Showing papers in "Harvard Educational Review in 1998"
TL;DR: In this article, Delgado Bernal outlines a Chicana feminist epistemological framework that is new to the field of educational research, which draws from the existing work of this article.
Abstract: In this article, Dolores Delgado Bernal outlines a Chicana feminist epistemological framework that is new to the field of educational research. This framework, which draws from the existing work of...
776 citations
TL;DR: Audrey Thompson as discussed by the authors argues that theories of care fail to acknowledge and address the Whiteness of their political and cultural assumptions, and calls for a reexamination of the whiteness embedded in these colorblind theories, which have been universally framed and have sidestepped the issues of racial imbalance implicit in colorblindness.
Abstract: In this article, Audrey Thompson offers a critique of the "colorblindness" found both in the psychological literature on caring and in theories of caring in education. Thompson argues that, insofar as theories of care fail to acknowledge and address the Whiteness of their political and cultural assumptions, they are in effect colorblind. She calls for a reexamination of the Whiteness embedded in these colorblind theories, which have been universally framed and have thus sidestepped the issues of racial imbalance implicit in colorblindness. She adds to the critique of these theories by showing how differently some of the themes that have proved generative for theories of care might have been interpreted if a Black feminist perspective rather than a liberal White feminist perspective had been assumed. Following her critique of four key themes—the moral relevance of the situation, the primacy of survival, the significance of the standpoint from which values are understood, and the moral power of narrative—Th...
283 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Margolis and Romero examine the effect of the hidden curriculum on women of color graduate students in sociology and identify two forms of hidden curriculum at work: the "weak" form, which is the professionalization process essential to "becoming a sociologist," and the "strong" form which acts to reproduce stratified and unequal social relations.
Abstract: In this article, Eric Margolis and Mary Romero examine the effect of the "hidden curriculum" on women of color graduate students in sociology. They interview twenty-six women of color enrolled in Ph.D. programs in sociology to uncover how the graduate school curriculum not only produces professional sociologists, but also simultaneously reproduces gender, race, class, and other forms of inequality. In their analysis, Margolis and Romero identify two forms of the hidden curriculum at work: the "weak" form, which is the professionalization process essential to "becoming a sociologist," and the "strong" form, which acts to reproduce stratified and unequal social relations. The numerous quotations from the women graduate students interviewed reveal that many elements of the hidden curriculum — such as stereotyping and blaming the victim — were painfully obvious to them. As Margolis and Romero argue, the women's stories, the authors' analysis, and the publication of this article are forms of resistance to the ...
237 citations
TL;DR: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an end to the Mexican American War of 1846-1848, marked its sesquicentennial on February 2, 1998 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an end to the Mexican American War of 1846–1848, marked its sesquicentennial on February 2, 1998. The signing of the Treaty and the U.S. annexation, b...
178 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of data from the U.S. National Adult Literacy Survey (NOLS) showed that ethnic and gender inequality in employment and earnings remain large.
Abstract: Few would deny that the civil rights and women's movements have substantially changed U.S. society. Yet ethnic and gender inequality in employment and earnings remain large. Even when comparisons are confined to persons of similar educational attainment, African Americans and Hispanic Americans earn less than European Americans, women earn less than men, and African Americans suffer a substantially elevated risk of unemployment. One prominent explanation for ethnic differences in earnings and employment is that, holding constant access to schooling, differences in economic outcomes reflect differences in cognitive skills that have become decisive in the modern labor market. A prominent explanation for the gender gap emphasizes gender differences in occupational preference, with women choosing occupations that are lower paying. Based on an intensive analysis of data from the U.S. National Adult Literacy Survey, the authors find that these two explanations are only partly successful in illuminating ethnic a...
123 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a theory and practice based on authentic dialogue between teachers and learners is proposed for the adult literacy process, which leads not only to their acquisition of literacy skills, but also, and more importantly, to their awareness of their right as human beings to transform reality.
Abstract: In this article, Part I of Cultural Action for Freedom, Paulo Freire rejects mechanistic conceptions of the adult literacy process, advocating instead a theory and practice based upon authentic dialogue between teachers and learners. Such dialogue, in Freire's approach, centers upon the learners' existential situations and leads not only to their acquisition of literacy skills, but also, and more importantly, to their awareness of their right as human beings to transform reality. Becoming literate, then, means far more than learning to decode the written representation of a sound system. It is truly an act of knowing, through which a person is able to look critically at the world he/she lives in, and to reflect and act upon it. (pp. 480-498)In this article, Part II of Cultural Action for Freedom, Paulo Freire explains the process of conscientization as an intrinsic part of cultural action for freedom. He rejects the mechanistic and behaviorist understanding of consciousness as a passive copy of reality. I...
87 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Sonia Nieto combines the research on Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools with the power of the growing body of fiction written by Puerto Ricans to provide a more comprehensive and more human portrait of students.
