z H E H Z F
University.
{IHIHE-EHI1-0
Higher Normal
4ZHD-EHIHIHII
1 Length of study varies.
• A d m iss io n to corresponding p rogram s for holden of the larAlffrrafo. . ... . . . . .
* A d m issio n for holden of the bachilUrate, which will b e received by normal s c h o o l graduates In acco rd an ce with the reform of the study program initiated in 1975.
S ource: Adapted from Sccretarla de Educaddn Pfiblica. 3 AHoi it BstadUtica Bint* dal Siittmt Educative National 1970-71 a 1972-73. The Secretaria, 1979. Pp. 10-11.
VD
00
99
APPENDIX C
FEMALE RESPONDENTS
APPENDIX C
Female Respondents
Family A Family B
Secondary Primary Age Group Primary Secondary
Neighbor (60) Grandmother(68) 51-90 Grandmother (82)
Sister (36)
Neighbor (40)
Mother (43) 31-50 Mother (50) Sister (43)
Neighbor (43)
Neighbor (43)
Neighbor (21) Daughter (26)
Daughter (23)
21-30 Daughter (28)
Daughter (25)
Daughter (24)
Neighbor (28)
Cousin (28)
Neighbor (21)
Friend (16)
Friend (17
Daughter (19)
Daughter (17)
16-20 Daughter (20)
Daughter (17)
Neighbor (17)
Niece (13) 12-15 Daughter (15)
o
o
101
APPENDIX D
CENTRO DE ESTUDIOS CIENTIFICOS Y
TECNOL6GICOS (CECyT #174)
ENROLLMENT FIGURES
1977-1980
Septiembre 1977-Enero 1978
(September 1977-January 1978)
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
1st lo Semestre (Semester) Males Females Total-M F Suma
2nd lo 46 27 114 78 192
3rd 3o 40 22
4th 4o 4 3
5 th 5o 19 22
6 th 6o 1 2
7th lo 4 2
Electromecanicos
(Electrical Mechnical)
1st lo 47 1 142
3rd 3o 38
-
4 th 4o 8
-
5th 5o 33
-
6 th 6o 4
-
7th lo 12
-
Laboratoristas
(Laboratory Technician)
1st lo 48 35 146
3rd 3o 46 16
4 th 4o 13 3
5th 5o 25 18
6 th 6o 2 3
7th lo 12 4
143
225
Total 560
102|
F e b re ro 19 7 8 -J u n io 1978
(F eb ru a ry 1978-June 1978)
2nd
2o
Contabilidad
(Accounting) M F
"A" 14 15
"B" 15 6
2o
2nd
Laboratorio
(Laboratory Tech)
."E" 17 19
I'P"
21 13
4o
4 th
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
"A" 17 12
"B" 19 10
4o Laboratorista
4 th (Labo r a to r y Te ch)
f , E" 25 6
6o
n p i r
Contabilidad
19 8
6 th (Accounting) 18 22
6o
6 th
Laboratorio.
(Laboratory Tech) 23 17
7o
7th
Elect. Lab.
(Elect, Lab.) 4 1
2o Electromecanico
2nd (Electrical Mechanical) M F
42 1
3o Cont, Elect, Lab.
3rd (Acct, Elect, Lab)
8
-
4o Electromecanico
4th Electrical Mechanical)
34
-
5o Cont, Elec. Lab.
5th (Acct, Elec, Lab.)
33 7
6o Electromecanico
6 th (Electrical Mechanical)
29
—
Total Inscripcion
(Enrollment) 464
O
U>
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
1st lo M F
nA" 27 21
"B" 22 26
Laboratorio
(Laboratory Tech.)
1st lo M F
"E" 27 21
"F" 27 22
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
3rd 3o M F
"A" 12 15
"B" 14 6
Contabilidad,Elect.
(Accounting,Electro.)
4th 4o M F
3 1
Laboratorio
(Laboratory Tech)
5th 5o M F
"E" 18 10
"F" 24 6
Septiem bre 1978-E n ero 1979
(Septem ber 1 9 7 8 -January 1979)
Electromecanico
(Electrical Mech.)
3rd 3o M F
34 1
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
5th 5o M F
"A" 17 9
"B" 15 9
Cont, Elect* Laboratorio
(Acct, Elect, Lab. Tech.)
6th 6o M F
19 6
Sociales, Electromecanicao
Quimico Biolgicas
(Social Sci., Electro Mech.
Chemistry, Biology)________
Electromecanico
(Electrical Mechanical)
Primero (First) M F
48
Sociales Elect. L&b.
(Soc, Sci, Elect, Lab.)
Segundo (Second) M F
11 3
Laboratorista
(Laboratory Tech.)
3rd 3o M F
nEB 12 19
"F" 10 10
Electromecanico
(Electrical Mechnical)
5th 5o M F
28
7th lo M F
18 11
Total Enrollment = 542
104
Septiembre 1979-Enero 1980
(September 1979-January 1980
Primero Contabilidad Segundo
(First) (Accounting) (Second)
M 37 M 23
F 44 F 29
Primero Electromecanico
(First) (Electrical Mech.)
M 71 M 38
F F
Primero Laboratoristas
(First (Laboratory Tech.)
M 48 M 36
F 36 F 19
Tercero
(Third)
M 19
F 16
28
M 20
F 22
Cuarto
(Fourth)
M 11
F 3
1 1
7
Total
M 90
F 92
M 139
F
M 115
F 84
Total Inscripcion (Enrollment) = 520
105
Febrero 1979-Junio 1979
(February 1997-June 1979
1st lo
2nd 2o
2nd 2o
4th 4o
4th 4o
6th 6o
7th 7o
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
Group "A"
Group "B"
Laboratorio
(Lab. Tech.)
Group "E"
Group "F"
Contabilidad
(Accounting)
Group "A"
Group "BM
Laboratorio
(Lab. Tech.)
Group "E"
Group "F"
Contabi1i dad
(Accounting)
Group "A"
Group "B"
M F
6 1 1
20 15
16 20
19 15
19 20
8 11
15 6
10
9
16
13
19
7
Sociales, Elec.
Laboratorio
(Soc. Sci, 8
Elect. Lab Tech)
1st lo Electromecanico
(Electrical Mechnical)
2nd 2o Electromecanico
(Electri cal Mechni cal)
3rd 3o^ Sociales, Electro
mecanico, Laboratorista
(Soc. Sci. Elect. Mech.)
4th 4o Electromecanico
El ectri cal Mechanical)
5th 5o Sociales, Elec.
(Soc. Sci., Elect. Mech.)
6th 6o_ El ectromecani co
(Electri cal Mechni cal)
6th 6a Laboratorio
(Lab. Tech.)
Group
Group
8th 8o Contabilidad Elect. Lab.
(Accounting, Elect. Lab.)
Total Enrollment = 508
II £M
II p l l
M
25
45
8
33
6
27
19
16
106
107
APPENDIX E
MAP OF TLACOTALPAN
108
L - - ~
ri
F

