Showing papers in "Urban Education in 2011"
TL;DR: Teach For America's Teaching as Leadership framework and professional development model as discussed by the authors is a practice-based curriculum and pedagogy of teacher education that could be used as a model for a variety of stakeholders.
Abstract: In 1999, Ball and Cohen proposed a practice-based theory of professional education, which would end inadequate professional development efforts with a more comprehensive approach. Their work has been referenced over the past decade, yet there have been limited attempts to actualize their ideals and research their implications. In this article, I describe Teach For America’s Teaching as Leadership framework and professional development model as a practice-based curriculum and pedagogy of teacher education that could be used as a model for a variety of stakeholders. I include a discussion of directions for future research on frameworks for teaching.
882 citations
TL;DR: The Social Justice Education Project (SJEP) as mentioned in this paper ) is a social justice youth development model conceptualized to facilitate and enhance urban youth awareness of their personal potential, community responsibility, and broader humanity.
Abstract: This article reviews the social justice youth development (SJYD) model conceptualized to facilitate and enhance urban youth awareness of their personal potential, community responsibility, and broader humanity. The SJYD requires the healing of youth identities by involving them in social justice activities that counter oppressive conditions preventing healthy selfidentification. Data from a school-based organization in Tucson called the Social Justice Education Project (SJEP) describe the objectives and outcomes of the curricula employed by the SJEP. While urban youth engage in social justice activities and become committed agents of change, positive educational and development experiences will emerge.
148 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors have been struck by the consistency, urgency, and frequency in which students employ color-blind perspectives in K-12 settings and how this orientation has negative consequences.
Abstract: As teacher educators we have been struck by the consistency, urgency, and frequency in which students employ color-blind perspectives. This orientation has negative consequences in K-12 settings. I...
142 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a case study examines 60 years of school-community partnerships and examines the reasons for success and failure of these partnerships. But the value of school community partnerships is unquestioned.
Abstract: Although the value of school–community partnerships is unquestioned, the reasons for success and failure are not sufficiently understood. This mixed-methods case study examines 60 years of partneri...
138 citations
TL;DR: The Multidimensional Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS) as mentioned in this paper was developed to measure racism awareness and multicultural teaching attitudes in pre-and in-service teachers.
Abstract: This article reports on the development and initial validation of the multidimensional Multicultural Teaching Competency Scale (MTCS). Data from 506 pre- and in-service teachers were collected in three interrelated studies. Exploratory factor analysis results suggested a 16-item, two-factor solution: (a) multicultural teaching skill and (b) multicultural teaching knowledge. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that the two-factor model was a good fit of the data and superior to competing models. The MTCS demonstrated adequate internal consistency and was related in meaningful ways to measures of racism awareness and multicultural teaching attitudes. Participant responses were not associated with social desirability. Implications are discussed.
116 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, case studies of six educators who, for over 200 combined years, worked in urban, high-poverty schools and highlight what teachers need to remain in such contexts.
Abstract: Improving teacher retention and resiliency are key educational problems. In this article, we share findings from case studies of six educators who, for over 200 combined years, worked in urban, high-poverty schools and highlight what teachers need to remain in such contexts. We argue that developing professional resilience is a process built on the interplay between individuals and their supportive contexts. In-depth interviews with these six educators reveal how connections with educator networks such as the National Writing Project (NWP) helped teachers develop into durable and reflective practitioners by providing them technical expertise, cultural support, and opportunities to develop as leaders.
97 citations
TL;DR: The authors applied a structural theoretical lens as a means of understanding racial inequity in special education across analytical scales, racial groups, and disability categories, and confirmed differential risk of educational disability across racial groups.
Abstract: Despite decades of research examining the disproportionate representation of racial minority students in special education, our understanding of the complexity of disproportionality remains incomplete and much of the previous research was designed without a clear theoretical framework. This exploratory study applied a structural theoretical lens as a means of understanding racial inequity in special education across analytical scales, racial groups, and disability categories. The findings confirm differential risk of educational disability across racial groups. Based on the theory adopted, several hypotheses were tested regarding the relations of relative risk to district structural features, with conflicting results found.
96 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on six white urban principals who came to administration with a commitment to create more equitable and excellent schools for students from marginalized communities and highlight five aspects of these leaders' work around undermining racism and a Whiteness ideology.
