It is now well known that Chicanos, as a group, attain considerably lower levels of academic achievement than the national average. This is a serious and persistent problem facing educators at all levels of the U.S. educational system. More than an educational problem, however, this state of affairs has become a pressing social issue of growing significance and urgent public concern, given that this ethnic group represents a rapidly expanding proportion of the U.S. population. Nevertheless, there is little agreement about the causes of the problem. Our goal in this chapter is to provide a context that we hope contributes toward a constructive understanding of these causes. To this end, we relate the question of causes to theory and research bearing on socialization processes and the development of competence in children and youth. (79pp.)