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

The socio-educational significance of the revival of interest in the works of Juan Luis Vives

PDF

An investigation of the relation between open structure education and the development of creativity in young children

PDF

A survey of the attitudes of school teachers toward problems in education

PDF

The internal structure of clinical problems used in a problem-based curriculum in English-language medical schools

PDF

A longitudinal study of women in law enforcement

PDF

The relationship between teacher perceptions of local school factors and the use of student study teams

PDF

Home-school alliances: An investigation of demonstrated approaches in four parent intensive bilingual education projects

PDF

A sociological case study of bilingual education and its effects on the schools and the community

PDF

Factors considered by preservice teachers in their choice of a school district

PDF

The war in El Salvador: The child as witness, participant, casualty, survivor, a phenomenological study

PDF

A critical study of certain physiological, emotional, and motivating factors as determining elements in a remedial reading program

PDF

The interactive effects of cognitive style and selected instructional strategies on a complex psychomotor skill

PDF

Fixation in slow learners, and sensitivity of Piagetian conservation scores to factors known to affect IQ scores

PDF

Teacher expectation biases as affected by hereditary social structures in Nepal

PDF

The effects of early father absence and the level of antisocial behavior on the development of social egocentrism in adolescent Mexican American girls

PDF

Relationship of trigonometry achievement to selected characteristics of California public community college students

PDF

The role of education in the rehabilitation of the Prussian Empire

PDF

African universities in search of their identities: A study of the culture of careerism at the University of Ouagadougou (Upper Volta)

PDF

Educational reform in Peru, 1970-1974: A model of developmental education

PDF

The relationship of sex and ethnicity to anxiety, self-concept, and creativity among continuation high school students

Asset Metadata

Creator Garate, Elena Marie (author)

Core Title Expectation, education, enactment: A case study of women in Tlacotalpan, Mexico

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, sociology of,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c26-510375

Unique identifier UC11246987

Identifier usctheses-c26-510375 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier DP24894.pdf

Dmrecord 510375

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Garate, Elena Marie

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA