(2022). "That Wild Month of September": Addressing Equity and Governance in a School Board Crisis. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, v25 n4 p307-319 Dec. This case focuses on the Board of Trustees of a large urban school district in Texas, as they worked to decide when learners would have the option to return to in-person learning even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the community, particularly communities of color. This decision-making process included two back-to-back school board meetings with 6 hr of public comment that suggested a divided community. The case raises questions of racial equity, quality educational opportunities for students, governance, and decision making during a time of crisis. Through a deep dive into a crucial moment, this case highlights the challenging nature of governance during a crisis…. [Direct]
(2003). Face-to-Face over Race: Personal Challenges from Instituting a Social Justice Perspective in Our Teacher Education Program. Teacher Education and Practice, v16 n2 p121-142 Sum. The authors, one African American and one white, use personal narrative and dialogue to examine the process of implementing a social justice perspective into a teacher education program. The process reported in this article unearthed issues related to race that caused unexpected tensions among a small faculty. For the white educator, this process entailed continuing a critical self-examination of her own racial identity development. For the African American faculty member, the process proved particularly stressful and isolating, yet led to an increased understanding of the nature of institutional racism. The authors' hope is that through sharing our struggles around race and social justice, others will be encouraged to begin or continue such transformative journeys…. [Direct]
(2023). 'Somali Parents Feel Like They're on the Outer': Somali Mothers' Experiences of Parent-Teacher Relationships for Their Autistic Children. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v27 n6 p1777-1789 Aug. Effective parent-teacher partnerships can improve outcomes for autistic students. Yet, we know little about what effective partnerships look like for parents of autistic children from diverse backgrounds. Using participatory methods, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 Somali mothers of autistic children attending Australian kindergartens/schools to understand experiences of parent-teacher interactions. We used reflexive thematic analysis to identify key themes. We found that mothers were proud and accepting of their children. They had high expectations, particularly around children's independence. Mothers wished their children's differences were understood and supported by other people, including teachers. They were frustrated by low expectations of children, a lack of genuine communication from teachers and limited autism-specific knowledge, skills and experience within schools. They described racist attitudes towards their children and reported that they themselves had… [Direct]
(1991). Education and the Ideologies of Racism. As an introduction to education and the ideologies of racism within it, this book discusses the link between education and social class. The problematic relationship between class, gender, and race, and how this affects black students is addressed. The term "Black" is being used for nonwhite students rather than strictly those of African heritage; the author includes Asians in the discussion set in the context of Great Britain. The many racial ideologies that are being used against black people are explored, focusing on multicultural education as one such ideology. Art is discussed as a representative school subject that concretely demonstrates some of the problems of the multicultural and/or antiracist curriculum. Multicultural education is criticized for its emphasis on knowledge of other cultures, rather than on antiracism. It is argued that many teachers involved in multicultural education have a deficit view of working class culture and do not recognize that…
(1993). Sisters in the Blood: The Education of Women in Native America. This book seeks to identify factors contributing to the educational success or lack of success of American Indian female students, and to offer a theoretical framework for understanding American Indian female students and their unique position within tribe and school. Part 1 covers: (1) America's dropout problem, particularly for minority groups; (2) the unique history and development of American Indian education; (3) racism and stereotyping directed at American Indians, and how research has reinforced stereotyping in the schools; (4) statistics on American Indian dropouts; and (5) Indian dropout theories focusing on personal problems, family background, and school factors. Part 2 details the results of extensive interviews with 991 women living on American Indian reservations. Subjects were 17 to 36 years old and included high school dropouts, high school graduates, and college graduates. Chapters outline findings related to poverty, cultural discontinuity, self-concept and… [PDF]
