This dissertation explores the educational experiences of Chicana/os in the first half of the twentieth century using one of the most ethnically diverse communities in the state of California—South Central Los Angeles—as a case study. Driven by the following questions, my research explored: 1) What were the social and economic conditions of the Mexican community of South Central Los Angeles during 1930-1949? 2) What were the dominant discourses about this population during the period understudy? 3) What influences did dominant discourses have in how Chicana/o students experienced schooling during 1930-1949? In answering these guiding research questions, this dissertation places Chicana/o youth at the center of educational policy-making and builds on previous historical scholarship documenting the pervasiveness of racism within and beyond schools. It contributes to our understanding of the link between local discourses of Mexican juvenile delinquency and school district policy and practice.

Drawing on a Critical Race Theory (CRT) in education, this dissertation discusses collective Mexican schooling experiences in South Central Los Angeles by exploring the connections between the social conditions of Mexican families, dominant juvenile delinquency rhetoric and educational policy. I utilize archival research methods, and hone in on quantitative sources, such as U.S. Census Population Schedules from 1930 & 1940, to illuminate on the qualitative experiences of Mexican students. Pairing U.S. Census data with school district literature, correspondence, photographs, school yearbooks & student newspapers along with special collections such as the Carey McWilliams, Manuel Ruiz, Mexican Voice and LAUSD papers, add depth in understanding how the education of Chicana/o students was rationalized and designed.

This dissertation finds that discourses of deficiency framed youth as deficient in moral character and intelligence, which functioned to justify vocational training programs as a suitable option for Mexican students. Thus, vocational training programs were theorized as curricular examples of structures of deficiency, as they were anchored on the perceived low educational ability of Mexican students. Structures of deficiency also manifested themselves in the ways teachers taught Mexican students. In particular, I argue that the use of intimidation tactics and corporal punishment in the classroom, were manifestations of the structures of deficiency. These practices often used to teach Mexican students, were rooted in deficit notions of academic ability, which deemed these students educable only under the threat of physical violence.