Showing papers in "Urban Education in 2001"
TL;DR: Using critical race theory and Latina/Latino critical race theories as a framework, the authors utilizes the methods of qualitative inquiry and counter-storytelling to examine the construct of student resistance.
Abstract: Using critical race theory and Latina/Latino critical race theory as a framework, this article utilizes the methods of qualitative inquiry and counterstorytelling to examine the construct of student resistance. The authors use two events in Chicana/Chicano student history—the 1968 East Los Angeles school walkouts and the 1993 UCLA student strike for Chicana and Chicano studies. Using these two methods and events, the authors extend the concept of resistance to focus on its transformative potential and its internal and external dimensions. The authors describe and analyze a series of individual and focus group interviews with women who participated in the 1968 East Los Angeles high school walkouts. The article then introduces a counterstory that briefly listens in on a dialogue between two data-driven composite characters, the Professor and an undergraduate student named Gloria. These characters’ experiences further illuminate the concepts of internal and external transformational resistance.
1,350 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the findings from a qualitative case study of four elementary school teachers in urban settings and revealed teaching practices consistent with various norms espoused by African American students in a manner that could be termed "culturally relevant".
Abstract: The disproportionate underachievement of African American students may suggest that teacher effectiveness with this student population has been limited. However, amidst these widespread academic failures, characterizations of effective teachers of African American students have emerged in an attempt to reverse these disturbing trends. This article examines the findings from a qualitative case study of four elementary school teachers in urban settings. The findings reveal teaching practices consistent with various norms espoused by African American students in a manner that could be termed “culturally relevant.” In this article, three of the major pedagogical themes are discussed: holistic instructional strategies, culturally consistent communicative competencies, and skill-building strategies to promote academic success.
232 citations
TL;DR: The authors compared education students' attitudes toward working in urban schools as they entered teacher preparation and later after student teaching, given descriptions of four schools differing from each other, and found that students were more likely to report negative attitudes toward urban schools.
Abstract: This study compared education students’ attitudes toward working in urban schools as they entered teacher preparation and later after student teaching. Given descriptions of four schools differing ...
122 citations
TL;DR: This paper provided an accurate historical and contemporary view of black colleges and pointed out that these institutions have a long-standing tradition of preparing their students for economic, political, and social success, and that much can be learned from these institutions which have creatively combined academic instruction, cultural edification and social uplift to generate a program that has been successfully preparing students for over 100 years.
Abstract: As remnants of a period in America’s past that some would like pretend did not exist, Black colleges have frequently been devalued and misconstrued. In a time when affirmative action programs are constantly being questioned, these institutions continue to be accused of promoting segregation. However, those who make such claims do so in direct opposition to the history that led to the development of these institutions. Although it is not often discussed, Black colleges have a long-standing tradition of preparing their students for economic, political, and social success. The purpose of this article is to provide an accurate historical and contemporary view of these institutions. Much can be learned from these institutions which have creatively combined academic instruction, cultural edification, and social uplift to generate a program that has been successfully preparing students for more than 100 years.
79 citations
TL;DR: This paper raised concerns about how context is conceptualized and researched in many current school violence inquiries, and found that specific school subcontexts (e.g., ha ha ha) are more likely to be associated with specific types of violence.
Abstract: This article raises concerns about how context is conceptualized and researched in many current school violence inquiries. For example, research has shown that specific school subcontexts (e.g., ha...
71 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that although access and opportunity have dramatically improved for women, particularly reentry or nontraditional learners, the same is not true for minorities, especially African Americans.
Abstract: This article presents gains in enrollment data of women and minorities in higher education. The article argues that although access and opportunity have dramatically improved for women, particularly “reentry” or “nontraditional” learners, the same is not true for minorities, especially African Americans. Nontraditional African American women are showing a higher rate of participation than their male counterparts.
69 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a critical perspective that addresses issues of bicultural development and linguistic attitudes within a context of existing societal power relations is presented, which is informed by a critical viewpoint.
