(1979). Social Inequality and Educational Achievement in Rural America. Career and career related preference expressed by a number of rural Southern high school youth were found to moderately predict their early adult behaviors. Preferences for post high school education were the dominant influence and single best predictor of subsequent educational attainment. Moderate linkages were also found to exist between preferences for early marriage, residence, and military service with the corresponding early adult behavior. These findings resulted from a study of a broad population of rural Deep South youth over a six year period. Three sets of social surveys followed the same individuals from the high school sophomore year in 1966 into young adulthood, four years past high school. Responses were gathered on career preferences, educational aspiration, marriage plans, and fertility and residential expectations, with the final phase of the survey seeking data on actual educational and residential attainment, marital status, and fertility. Whether male or… [PDF]
(2005). Reflections on D.A. Masolo's "Presencing the Past and Remembering the Present: Social Features of Popular Music in Kenya". Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education, v4 n3 Sep. In their introduction of "Music and the Racial Imagination," co-editors Ronald Radano and Philip Bohlman assert that although music is "saturated with racial stuff", "musicology–in its historical, structural-analytical, and ethnographic expressions–has sought to deny the racial dimension." Much as the author agrees with them, he also thinks that racism or racial discrimination is a sensitive topic in which many scholars in the field of musicology or ethnomusicology are reticent to engage. As an African musicologist and music educator, the author is especially interested in the two essays featuring the continent of Africa namely, D.A. Masolo's study of popular music in Kenya and Thomas Turino's paper on race, class and musical nationalism in Zimbabwe. However, he has elected to focus on a single chapter from "Music and the Racial Imagination," D.A. Masolo"s "Presencing the Past and Remembering the Present: Social Features of Popular… [PDF]
(1997). Crossing Borders, Breaking Boundaries. Research in the Education of Adults. An International Conference. Proceedings of the Annual SCUTREA Conference (27th, London, England, United Kingdom, July 1997). The following are among the 104 papers included: "Vocational Education and Training Partnerships in Remote Aboriginal Communities" (Arnott, Dembski); "Participation in Adult Education" (Benn); "Learning Organisations" (Bierema); "A Conceptual Framework for Understanding the Institutional Dynamics Involved in a University's Response to an Allegation of Racism" (Bishop); "An Analysis and Critique of Transformation Theory and Adult Learning" (Boucouvalas); "Research in Adult Learning" (Brew); "Reforming Australian Education and Training" (Brown); "Challenging Metrocentrism" (Butler); "Life at the Glass Ceiling" (Caffarella, Clark, Ingram); "Crossing Borders and Breaking Boundaries" (Cavanagh); "Learning as a Non-unitary Self" (Clark); "New Education Policy Directions in South Africa" (Cooper); "Globalisation and a Pedagogy of (Dis)location" (Edwards, Usher);…
(1994). Facing History and Ourselves: An Instructional Tool for Constructivist Theory. This paper presents a study using "Facing History and Ourselves," an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge development that focuses on the period of Nazi totalitarianism as a powerful case study through which teachers can stimulate moral reasoning and develop critical thinking skills in their students. The program encourages teenage students to learn about this particular historical period in depth while at the same time recognizing the causes and consequences of prejudice, racism, and violence in the present society. The questions that were explored in this study are: (1) how can teachers apply the theory of a constructionist conception of education to the instruction of domains of knowledge that are the very substance of the school's program? and (2) how would one best prepare teachers and students for their new constructivist roles in the classroom? It was decided to address these questions by examining an established teacher development program that advocates the… [PDF]
(2005). The Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant: A Critical Analysis. Journal of Education Policy, v20 n3 p283-312 May. This article critically analyses the extent to which the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG) has been successful in meeting its core objective of raising the achievement of minority ethnic groups who are at risk of underachieving. The article provides an historical analysis of the Grant, sets the Grant within the context of the Labour government's policies relating to minority ethnic groups and social inclusion and reports on the author's research into the use made by Local Education Authorities (LEAs) of EMAG based on an analysis of LEA EMAG action plans. It suggests that although there have been some improvements in closing the gaps between minority ethnic achievement and national averages since the introduction of the Grant, these have been largely limited to groups receiving English as an Additional Language (EAL) support, although these groups continue to underachieve. Further the relative achievement of some groups, notably Black Caribbean pupils, has not improved at all… [Direct]