Abstract: Puerto Rican communities have been a reality in many northeastern urban centers for over a century. Schools and classrooms have felt their presence through the Puerto Rican children attending school. The education of Puerto Ricans in U.S. schools has been documented for about seventy years, but in spite of numerous commissions, research reports, and other studies, this history is largely unknown to teachers and the general public. In addition to the research literature, a growing number of fictional accounts in English are providing another fertile avenue for understanding the challenges that Puerto Ricans have faced, and continue to face, in U.S. schools. In this article, Sonia Nieto combines the research on Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools with the power of the growing body of fiction written by Puerto Ricans. In this weaving of "fact" with "fiction," Nieto hopes to provide a more comprehensive and more human portrait of Puerto Rican students. Based on her reading of the literature in both educatio...
68 citations
TL;DR: Hankins explores the connection between her personal history and her present classroom teaching through the process of journal writing as discussed by the authors, and discovers that her past experiences, when carefully reflected on, can help her better understand, and thus reach and teach, her students, even those with whom she once felt she had little in common.
Abstract: We are pleased to inaugurate our new Voices Inside Schools section with "Cacophony to Symphony: Memoirs in Teacher Research," by Karen Hale Hankins. In this article, Hankins explores the connection between her personal history and her present classroom teaching through the process of journal writing. She records in her journal her observations about her class, her teaching, and her memoirs of her own past as they are sparked by present events, feelings, and challenges in her classroom. Hankins discovers that her past experiences, when carefully reflected on, can help her better understand, and thus reach and teach, her students, even those with whom she once felt she had little in common.
36 citations
TL;DR: Ramos-Zayas as discussed by the authors argues that schooling cannot be divorced from the political and socioeconomic forces governing neighborhood development, and focuses on the role of grassroots activists with a nationalist agenda in community-based educational projects in Chicago, particularly the Pedro Albizu Campos High School (PACHS), a compelling example of the potential of an educational project based on a nationalist ideology.
Abstract: In this article, Ana Ramos-Zayas argues that schooling cannot be divorced from the political and socioeconomic forces governing neighborhood development. She focuses on the role of grassroots activists with a nationalist agenda (i.e., in favor of independence for Puerto Rico) in community-based educational projects in Chicago, particularly the Pedro Albizu Campos High School (PACHS), a compelling example of the potential of an educational project based on a nationalist ideology. For Puerto Ricans, the question of the political status of the Island—future U.S. state, commonwealth, or independent nation—has been debated for the past one hundred years. For the students and teachers of PACHS, independence, and an education based on the principles of Puerto Rican self-determination, is the only option. Ramos-Zayas argues that an oppositional education based on such a political ideology is a powerful, yet largely untapped, resource for creating successful ethnoracial youth and popular education programs. She co...
32 citations
TL;DR: Del Valle as mentioned in this paper examines the role of Puerto Ricans in the struggle for bilingual education as a fight for civil rights in which lawyers and litigation have played a large role, arguing that these forces have also contributed to the compromised nature of bilingual education, making it especially vulnerable to attack.
Abstract: In this article, Sandra Del Valle examines the struggle for bilingual education as a fight for civil rights in which lawyers and litigation have played a large role. By specifically looking at the role of Puerto Ricans in New York City in these struggles, she examines the fatal gap between two visions of bilingual education—the vision of the grassroots Puerto Rican community that saw bilingual education as educational enrichment, and the remedial model that was ultimately adopted and advanced by lawyers and other professionals in the courts. As Del Valle argues, national policymakers, federal courts, and advocacy organizations have raised the nation's consciousness on issues affecting language-minority students; however, these forces have also contributed to the compromised nature of bilingual education, making it especially vulnerable to attack. Therefore, the role between these entities—that is, education advocates, policymakers, and the courts—must be constructed differently and take its cues from stud...
25 citations
TL;DR: The value of reporting research to the people who agree to participate in it has been accepted as commonplace in the last ten to fifteen years, especially in applied disciplines such as education as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The value of reporting research to the people who agree to participate in it has been accepted as commonplace in the last ten to fifteen years, especially in applied disciplines such as education. However, there are few detailed accounts of what actually happens when university researchers and school practitioners engage in conversation over knowledge about schooling. There is even less evidence about how, when, where, or for whom the process might be valuable. In this article, Reba Page, Yvette Samson, and Michele Crockett provide such an account. They first describe their experience with teacher seminars in which they reported their research to members of two high school science departments in whose classes they had studied curriculum extensively. They then interpret these experiences from three orientations.
TL;DR: Rajagopalan as mentioned in this paper pointed out that Thomas's call for the complete abolition of theory does not translate into actual practice either, and in fact, in arguing against the use of theory in education, Thomas winds up creating a new theory, a theory of anti-theory, fraught with many of the same problems Thomas identifies in other people's theories.
