'Paleontological Institute at The University of Kansas'
Abstract
The University of Kansas has long historical connections with Central America and the many Central
Americans who have earned graduate degrees at KU. This work is part of the Central American Theses
and Dissertations collection in KU ScholarWorks and is being made freely available with permission of the
author through the efforts of Professor Emeritus Charles Stansifer of the History department and the staff of
the Scholarly Communications program at the University of Kansas Libraries’ Center for Digital Scholarship.Costa Rica has experienced large migrations from Nicaragua in the past two decades due
primarily to Nicaragua’s weak economy and volatile government. Costa Rica offers
immigrants a stable economy and political situation. One consequence of these migrations is
strong negative perceptions held by Costa Ricans about Nicaraguans. How and from where
did the negative perceptions originate? What feeds and encourages these negative
perceptions? Why do negative perceptions continue to persist? In order to answer these
questions and assess the validity of the negative perceptions, this thesis analyzes essays
written by seventh-graders regarding their opinions of Nicaraguans in Costa Rica. The
overall student response was negative, which matches the discourse used by the adult
population. In some instances, there was reasonable, objective evidence for the validity of
the negative perceptions. However, in most cases, the students tended to over-generalize and
exaggerate negative perceptions in response to their fear of the “other.