Abstract: This study is informed by a critical perspective that addresses issues of bicultural development and linguistic attitudes within a context of existing societal power relations. Interviews were cond...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors developed and implemented a methodology to involve African American parents in their children's education, which is one of the educators' greatest challenges in African American education.
Abstract: Actively involving African American parents in their children’s education remains one of educators’ greatest challenges. The authors, representing a metropolitan university, developed and implement...
34 citations
TL;DR: This paper conducted interviews with program coordinators of 57 university-school district collaborative programs to understand types of collaboration, school populations served, university divisions involved, longevity of collaborations, size of program staff and volunteers, numbers of students served, perceived goal accomplishment, quality of collaboration and institutional commitment.
Abstract: Interviews were conducted with program coordinators of 57 university-school district collaborative programs. Results were analyzed to better understand types of collaboration, school populations served, university divisions involved, longevity of collaborations, size of program staff and volunteers, numbers of students served, perceived goal accomplishment, quality of collaboration, institutional commitment, and help needed. Collaborations were found to be typically long standing, varied in type, serving large numbers of city school students, satisfying to university partners, and perceived as generally achieving their goals. Programs with high collaboration were judged to be more successful. Recommendations for improving university-school collaboration and for further research are described.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an exploratory study assessed the impact of LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) on students and found that the strongest effect of the LOC mission was the impact on students' development.
Abstract: An exploratory study assessed the impact of LeMoyne-Owen College (LOC) on students. Eighty randomly selected students (34 freshmen and 46 seniors) participated. They received measures of college adjustment (to the LOC mission), faculty interaction, study habits, personal management, and social adjustment. Results were controlled for social class, aptitude, and variations in age. The results showed that (a) seniors scored higher on all five scales measuring aspects of college adjustment, (b) the strongest effect was the impact of the LOC mission, (c) males showed more widespread development by a factor of 3 to 1, (d) vocational aspiration was the best predictor of grades, and (e) grade point average was the best predictor of the socioeconomic status of vocational aspiration and was positively affected by LOC. The most important implication for institutional action is the power of the mission statement to presage effects on students. Implications for the study of Black student development in college are dis...
33 citations
TL;DR: This paper examined whether students in the Chicago Public School System are at a disadvantage relative to students in suburban school systems and other school systems in Illinois after many back-grading studies and concluded that students in Chicago public schools are at an even worse disadvantage than suburban schools.
Abstract: This study examines whether students in the Chicago Public School System are at a disadvantage relative to students in suburban school systems and other school systems in Illinois after many backgr...
TL;DR: The authors examine the role that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played and continue to play in economic development, how these institutions have contributed to the cultural empowerment of African Americans, and the important ways HBCUs have bridged the gap between the two to make a valuable contribution to African Americans specifically and America in general.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to specifically examine the role that historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played and continue to play in economic development, how these institutions have contributed to the cultural empowerment of African Americans, and the important ways HBCUs have bridged the gap between the two to make a valuable contribution to African Americans specifically and America in general.
TL;DR: This paper explored influences and barriers in the socialization experience of African American tenure-track and tenured faculty at two urban Black colleges and found that clear institutional values and expectations, which were learned formally and informally, were an influential component of socialization process.
Abstract: This article examines the socialization experience of African American faculty at urban Black colleges. Specifically, this qualitative study explored influences and barriers in the socialization experience of African American tenure-track and tenured faculty in the social sciences and humanities at two urban Black colleges. Clear institutional values and expectations, which were learned formally and informally, were an influential component of the socialization process. Senior faculty, written publications, and department chairs informed new faculty of the institutional values and expectations for promotion and tenure. However, a perceived barrier in the socialization process was that senior faculty were not informing new faculty about the ropes of the institution. New faculty indicated they had to learn the ropes of the institution through trial and error. Nonetheless, this perceived barrier did not significantly detract from the overall positive socialization experience of faculty at the urban Black col...
TL;DR: In this paper, the effectiveness of peer mediation was examined in an inner-city elementary school, where thirty-four third-grade and fourth-grade students in a pre-kindergarten to four-grade elementary school were evaluated.