Abstract: This article reports on six White urban principals who came to administration with a commitment to create more equitable and excellent schools for students from marginalized communities. These leaders made strides in raising student achievement, creating a climate of belonging for students, staff, and families, and increasing access to learning opportunities for marginalized students. The analysis sought to address the following research question: “In what ways do White leaders who make significant progress in creating excellent and equitable schools include race and racial issues in their leadership?” Five aspects of these leaders’ work around undermining racism and a Whiteness ideology are highlighted.
72 citations
TL;DR: The authors examine how themes from Paulo Freire's critical ideology can help expand our conceptualizations of educational leadership and facilitate pragmatic responses to complex urban dilemmas, and provide two case examples of urban educational leadership that is guided by Freirean dialogical tenets of love, faith, humility, hope, critical thinking, and solidarity.
Abstract: In this article, we suggest that communities must explore alternative leadership ideologies, actors, and venues to make meaningful academic and social improvements in our cities. We examine how themes from Paulo Freire’s critical ideology can help expand our conceptualizations of educational leadership and facilitate pragmatic responses to complex urban dilemmas. To illustrate our claims, we provide two case examples of urban educational leadership that is guided by Freirean dialogical tenets of love, faith, humility, hope, critical thinking, and solidarity.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that urban school reform falters, in part, because of the lack of an organized political constituency among the stakeholders with the most direct interest in public education.
Abstract: In this article, the author argues that urban school reform falters, in part, because of the lack of an organized political constituency among the stakeholders with the most direct interest in scho...
64 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative study identifies the ways in which teachers in an urban school district responded to the specialized educational needs of Somali Bantu refugee students who have recently been relocated to the United States and who have had limited and interrupted access to education prior to their enrollment in public schools.
Abstract: This qualitative study identifies the ways in which teachers in an urban school district responded to the specialized educational needs of Somali Bantu refugee students who have recently been relocated to the United States and who have had limited and interrupted access to education prior to their enrollment in public schools in the United States. The article identifies the institutional obstacles teachers in Central City1 high schools faced in general during the 2007—2008 school year and then highlights the different types of responses employed by native U.S.-born teachers when working with their Somali Bantu students.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the long-term contributions of African American ethnic matching to mathematical test scores of 1,200 African American students from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Kindergarten-fifth data set.
Abstract: Educators, administrators, and policymakers focus much attention on closing the achievement gap, and various approaches have been suggested. The present study focuses on one approach being suggested: student–teacher ethnic matching. The study focused on the long-term contributions of African American ethnic matching to mathematical test scores of 1,200 African American students from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Kindergarten—fifth data set. Employing a two-level growth model, this study of impact from student–teacher ethnic matching revealed that a student having at least one teacher who ethnically matched themselves between kindergarten and fifth grade had a significant impact on mathematics achievement.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study on lower track African American students and another on gay and gender nonconforming African American male students explores how students deal with race discrimination and discrimination.
Abstract: Drawing from two separate case studies, one on lower track African American students and another on gay and gender nonconforming African American male students, this article explores how students w...
TL;DR: This paper explored racial-ethnic identity and academic achievement of five young African American men in 11th and 12th grade in an urban pilot high school and found that the young men developed layered and complex notions of what it means to be African American, male, and successful against the backdrop of having achieved a healthy racial ethnic identity within a nurturing school environment.
Abstract: This study explores racial-ethnic identity and academic achievement of five young African American men in 11th and 12th grade in an urban pilot high school. Data gathered through individual and group interviews and a questionnaire were analyzed to understand how academically successful African American male adolescents interpret their social and academic lives to achieve school success while also maintaining a healthy racial-ethnic identity (HREI). The findings reveal that the young men developed layered and complex notions of what it means to be African American, male, and successful against the backdrop of having achieved a HREI within a nurturing school environment.
TL;DR: The authors examined how a teacher drew on her urban students' outside-school literacies to inform teaching and learning in a reading/language arts classroom, and the following findings are discussed:....
Abstract: This article examines how a teacher drew on her urban students’ outside-school literacies to inform teaching and learning in a reading/language arts classroom. The following findings are discussed:...
TL;DR: This paper used CRT to engage educators in critical discourse regarding the persistence of racism in urban schooling and found that participants were largely deceived by their social activism to recognize their perpetuation of racism through their practice.