(1997). Creating Justice in the Classroom by Avoiding "Just-Ness": Developing the Ethical Stance in Composition 101. Exposure to racism, prejudice, and stereotypes is common in a student's first experiences in a university setting. Language can be a tool to dispel this lack of knowledge about differences in cultures. Awareness of the negative effects of certain words in the English language is one of the first steps to breaking down barriers of discrimination. English 101 at Bradley University (Illinois) was designed with an emphasis on cultural awareness. The one-semester course, required of all first-year students, also incorporates a philosophy to meet some of Bradley's core commitments to the values of a liberal arts education: that the pursuit of knowledge will be conducted in a spirit of free and open inquiry "where the individual is respected and responsible, where each person is the object and source of humane and civil behavior." Bradley's composition program teaches the student to (1) write accurately, clearly, and effectively; (2) achieve an acceptable level of competency in…
(2002). Magnet Schools: A Retrospective Case Study of Segregation. High School Journal, v85 n3 p47-52 Feb-Mar. Often lost in the discourse regarding educational policy-making and implementation are the micropolitical experiences of the individuals who are most affected by policy: students. Policymakers often develop policy under the guise of making schools better, but in effect they often lose sight of insuring that all students receive a good education regardless of gender, race, or class distinctions. In the quest to satisfy constituents and competing value systems, the possible negative effects of policies on students are often ignored. Most policymaking relies on traditional assumptions of a meritocratic system, that implicitly supports the hierarchical structure of society. Since there is only so much room at the top, a certain number of students are doomed, or expected, to fail. Within the bureaucratic structure of educational systems, important goals such as providing a quality education for all children are ignored, or forgotten about, in order to preserve the existing hierarchy. This… [Direct]
(1996). On Exclusion and Inclusion in Classroom Texts and Talk. Report Series 7.5. To analyze some of the processes through which student voices and lived experiences can be either excluded or included, a study focused on elements of the classroom environment already addressed in previous analyses, examining "texts and talk" in two middle school English classrooms. The study analyzed how the classroom environments that the teachers constructed–through literature choices, classroom pedagogy, interactions with students, and responses to linguistic and cultural diversity–work in ways that either affirm or exclude the voices and lives of nonmainstream students. The research site was Arnhem, a small upstate New York city, struggling with problems typical of urban communities in the deindustrializing Northeast. Younger Hispanic families moving into the area where older citizens of Polish and Italian descent already lived occasioned a prolonged debate over the role of the schools. A New York State Education Department team investigated charges of racism in… [PDF]
(1991). Travellers' Children in a Junior School in Norfolk with Historical, Legislative, and Educational Perspectives on Travellers. This general study reports on Travellers (often called gypsies) with a specific focus on children who attended one school in Norfolk (United Kingdom) during January-July 1991. Divided into six chapters, chapter 1, "An Historical, Legislative, and Educational Perspective on Travellers," offers an overview with distinctions made between the people collectively known as Travellers into Scottish and Irish Travellers, New Travellers, Showmen, and the group on which the research is focused, the Gypsies. Chapter 2, "The Local Scene and the ex-Head Teacher," gives perspectives of a local resident on the Travellers and settled communities, the ex-Head of the Junior School, and the coordinator of the Traveller Education Service. Chapter 3, "The New Head Teacher and Some Staff at Haynes Junior School," goes inside the school and details new policy and staff attitudes. Chapter 4, "Some Children and Staff at Haynes Junior School," describes some children's… [PDF]
(2004). "Sweet Little (White) Girls"? Sex and Fantasy across the Color Line and the Contestation of Patriarchal White Supremacy. Equity & Excellence in Education, v37 n3 p204-218. The presence of the Little Rock Nine at Little Rock's Central High in September 1957 as a result of "Brown vs. the Board of Education" evoked anger, fear, and even panic among some parts of the white community, and many white women and girls responded with near hysteria. This article seeks to answer why. What was it about integration that provoked such a response from many Whites, and especially from white females? By briefly examining both the history of white racism and the socio-political context of the 1950s, this article argues that what Little Rock Whites, and in particular white females, were responding to was the fear of miscegenation. Yet this was not exactly the same fear of miscegenation that had spread throughout the South in the post-Civil War period in which white woman were supposedly at peril from the black male rapist. This fear of miscegenation, it is argued, had a new twist and that new twist came from the white women and girls themselves. Based on an… [Direct]