Abstract: The effectiveness of peer mediation was examined in an inner-city elementary school. Thirty-four third-grade and fourth-grade students in a prekindergarten to fourth-grade elementary school were tr...
TL;DR: This article studied the achievement behavior of black and white students in poverty-concentrated, socioeconomically mixed, and affluent-consistent school contexts, and found that the test score gap by race is as much a function of the test and its construction as it is a function on the characteristics of test takers.
Abstract: This study seeks to understand the achievement behavior of Black and White students in poverty-concentrated, socioeconomically mixed, and affluent-concentrated school contexts. Holding socioeconomic status constant, the proportion of Black and White students performing above the national norm on the Metropolitan Achievement Test was computed and analyzed for each of these three learning environments. The proportion of students performing above the national norm is higher in affluent-concentrated schools than in poverty-concentrated schools for students in both racial groups. However, the 36 percentage points that separated Black and White populations in favor of Whites on the achievement test for all elementary and middle school combined was more or less constant in high, middle, and low socioeconomic schools, suggesting that the test score gap by race is as much a function of the test and its construction as it is a function of characteristics of the test takers.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors highlight the misalignment that exists between the Carnegie Classification and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and make the case for a separate classification that solely focuses on HBCUs.
Abstract: Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have played a unique function in the American higher education system. However, research on HBCUs remains scant. One reason for the lack of research may be due to the fact that scholars have not engaged in studies that examine the diversity among theses institutions. Collectively, the mission, role, and function of these institutions have been documented in the research literature. Yet, no study has considered the individual identity that exists between and among these institutions. This article highlights the misalignment that exists between the Carnegie Classification and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The case is made for a separate classification that solely focuses on HBCUs. However, in doing so, such a classification must be based on variables that are unique to HBCUs and not just traditional classification variables.
TL;DR: This paper used interviews to explore students' perspectives of a university path program, and found that the abstraction of the program lives in concrete and personal dimensions for students as they move from high school to university in the same neighborhood.
Abstract: This study uses interviews to explore students’ perspectives of a university path program, one initiative of a university-school partnership. Responses show that the abstraction of the program lives in concrete and personal dimensions for students as they move from high school to university in the same neighborhood. Advanced placement work at the university and the secondment of faculty from the school board blur distinctions between school and university. Most striking is the students’ desire to contribute to the community that has supported them and is most closely associated with their families, the school, and the university that lies, at least geographically, within community bounds.
TL;DR: The authors explores the growing phenomenon of increasing and majority numbers of white faculty members at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States and the implications that such a growing presence has for the traditional mission and activities of these institutions.
Abstract: This article explores the growing phenomenon of increasing and majority numbers of White faculty members at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States and the implications that such a growing presence has for the traditional mission and activities of these institutions. The author explores the historical and contemporary presence of White faculty members at HBCU institutions and discusses both the unresolved and emerging issues, problems, and challenges that must be squarely confronted if these institutions are to remain successful in educating and empowering large numbers of African American students in the future.
TL;DR: The authors examined the intersection of the perceptions of the adolescent mentors with the structural constraints of the elementary school in which they worked and revealed the value to them of their engagement with their proteges, their indifference to an indifferent school setting and their rejection of teaching as a possible career.
Abstract: The following study examined a mentoring program in which seven adolescent male students of color mentored elementary students. As the program goal was to encourage African American and Latino adolescents to consider a teaching career, the study examined the intersection of the perceptions of the adolescent mentors with the structural constraints of the elementary school in which they worked. Analysis of mentors’ perceptions revealed the value to them of their engagement with their proteges, their indifference to an indifferent school setting, and their rejection of teaching as a possible career. The study included the mentors as research participants in its research method.
TL;DR: Given the trends of the increasing percentage of students of color, particularly limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students, and the decreasing percentage of teachers of color in American public sc...
Abstract: Given the trends of the increasing percentage of students of color, particularly limited-English-proficiency (LEP) students, and the decreasing percentage of teachers of color in American public sc...