Abstract: This study used CRT to engage educators in critical discourse regarding the persistence of racism in urban schooling. A combined method of action research and critical case study was employed to raise a group of educators’ race consciousness through antiracist training. Findings revealed conflicting views of racism as an individual pathology vs. a systemic problem, which led to the development of four personae of racism: the conscious perpetrators, the unconscious perpetrators, the deceived perpetrators/activists, and the enlightened perpetrators/activists. The study found that the participants were largely deceived by their social activism to recognize their perpetuation of racism through their practice.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report that the communities the schools serve are stigmatized and economically impoverished, leading to growing concerns regarding the safety and security of multicultural urban schools in Sweden.
Abstract: Multicultural urban schools in Sweden are facing two major challenges. First, the communities the schools serve are stigmatized and economically impoverished, leading to growing concerns regarding ...
TL;DR: This paper presented the research-based findings of faculty who implemented a field-based "pedagogy lab" in an urban-focused, collaborative teacher education program, which offered teacher candidates deliberate opportunities to interrogate their ethnicity, gender, and social class then use that knowledge to enhance various disciplinary-based instructional activities for PK-12 pupils.
Abstract: Disconnects between the demographics of teacher candidates and the students attending today’s public urban schools are well documented At the same time, research points to the educational value of linking students’ lived experiences to their classroom learning This article presents the research-based findings of faculty who implemented a field-based “pedagogy lab” in an urban-focused, collaborative teacher education program The lab offered teacher candidates deliberate opportunities to interrogate their ethnicity, gender, and social class then use that knowledge to enhance various disciplinary-based instructional activities for PK-12 pupils The findings suggest new ways of preparing teachers for the children attending urban schools
TL;DR: Many families today have access to computers that help them with their daily living activities, such as finding employment and helping children with schoolwork as discussed by the authors, and with more families owning personal computers, the number of computers is increasing.
Abstract: Many families today have access to computers that help them with their daily living activities, such as finding employment and helping children with schoolwork. With more families owning personal c...
TL;DR: The authors studied how urban fifth-grade children made language hybrids using rap and poetry to participate in classroom literacy and found that standards-based and canon-driven writing models maintained literacy and language borders through anti-hybrid practices based in antipopular ideologies.
Abstract: Consistent with a sociocritical frame and the analytic tools of hybridity theory, this article explicates how urban fifth-grade children made language hybrids using rap and poetry to participate in classroom literacy. Ethnographic data from a yearlong study illustrate two key findings. First, standards-based and canon-driven writing models maintained literacy and language borders through antihybrid practices based in antipopular ideologies. Second, the children used hybrid rap poems to negotiate and challenge linguistic and ideological constraints that hemmed in classroom literacy. The author suggests that canon-driven writing pedagogies be more inclusive of youth popular cultures and culturally relevant literacies.
TL;DR: In this paper, contextual influences on technology integration in urban mathematics classrooms through an investigation of five middle-grade teachers' participation in a participatory technology integration workshop in a city environment.
Abstract: This article contributes to research on contextual influences on technology integration in urban mathematics classrooms through an investigation of five middle-grade teachers’ participation in a la...
TL;DR: In this article, the effect that peers have on students' academic engagement and educational aspirations was investigated, and the effect of peers' peers' behavior on students's academic engagement was examined.
Abstract: This investigation demonstrates the effect that peers have on students’ academic engagement and educational aspirations. Forty-nine African American university students retrospectively discuss the ...
TL;DR: In this article, a new set of educators whose identities and teaching contexts are not considered in the field are indeed interested in hip-hop-based education (HHBE), and they explore the practices of K-12 teachers in various school settings.
Abstract: Grounded in critical and culturally relevant theory, hip-hop-based education (HHBE) research documents the use of hip-hop in educational settings. Despite the richness of the emerging field, overreliance on teacher-researcher perspectives leaves much to be desired. Little is known of the extent and ways HHBE is used by nonresearching K-12 teachers. The field of HHBE would be well served to begin exploring the practices of K-12 teachers in various school settings. To encourage such a move, this article demonstrates that a new set of educators whose identities and teaching contexts are not considered in the field are indeed interested in HHBE.
TL;DR: The authors investigates issues confronted by 31 foreign-educated Latino teachers, teaching in a high-needs Midwestern urban district while attaining U.S. certification, delineating the teachers' personal, professional, and academic adjustments and describes the elements they required for success, emphasizing the importance of social capital.
Abstract: School districts that offer bilingual education often find it difficult to hire enough teachers for their growing Latino populations. To expand the pool of bilingual teachers, some districts recruit teachers from Spanish-speaking countries. Yet there has been little research on how these teachers fare or what supports they need to succeed. This article investigates issues confronted by 31 foreign-educated Latino teachers, teaching in a high-needs Midwestern urban district while attaining U.S. certification. The article delineates the teachers’ personal, professional, and academic adjustments and describes the elements they required for success, emphasizing the importance of social capital.