(2007). Violence in the Curriculum: Compulsory Linguistic Discrimination in the Arizona-Sonora Borderlands. Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies, v5 n1 May. In the small border town focalized in this article, just north of the Mexican and US border stations, daily businesses, including city council meetings, retail, and public services, are conducted in Spanish. Only the schools insist upon English, this insistence backed by state proposition 200, funded primarily by Ron Unz, but passed by Arizona voters in 2000. This is the type of policy Valdez criticizes when she explains the great burden that is placed on bilinguals through public policies. She identifies these policies as symptoms of public anger, writing that bilinguals "provoke the wrath of those who view concessions to linguistic diversity as fundamentally un-American". Furthermore, Corson explains that English-only policies reduce the status of minority-language speakers in every public context. While racial discrimination was once openly condoned and practiced under legal protection in the United States, Espinosa-Aguilar explains that it now continues under less… [Direct]
(2000). Affirming Diversity: The Sociopolitical Context of Multicultural Education. Third Edition. This book examines the meaning, necessity for, and benefits of multicultural education for students of all backgrounds, providing a conceptual framework and suggestions for implementing multicultural education in today's classrooms. It presents case studies, in the words of students from a variety of backgrounds, about home, school, and community experiences and how they influence school achievement. There are 11 chapters in three parts. Part 1, \Setting the Stage: Approaches and Definitions,\ includes: (1) \Why the Case Study Approach?\ and (2) \About Terminology.\ Part 2, \Multicultural Education in a Sociopolitical Context: Developing a Contextual Framework,\ includes: (3) \Racism, Discrimination, and Expectations of Students' Achievement\; (4) \Structural and Organizational Issues in Schools\; (5) \Culture, Identity, and Learning\; (6) \Linguistic Diversity in Multicultural Classrooms\; and (7) \Toward an Understanding of School Achievement.\ Part 3, \Implications of Diversity…
(1990). Literacy for a Global Economy: A Multicultural Perspective. Conference Proceedings (El Paso, Texas, February 1990). A February 1990 meeting, held at El Paso Community College (Texas) honoring language and cultural diversity in the adult literacy field is summarized. The report describes the conference's tour activities sampling local cultural sites, presents "quotable quotes" of participants and leaders, and reviews the issues and trends in literacy education discussed in conference sessions. These issues include the following: (1) the need to balance workplace needs and learner needs; (2) lack of attention to the theoretical base for literacy education; (3) lack of understanding about family literacy and funding factors; (4) inadequacy of the delivery system; (5) appropriate use of the current opportunity for sound policy-making, program planning, and instructional material development; (6) the interest of business in literacy education; (7) program assessment and accountability; (8) bi-literacy and policies promoting "linguistic racism"; (9) a variety of successful literacy… [PDF]
(1999). Higher Education Trends (1997-1999): Policy and Governance. ERIC-HE Trends. The literature on higher education policy and governance has increased since the late 1980s, possibly in response to campuses' questioning of their traditional missions and processes, and focuses on five main areas: financial issues; assessment; accreditation and standards, especially for new forms of teaching and learning; nondiscrimination policies, particularly against racism and homophobia; and changing faculty roles, productivity, and tenure. Themes embedded within these areas include issues of public trust and accountability and accommodation of new environments and new students. An overview by Morsy and Altbach, \Higher Education in International Perspective: Critical Issues,\ provides insights for those trying to understand current policy issues at the macro level. The literature on governance, which tends to overlap the literature on policy, contains three common themes: the activism of boards and trustees, restructuring, and participatory governance. Lacking in the… [PDF]
(2002). Peace Education Theory. During the 20th century, there was a growth in social concern about horrific forms of violence, like ecocide, genocide, modern warfare, ethnic hatred, racism, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and a corresponding growth in the field of peace education where educators from early child care to adult use their professional skills to warn fellow citizens about imminent dangers and advise them about paths to peace. Peace education has five main postulates: (1) it explains the roots of violence; (2) it teaches alternatives to violence; (3) it adjusts to cover different forms of violence; (4) peace is a process that varies according to context; and (5) conflict is omnipresent. This paper traces the evolution of peace education theory from its roots in religious traditions of love, compassion, charity, and tolerance to modern theories based on reducing the threats of interpersonal and environmental violence. This brief review of some main contributors to peace education theory gives rise to… [PDF]