(1996). Against the Tide: Career Paths of Women Leaders in American and British Higher Education. Women describe their personal journeys to top positions of leadership in higher education in the 20 essays collected in this book. Ten American and 10 British college and university heads tell their unique stories about passing through the "glass ceiling" that limits the career leadership opportunities for women in academe. Essays include: "Good Fortune Counts" (Tessa Blackstone); "A British/American Journey" (Paula Pimlott Brownlee); "The Mistress's Story" (Juliet Campbell); "By Thriving and Striving, 'Firsts' Are Secondary" (Carol A. Cartwright); "A View from One Presidential Office" (Martha E. Church); "An Oxford History" (Ruth Deech); "Against the Tide" (Mary Maples Dunn); "Overcoming Racism" (Vera King Farris); "Tough Mind, Warm Heart" (Carol C. Harter); "Nurturing Chance: An Accidental Life" (Bette E. Landman); "From Whitehall to Cherwell" (Elizabeth…
(2001). Educating Our Black Children: New Directions and Radical Approaches. This collection of papers from U.S. and British contributors focuses on positive social inclusion policy and practice for black students. There are 15 chapters in five parts. Part 1, "Tackling Historical and Contemporary Education Problems," includes: (1) "Racism, Policy and the (Mis)Education of Black Children" (David Gillborn); (2) "The Education of Black Children: Why Do Some Schools Do Better Than Others?" (Maude Blair); and (3) "Academic Disidentification: Unravelling Under Achievement among Black Boys" (Jason W. Osborne). Part 2, "Radical Black Approaches to Education," includes: (4) "The 'Miseducation' of Black Children in the British Educational System: Towards an African-Centered Orientation to Knowledge" (Mekada Graham); (5) "Lessons from America: The African American Immersion Schools Experiment" (Diane S. Pollard and Cheryl S. Ajirotutu); and (6) "Black Supplementary Schools: Spaces of Radical…
(1993). Working with the "Only One" in the Division. The call for greater diversity among college faculty and administrators is a prominent feature in the literature of higher education and especially of community colleges. For faculty members and administrators who may be the only, or the first, or even the token minority within their division, it is important to resolve what being the "only one" means and what opportunities it represents. Interviews with five African Americans, two Hispanics, one Native American, one Asian, two physically handicapped, and one female vocational education instructor, each identified as the "only ones" in their academic departments, combined with a review of the literature, helped to identify a number of issues that were common in the experiences of the "only ones." These issues include: (1) the comments or behavior of these individuals tended to be enlarged and generalized to the groups they represented, often leading to overachieving behavior; (2) the individuals often… [PDF]
(1998). A Spatial Study of the Mobility of Hispanics in Illinois and the Implications for Educational Institutions. Working Paper No. 43. This paper examines the growth and characteristics of the Hispanic population in Illinois and presents a case study of how a rural Illinois community and its schools are adapting to an influx of mostly Mexican immigrants. The first section discusses Mexican immigration to Illinois during the 1900s and provides racial/ethnic data on population growth in the Midwest and Illinois during the 1980s; educational attainment, 1980-95; income and poverty rates; and population change in metro and nonmetro Illinois, 1990-96. In "Anytown," a rapid influx of Hispanic workers for a new meatpacking plant has resulted in local conflicts over education, housing, and race. Hispanic students in the schools increased from less than 5 in 1993 to 350 in 1998. As school administrators became aware of the rising numbers, they responded by hiring translators, bilingual aides, and a bilingual coordinator; creating a prekindergarten class for Hispanic students; encouraging parent participation; and… [PDF]
(1980). The Role of the School in the Maintenance and Change of Ethnic Group Affiliations. The public schools play a major role in the Americanization of foreign-born students. This process gives rise to questions regarding the meanings attached to ethnic identity and the effect that the schools have on the formulation and change of these meanings. To examine these issues, 18 Portuguese immigrant students in an urban New England school were studied to determine whether there were differences in manifestations of ethnic identity in various settings. Comparisons were made between 8 \recent\ immigrants (in the United States for less than 2 years) and 10 early arrivals (here from 6-16 years). Additionally, both the school's official policy and actual practices (including teacher attitudes) vis-a-vis limited English proficient (LEP) students, were examined. In a general sense, it was found, the 18 students lived in two cultures, one at home and the other at school. Instead of helping them adapt to their bicultural reality, the school tried to negate the students' Portuguese…