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Luis C. Moll, whose research contributions are credited with advancing the understanding of ways that Hispanic students learn, is being honored by the American Educational Research Association.

By La Monica Everett-Haynes, University Communications
October 16, 2009

For decades, Luis C. Moll has investigated the ways Hispanic families' social networks and household environments contribute to the education and success of their children.

Considered pivotal research, the work headed by Moll and his colleagues have challenged long-existing theoretical models that have indicated that people of color are inherently disadvantaged because of their social and cultural backgrounds.

"We learn and develop through our relationships with each other – that is fundamental to the development," said Moll, a University of Arizona professor in the language, reading and culture department.

But failing to trace the benefits of such relationships and networks avoids acknowledgement of "potential resources that facilitate" a child's learning, Moll added.

In recognition of his body of work, Moll has been selected to present the American Educational Research Association's 2009 Brown Lecture in Education Research – a highly significant invitation within the education discipline.

In a statement about the lecture – now in its sixth year – the association stated that those asked to give the lecture are scholars who contribute "significant scholarship that advances equality and equity in education."

Moll's work has "influenced lines of education research, sociology, and cultural anthropology, specifically focusing on education practice that has improved education experiences of underserved students, particularly Latino/a children," the association noted in the statement.

His talk, "Mobilizing Culture, Language and Educational Practices: Fulfilling the Promises of Méndez and Brown," will be presented Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Moll will speak about two critical cases related to equity and education: the Méndez v. Westminster School District of 1946 and the connections of the case to the  landmark decision made by the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education, which came about seven years later.

The Mendez v. Westminster case was significant in that it helped force the desegregation of schools in California, he said. 

Incidentally, Thurgood Marhall and Robert Carter, celebrated attorneys of the Brown v. Board of Education case, wrote an amicus brief in support the plaintiffs in Méndez.

"I am arguing that the Méndez case formed part of the intellectual history for Brown," Moll said, adding that he will discuss the social context for both the Méndez cases.

Critically important in the Méndez case was that the family was quite resourceful, Moll said.

"Their kids were rejected from these schools and they weren't activists. These were plain folks who decided to take action," he said.

The case eventually drew national attention and support from a range of organizations addressing civil rights issues for varying communities.

Moll will address the implications of both cases, particularly related to the mobilizing effect of languages and cultural practices.

"It became an interethnic coalition to remedy the injustice of segregation," he said about the Méndez case. "It's this commitment to action by garnering resources and, in a sense, mobilizing knowledge that is a hallmark of the case."

This gets directly to Moll's groundbreaking research model, "Funds of Knowledge," which he has been developing for more than two decades in collaboration with anthropologists Norma González, a UA language, reading and culture professor, and Cathy Amanti, a school teacher, administrator and doctoral student in the UA department.

"Funds of Knowledge" argues that families identify networks and resources that one could bring together to "create some positive change in education," said Moll, who previously served as the UA College of Education's associate dean for academic affairs and has been a UA faculty member since 1986. 

"It's the idea of what I am calling 'coalitions,' or social relationships with others that may help us in the accumulation of resources and knowledge to create change in education and to create circumstances to work together to help our children achieve."

In reaching this conclusion, Moll has led studies investigating classroom instruction and learning, the influence of social relationships, and household contexts while also studying language and literacy. He also is studying biliteracy development in children. 

It's not the first time Moll has been honored by the American Educational Research Association. He was invited in 1999 to present the organization's Distinguished Lecture and, in 2005, received its Sylvia Scribner Award, which goes to scholars making major contributions to aid in learning and instruction.

An AERA Fellow and a National Academy of Education member, Moll also has received the Journal of Latinos and Education's Henry T. Trueba Lifetime Achievement Award.

His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and others. 

In speaking about his most recent honor, Moll said: "To me, this is a fine opportunity, not only for myself, but to honor my colleagues and to the people who have helped me so much throughout my career."