TL;DR: The authors examined 20 trade books (1964-1997) to evaluate their accuracy in depicting Native American peoples and cultures and found that 60% of the books are at least satisfactory in their depictions but that bias and stereotyping still persist enough to recommend the use of the authenticity guideline as a tool to allow educators to confidently identify these problems in their instructional materials.
Abstract: This study examined 20 trade books (1964-1997) to evaluate their accuracy in depicting Native American peoples and cultures. The criteria embodied an authenticity guideline based on the Five Great Values with a rating scale between 1 (lowest) and 5 (highest). The values include generosity and sharing, respect for elders and women, getting along with nature, individual freedom and leadership, and courage. The results indicate that 60% of the books are at least satisfactory in their depictions but that bias and stereotyping still persist enough to recommend the use of the guideline as a tool to allow educators to confidently identify these problems in their instructional materials.
TL;DR: A survey of 25 African American church leaders in three urban school districts was conducted to determine the role of the African American Church in urban school reform as mentioned in this paper, and the survey results identified f...
Abstract: A survey of 25 African American church leaders in three urban school districts was conducted to determine the role of the African American church in urban school reform. Survey results identified f...
TL;DR: The authors explored the perceptions of African American male students who chose to leave the traditional academic setting and enroll in an alternative education program within the same school system, and found that African American early leavers were more likely to experience depression and self-loathing.
Abstract: The intent of the study was to explore the perceptions of African American male students who chose to leave the traditional academic setting and enroll in an alternative education program within the same school system. The primary informants, referred to as early leavers, were 5 African American male students enrolled in a suburban high school program, their parents, and several teachers. The study’s conceptual framework extended the analysis of the drop-out phenomenon beyond the demographics, drug culture, home environments, self-esteem, and teachers’ perceptions as contributing factors of African American early-leaver patterns and academic discontent. Instead, this study focused on the students’ narrated schooling experiences and offered insight to students’ agencies as alternate explanations of drop-out behavior.
TL;DR: In this article, a study of three high schools, two urban and one rural, derived from analyses of administrator, teacher, parent, and student reports, suggests that some consistent patterns exist on the level of collaboration exercised as well as exemplary applications and systemic problems.
Abstract: Research on school-to-adult life transitions of youth with special needs has identified collaboration as a crucial process for successful transitions. Depending on how it is defined, collaboration on the education of youth with disabilities between special educators, general educators, parents, students, and community service agency representatives may be considered rich or lean in activity and perceived utility. Profiles of three high schools, two urban and one rural, derived from analyses of administrator, teacher, parent, and student reports, suggest that some consistent patterns exist on the level of collaboration exercised as well as exemplary applications and systemic problems. Recommendations for research and implications for general practice are provided.
TL;DR: The authors argue that the generation and shared evaluation of many and diverse ideas must shape the educational process, and that critical pedagogy and revised perspectives in traditional disciplines such as psychology can be used in ongoing efforts to improve the education of all children.
Abstract: Educational endeavors are enriched by diverse forms of knowledge and experience and, particularly in urban schools, by children and teachers from diverse backgrounds. Although our educational task has always been one of teaching other people’s ideas to other people’s children, we do not necessarily act as if we know this. Recent work in critical pedagogy as well as revised perspectives in traditional disciplines such as psychology can be used in ongoing efforts to improve the education of all children. The generation and shared evaluation of many and diverse ideas must shape the educational process.
TL;DR: In 1996, voters in Boston overwhelmingly supported maintaining an appointed school board, however, a majority supported a return to an elected board, which had been in place until 1992.
Abstract: In 1996, voters in Boston overwhelmingly supported maintaining an appointed school board. In the Black community, however, a majority supported a return to an elected board, which had been in place until 1992. This article focuses on why Blacks and Whites differed over the structure of the school board. Although the appointed board voted more favorably on issues of specific concern to the African American community, Blacks were disturbed by the loss of four elected positions, a loss that accompanied the disbanding of the elected board. Moreover, they were opposed to the appointed board’s firing of the Black superintendent. Another factor leading to Black voters’ rejection of the appointed board was the high level of mobilization in the Black community in favor of an elected board. This article examines how these various factors led to a racially polarized vote on the structure of the school board.