(1995). The Intersection of Cultures: Multicultural Education in the United States. Designed to be used in courses devoted to the study of multicultural education, this book aims to outline conceptual foundations of multicultural education and to discuss differences in cultural perspectives. The book is divided into two parts. Part one provides the foundation of multicultural education; part two focuses on the perspectives on teaching multicultural education. The chapters are: Chapter 1, "The Intersection of Cultures"; Chapter 2, "The Multicultural Education Debate"; Chapter 3, "Cultural Frames of Reference: Monoculturalism, Biculturalism, and Ethnic Identity"; Chapter 4, "Cultural Frames of Reference: History, Gender, and Social Class"; Chapter 5, "The Intersection of School Culture with Dominated and Immigrant Cultures"; Chapter 6, "Teaching About Racism"; Chapter 7, "Teaching About Sexism"; Chapter 8, "Teaching and Language Diversity"; Chapter 9, "Teaching Ethnocentrism";…
(2005). Uninformed in the Information Age: Why Media Necessitate Critical Thinking Education. Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, v104 n1 p18-34 Apr. Much has been written about the power of media to influence the public through instruments of advertising and a variety of venues (Considine & Haley, 1999; Cortes, 2000; Kilbourne, 1999). In this chapter, the author has chosen to use a singular media focus–news–to support the critical importance of teaching media literacy skills to students. She offers analyses of, in particular, news reports about the United Nations World Conference Against Racism (UN WCAR) in 2001 and media representations of terrorism and Muslims since September 2001, to underscore the need for critical thinking skills and media education. She suggests that students in a democracy must learn how and why news stories are produced in order to think consciously and critically about information they learn from news media…. [Direct]
(1994). Creating the Nonsexist Classroom. A Multicultural Approach. It is vital that teachers recognize the sexist structure of the field of teacher education and public school education so that they can be agents of change, rather than tools for reproducing the same system generation after generation. This book is intended for teacher educators to use in their undergraduate and graduate classes, offering theoretical and practical guidelines for developing and implementing a nonsexist curriculum. Following a history of the women's movement as a context for understanding current sex and gender issues, the discussion moves to establishing a theoretical research-based framework for understanding sexism, and continues with curriculum and instruction applications for teachers. Specific guidelines are offered for using nonsexist, inclusive language in addressing students. Major themes are that contemporary education perpetuates sexism, as it does racism, and that educational excellence cannot be attained in the absence of educational equity for all. A…
(1981). Status of Black New York Report, 1981. This is the fourth Status of Black New York Report, (1981) issued by the New York Urban League. A significant portion is based on the responses garnered from the New York City sample of a national survey of black households conducted by the Urban League. Examined are the needs, perceptions, and social and economic concerns of black New Yorkers. The first section describes the results of the survey which queried attitudes in the areas of employment, racism/discrimination, inflation, education, housing, health, family life patterns, household income, and voter participation. The second section is a program overview in the areas of education, employment and economic development, health, and housing. A status report by borough is given in section three. The last section reviews federal budget proposals for the following services: C.E.T.A., unemployment benefits, food stamps, education, Medicaid, the arts, social services, block grants, housing development, and mass transit. A summation,…
(1970). Racism and American Education: A Dialogue and Agenda for Action. As a part of the responsibilities of the President's Commission for the Observation of Human Rights Year, a small group of diverse specialists was called together in 1968 to explore the role of education in combating racial discrimination. An agenda for action was prepared (using the education section of the Kerner Report) and used as a basis for the dialogue between members. This comprises the major portion of the report. In Part I, the discussion covers the following: \Racism and the Structure of American Schools\; \Competitive Systems and Structural Change\; \Class, Race, Separatism, and Integration\; \Ignorance and Identity\; \Black Studies\; \Black and White Colleges\; \Race and Teacher Training\; \Teacher Performance\; \Teachers Unions\; \Educational Rigidities\; and,\Changing the Climate of Prejudice.\ Part II contains the Agenda for action including twenty specific action recommendations: (1) to effect attitudinal changes; (2) to bring about structural and attitudinal…