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This document describes the Center for Documentation and Educational Information in Mexico City. Background information on similar services in Mexico is provided and a detailed description of the Center is presented, covering organization, objectives, administration, users, activities, services, and publications. (VM)

This paper discusses the education section of a 1974 study group (GEPE) report commissioned by the Mexican government to consider the problems of unemployment, income distribution, and poverty. The author welcomes the report's broad educational proposals, such as the priority given to rural adult education and rural primary education, as well as many of the specific suggestions made in connection with the priority tasks. However, he argues that such policies are not likely to be successful unless they are based on a more serious concern with data requirements, and that more awareness is needed of the differential needs of different groups and the reasons for the past failure of similar proposals. In his discussion, he focuses mainly on institutional problems related to adult education and on the structures and processes which appear to have hampered rural primary education. (Author/JG)

A theoretical framework for integrating concepts of communication and institutional change based on experience with the Puebla Project in Mexico is given. The Puebla Project is a program to introduce high yield corn technology on a broad scale to 50,000 dry land corn farmers in Puebla, Mexico. The first part of the paper points out how institutional analyses can have limited value when restrictive concepts are used. Events observed in Puebla can be better explained by defining "institution" as a set of rules or norms which govern the behavior of individuals in different roles or positions. Broad scale analyses are facilitated because rules can be classified into groups as can roles. Then communication becomes an intellectual process analogous to problem solving (displaying ideas so the idea can be transformed, not the person). The second part of the paper describes the Puebla Project in the context of Mexican development and explains the main institutional issues which were taken into account in organizing the field program. The project stresses institutional and operational factors, such as (1) continuous research and evaluation to change operating rules of both technical staff and campesinos; (2) fostering of campesino organization as a means to ensure that rule changes will be relevant, (3) direct involvement of campesinos in communicating new rules and procedures, (4) continuous on-the-job training of new personnel to expand the number of personnel who understand institutional concepts, and (5) gradual change in the rules governing the distribution of agricultural credit and supply organizations. (NQ)

Four United States universities, one from each American state having a common boundary with Mexico, organized the Border-State University Consortium for Latin America. The organization emerged as an attempt to focus collectively on problems and situations immediately accessible for study in a series of publications entitled "Occasional Papers." This document contains 2 contributions to literature. The first contribution, as indicated by the title "Comparative Structures and Attitudes Along the U.S.-Mexico Border," is a comparison of social structures and attitudes from 2 distinct nationality groups. The second contribution, "Trends and Problems of Urbanization in the United States-Mexico Border Area," is the study of the patterns of internal migration and economic development in Latin American countries as related to the United States-Mexico border area. Included are bibliographies related to each paper. (EJ)

Insight can be gained into the role of specified cultural variables in human development if care is taken in a study to include subcultural variations which can be matched cross-bulturally, to employ well-trained native examiners who have been calibrated cross-culturally, to use techniques which can be defended, and to involve the close and continual collaboration of investigators sensitive to the above issues. This paper reports findings from six years of repeated testing of children from Texas and Mexico, who were selected to represent a broad range of working-class, business, and professional families. A complex analysis-of-variance design was constructed with five main factors: 1) socioeconomic status; 2) sex; 3) age group when tested initially; and 5) year of repeated testing or trial. The main effects for culture proved highly significant, revealing important differences in developmental trends for the entire age span of 6-17 years in Mexican and American children. This study reports only highlights of a much larger research program involving hundreds of children and their families. Additional studies are aimed at gaining greater insight into the complex relationships between cognitive, perceptual and personality measures on the one hand and family life-style, home environment and school performance variables as these aspects of personality development change over time in the two cultures. (JMB)

This paper discusses the influence of Indian culture on the creation of Mexican folklore to the end that the inclusion of such knowledge in classes where students are studying Spanish as a second language will make those classes less formal, more interesting, and more meaningful. The author provides many examples of Indian cultural traditions which have influenced the folklore of modern Mexico. The author recounts some of the legends and traditions of tribes in pre-colonial Mexico, describing social organization, beliefs, superstitions, ceremonies, dances, customs, and art. (VM)

SINCE ONLY ONE FOURTH OF THE POPULATION SPOKE SPANISH, THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION, EDUCATION BEFORE 1955 WAS ESSENTIALLY PRECLUDED FOR 150,000 MIXTECAN INDIANS LIVING IN SOUTHERN OAXACA, MEXICO. IN 1955, 7 ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS WERE ESTABLISHED BY THE NATIONAL INDIAN INSTITUTE, WITH TEACHERS FROM THE LOCAL POPULATION AND INSTRUCTION IN MIXTECO, THE TRIBAL TONGUE. SPANISH WAS TAUGHT USING CONVERSATIONAL TECHNIQUES WHICH COULD BE PRACTICED. AGE AND SEX WERE FOUND TO BE CRUCIAL VARIABLES IN LEARNING STYLES. OLDER BOYS WERE ACCUSTOMED TO STRENUOUS WORK, AND EXPERIENCED DIFFICULTY IN WRITING DUE TO POOR HAND MUSCLE CONTROL. GIRLS OF THE SAME AGE DISPLAYED A FACILITY FOR WRITING ATTRIBUTED TO MUSCULAR COORDINATION ATTAINED LEARNING TO SPIN, WEAVE, AND SEW. OLDER STUDENTS OF BOTH SEXES WERE EXTREMELY TIMID. WITHIN 4 MONTHS, MIXTECAN CHILDREN KNEW THE RUDIMENTS OF READING AND WRITING, AND WITHIN 9 MONTHS MOST CHILDREN COULD READ AND WRITE THEIR OWN LANGUAGE AND SPANISH. THESE RESULTS WERE ATTRIBUTED TO TEACHERS WHO WERE FAMILIAR WITH LOCAL CULTURAL PATTERNS, AND TO PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED PRIMERS THAT RELATED LESSON MATERIAL TO THE CHILDREN'S DAILY LIVES. AFTER 2 YEARS IN AN INSTITUTE SCHOOL, A CHILD COULD ENTER A SPANISH-LANGUAGE FEDERAL SCHOOL AT THE SECOND OR THIRD GRADE LEVEL. THIS PAPER WAS PRESENTED AT THE SYMPOSIUM ON CROSS-CULTURAL COGNITIVE STUDIES, AERA MEETING (CHICAGO, 1968). (DA)

Evolving from a general commitment to the goals of cultural pluralism and bicultural education, this portfolio of 24 full color and halftone photographs aims to reinforce those curricular objectives which emphasize a respect for the value and individuality of different cultures and groups, affirm the right of an individual to maintain a bicultural identity, and encourage a respect for and cultivation of bilingualism and multiculturalism. Depicting both the timeless and modern aspects of Mexico, the series' conceptual framework deals with the complexities of the cultural and historical interactions of the Indian, Spaniard, and Mestizo in Mexico. Printed on heavy paper stock (11" x 14") and suitable for display purposes, each print includes a text in English and Spanish. Related historical themes and concepts and topics for discussion are suggested. Topics are: the Aztec Calendar; a Chamula weaver; selling gum and newspapers; a colonial kitchen; faces of Mexico; a family praying; the Fiesta of San Pedro; fishermen of Lake Patzcuaro; a flower vendor; a Hildago mural by Jose Clemente Orozco; the Liberty Market; life in a small town; Mexico City's cathedral; modern Mexico City; old ladies at market; the Plaza of Three Cultures; responsibilities; a Diego Rivera mural; the ancient cities of Tenochtitlan, Teotihuacan, Tepotzotlan, and Tlaloc; the University of Mexico library; and a Zinacanteco family. (NQ)