TL;DR: This article found that African American students reported positive attitudes toward computers; however, their attitudes reflected anxiety, lack of confidence, and little use for online learning experiences, which is inconsistent with their attitudes toward online learning.
Abstract: The current work presents exploratory research findings concerning African American students’ attitudes toward online learning. The Online Tutoring Attitudes Scale (OTAS; Graff, 2003) was administered to 124 African American students in a positive youth development program. Findings suggest that African American students’ attitudes toward computers are inconsistent with their attitudes toward online learning. African American students reported positive attitudes toward computers; however, their attitudes reflected anxiety, lack of confidence, and little use for online learning experiences. Implications of this research are relevant to educational interventions, academic achievement, and technological advancement with respect to underrepresented populations.
TL;DR: This article examined how participants colluded to position one student in particular, Larnell, as a "bad, bad boy" and worked to ultimately exclude him from the classroom community.
Abstract: In this article the author draws on the concept of positioning to examine how language is used during one particular fifth-grade writing lesson to construct both the lesson and the participants. The author's analysis of the classroom interactions makes visible how participants colluded to position one student in particular, Larnell, as a "bad, bad boy," and worked to ultimately exclude him from the classroom community. The study has implications for understanding the social construction of school failure and resistance, particularly as they relate to the overrepresentation of black males in special education and exclusionary disciplinary settings.
TL;DR: This article investigated how eight case study teachers conceived of their careers and career moves and found that they were situated along a continuum from those who aimed to integrate fully into the educational system to those who wanted to participate in it for a limited period of time.
Abstract: This article addresses teacher retention in urban schools, focusing on high-need secondary science classrooms. As a longitudinal study, this research investigated how eight case study teachers conceived of their careers and career moves. The experiences and perspectives of three case study teachers indicated that they were situated along a continuum from those who aimed to integrate fully into the educational system to those who wanted to participate in it for a limited period of time. Teachers negotiated their perspectives with the workplace context to shape participation in school communities, relationships with students and colleagues, and career directions.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report findings from a 3-year longitudinal qualitative case study conducted in three urban elementary schools that examined the ways in which local leadership supported the initiation and early development of evidence-based grade-level collaboration as a mechanism for improving student literacy learning.
Abstract: This article reports findings from a 3-year longitudinal qualitative case study conducted in three urban elementary schools that examined the ways in which local leadership supported the initiation and early development of evidence-based grade-level collaboration as a mechanism for improving student literacy learning. Findings suggest eight key leadership roles—either individually enacted or jointly performed by principals and literacy coordinators. Central features of these principal–literacy coordinator relationships are identified and a shared leadership framework that details these eight leadership roles as well as strategies associated with role enactment are presented.
TL;DR: The authors presented the perspectives of eight retired Black school superintendents concerning the goal of integration during the civil rights movement and its disintegration in contemporary urban contexts, finding that despite desegregation efforts, schools and school systems have never truly integrated and now face a 21st-century brand of educational inequality.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to extend the growing counternarrative in education research concerning the negative consequences of school desegregation and its implications for urban education, educational leadership, and policy reform in the post—Civil Rights Era. Guided by qualitative and historical research methods, this article presents the perspectives of eight retired Black school superintendents concerning the goal of integration during the civil rights movement and its disintegration in contemporary urban contexts. Findings reveal that despite desegregation efforts, schools and school systems have never truly integrated and now face a 21st-century brand of educational inequality, what I describe in this article as vestiges of desegregation, which further undermine the educational opportunities and experiences of those students school desegregation efforts were arguably intended to serve.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors defined a particular type of parental involvement in children's education and used a representative sample of American urban kindergarteners to examine its effect on urban children's mathematics, reading, science and social studies achievement at kindergarten entry.
Abstract: Research showed that children’s school-entry academic skills are strong predictors of their later achievement, thereby highlighting the importance of children’s achievement at kindergarten entry. This article defines a particular type of parental involvement in children’s education and uses a representative sample of American urban kindergarteners to examine its effect on urban children’s mathematics, reading, science, and social studies achievement at kindergarten entry. The findings in this article are isomorphic in the different subject areas and show that children with more access to this particular type of parental involvement tend to have higher academic achievement than their peers.