Communicating education information to anglo and hispanic populations

The authors wanted to know whether — and how — the Hispanic and Anglo populations in southwestern Texas were receiving information about a new public school program for handicapped youth. Gathering information through personal interviews and bilingual questionnaires, they learned that 54% of Anglos, and 43% of Hispanics, were aware of the program. Of those, about half of both ethnic groups had first learned of it through television spots. But the proportion of Hispanics learning first through social relations was greater (28% compared with 18% for Anglos). Although the per person cost of creating initial awareness through social relations was considerably greater ($43.38 compared with $11.96 for TV spots), it is of interest that a fairly large number of Hispanics receive educational information through social contact with those who hear it from mass media.