Multicultural Education, Critical Pedagogy, and the Politics of Difference

Readings for diversity and social justice: An anthology on racism, antisemintism, sexism, heterosexism, albleism, and classism

Handbook of research on children’s and young adult literature

We explore teachers’ efforts to implement problem-based learning (PBL) in an elementary school serving predominantly English learners. Teachers had an opportunity to implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) using PBL in a summer school setting with no test-pressures. To understand the challenges and benefits of PBL implementation, a case study method was used and a variety of data collected. Results suggest collaboration amongst teachers is essential to design and implement PBL units. A challenge was the tension between the contradictory accountability and curriculum coverage goals of the regular academic year versus letting go to promote inquiry. Both teachers and students valued working in collaborative teams. An important insight is the need to help teachers connect NGSS to students’ lives and to consider their background knowledge in unit development and problem formulation.

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PBL in the Era of Reform Standards: Challenges and Benefits Perceived by Teachers in One Elementary School.

This mixed-methodology study surveys 63 fifth graders in a one-way dual language school. Findings alarmingly indicate that although these students are native Spanish speakers in a school that delivers 50% of their instruction in Spanish, they prefer English both academically and socially. Subsequent interviews with 10 sample students of the larger study generate deeper understandings about how these students view their languages. If dual language programs are going to be maximally successful, then they must foster an environment that encourages students’ attitudes and investments toward both of their languages, taking particular care to protect and promote the minority language.

“I Like English Better”: Latino Dual Language Students’ Investment in Spanish, English, and Bilingualism

Standardization and curriculum alignment are the dominant curricular forces in education today. Due in part to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, education has become singularly focused on teaching towards the test in order to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), yet data has shown that using standardized testing does not result in increased student learning or development. This article discusses the current state of education in this country as well as the detrimental effects that standardization and strict curriculum alignment have, not only on students, but on educators as well.

http://www.joci.ecu.edu/index.php/JoCI/article/download/101/pdf

"Just Another Brick in the Wall": Standardization and the Devaluing of Education

There has been a universal movement towards government-regulated standardisation and high-stakes assessment. In the United States, this has resulted in the No Child Left Behind Act (2001). Because of the predominant focus on high-stakes reading and writing assessments required by NCLB, teachers in the subject area of English/Language Arts (ELA) have been victims of increased expectations and regimentation, more so than most other content areas. Therefore, for teachers today, both in ELA and across the curriculum, NCLB is harming teachers, their practice and their long-term commitment to the teaching profession.

The Disheartened Teacher: Living in the Age of Standardisation, High-stakes Assessments, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Anti-Semitism, prejudice, and discrimination against Jewish people are still largely absent from the study of social justice issues and multicultural education at the university level. Although often seen as being White, Jews are still discriminated against, with current reports showing that acts of anti-Semitism have been at their highest levels since World War II. There has also been a resurgence of anti-Semitic incidents at American universities, yet Jewish oppression is still neglected in multicultural/diversity classroom discussions. This must change in order to create the next generation of social justice educators who can continue to deconstruct anti-Semitism.

Still Wandering: The Exclusion of Jews From Issues of Social Justice and Multicultural Thought

Behavior issues in the classroom directly relate to the teaching style and the type of interactions between the teacher and students. In particular, Latino/a students need to be engaged in the curriculum content if they are to be successful, both academically and emotionally. If this does not occur, then behavioral issues will arise, which will then feed into the school-to-prison pipeline theory.

Engaging Latino/a Students in the Secondary English Classroom: A Step Toward Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Despite the recognized importance of engagement across various domains, audience engagement with entertainment products has been largely overlooked and has lacked a generally accepted definition. We address this gap in the literature by conceptualizing audience engagement as a psychological state that relates to the quality of the connection that audiences have with an entertainment product. In explicating the role of audience engagement, we hope to develop a model capable of accounting for a wide range of behavioral outcomes relating to audience-film engagement. Highlighting this need, prior efforts to predict the box office performance of films have largely ignored ancillary revenues; have limited applicability to films that forego theatrical release; and cannot explain common patterns of week-to-week box office performance. Based on an analysis of the literature predicting the box office performance of films, a review of the engagement literature, and a historical analysis of the film industry, we organize the drivers of audience engagement into three categories: Film- , Channel- , and Marketing-related factors as well as discuss the boundary conditions through moderating factors. This research is intended to inform production, marketing, and distribution decisions within the film industry and to provide directions for future research. 

Daniel Ian Rubin

Papers

"Just Another Brick in the Wall": Standardization and the Devaluing of Education

The Disheartened Teacher: Living in the Age of Standardisation, High-stakes Assessments, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB)

Still Wandering: The Exclusion of Jews From Issues of Social Justice and Multicultural Thought

Engaging Latino/a Students in the Secondary English Classroom: A Step Toward Breaking the School-to-Prison Pipeline

Beyond the box office: A conceptual framework for the drivers of audience engagement