Abstract: "A radically atheoretical posture is conceivable only in a purely theoretical world of wild fancy," writes Kanavillil Rajagopalan in response to Gary Thomas's article, "What's the Use of Theory?" published in the Spring 1997 issue of the Harvard Educational Review. While agreeing with Thomas that educators and researchers often depend too heavily on theory and that theory often does not translate into actual practice, Rajagopalan points out that Thomas's call for the complete abolition of theory does not translate into actual practice either. In fact, Rajagopalan asserts, in arguing against the use of theory in education, Thomas winds up creating a new theory—a theory of anti-theory—fraught with many of the same problems Thomas identifies in other people's theories. Rajagopalan's critique focuses on three points: first, humans may by nature be theorizing creatures, making the call for the abolition of theory impossible in reality; second, Thomas himself cannot help but fall into the trap of using and rely...
TL;DR: In this article, Walsh presented and analyzed the colonial push-and-pull of education in a White-run, northeastern school system where Puerto Rican students are the numerical majority, using school department data, court reports, interviews and field notes collected over the last five years.
Abstract: In this article, Catherine Walsh presents and analyzes the colonial "push-and-pull" of education in a White-run, northeastern school system where Puerto Rican students are the numerical majority. Using school department data, court reports, interviews, and field notes collected over the last five years, Walsh provides a case study of the condition and experience of Puerto Rican students in these schools, making central the present-day manifestations of colonialism in the workings of schools and highlighting the opposition that emerges in response. This opposition includes racially/ethnically positioned tensions that shape administrative policy- and decisionmaking. Walsh suggests that students, parents, and others working for the improvement of conditions for Puerto Ricans must come to better understand the push-and-pull of colonial relations in the schools, make connections between the need and strategies for educational change and for change in other social institutional contexts, and establish alliances...
TL;DR: In this article, Simon Hole uses the metaphor of the teacher as rain dancer to explore some aspects of the nature of being a teacher and observes his teaching partner as she attempts to help her class democratically elect reporters for a school newsletter, and a dilemma emerges when her desire to satisfy one student's interest in this position collides with her goal for the class to elect the reporters democratically.
Abstract: In this article, Simon Hole uses the metaphor of the teacher as rain dancer to explore some aspects of the nature of being a teacher. Hole observes his teaching partner as she attempts to help her class democratically elect reporters for a school newsletter. A dilemma emerges when her desire to satisfy one student's interest in this position collides with her goal for the class to elect the reporters democratically. Hole uses his telling of this dilemma to provoke conversation among his colleagues about the tensions inherent in trying to meet conflicting classroom needs. Reflecting on his colleagues' dilemmas and responses to them, he raises the question of whose needs are being met in the classroom—teachers' or students'. Hole considers a moment in his own practice when he feels acutely the tension created by facing a choice between pursuing his students' agendas and his own.
TL;DR: Antonia Pantoja is an important activist and educator in the Puerto Rican community, both on the island and in the United States as discussed by the authors, and her contribution to this Symposium brings in a unique voice of a Puerto Rican woman committed to her people.
Abstract: Antonia Pantoja is an important activist and educator in the Puerto Rican community, both on the Island and in the United States. Pantoja was interviewed for the Harvard Educational Review by Wilhelmina Perry, an African American educator who has known Pantoja for the last twenty years as a colleague, friend, and coworker. This interview is part of a dialogue around the significant issues of Pantoja's life that reflect her life's work resisting the colonization of the Puerto Rican community. Through Pantoja's memories we are provided with the early and personal experiences that shaped her political and social commitments in her struggle against injustice. Pantoja's contribution to this Symposium brings in a unique voice of a Puerto Rican woman committed to her people.
TL;DR: Abigail Erdmann as discussed by the authors reflects on her career as a classroom teacher and shares her delight in discovering that middle age is not, as she had once thought, a time of boredom or complacency.
Abstract: In this article, Abigail Erdmann reflects on her career as a classroom teacher. She shares her delight in discovering that middle age isn't, as she had once thought, a time of boredom or complacency. Instead, she finds it to be a time of growing vitality as her relationship to teaching deepens and changes. She realizes that her students have educated her as much as she has educated them, and reveals that this reciprocity is a primary reason why she continues to find teaching to be a vital and rewarding career. (pp. 584-589)
Journal Article•
TL;DR: When the writers and producers of the NBC television series Seinfeld, including Jerry Seinfeld himself, decided to burn the Puerto Rican flag on national television, they performed a great service for the island of Puerto Rico as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: When the writers and producers of the NBC television series Seinfeld, including Jerry Seinfeld himself, decided to burn the Puerto Rican flag on national television, they performed a great service for the Puerto Rican people. Albeit unwittingly, this singular event reminded Puerto Ricans of how poorly we are regarded in the American psyche. Puerto Ricans everywhere were forced to ask themselves, would the people of Seinfeld and NBC dare burn any flag other than the Puerto Rican flag? That act, committed presumably in the interest of humor, only poured salt on a hundred-year-old wound. Since October 18, 1898, the day the United States raised its flag on the island of Puerto Rico, Puerto Ricans and their flag have been little more than a joke and an occasional nuisance to the American people.