Education Commons^™

Can A Modified Model Un Support Civic Empowerment?, Leora Mincer, Jennifer Leger, Lucy Wilson

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

No abstract provided.

Leading The Initial Implementation Phase Of Tandemed In Relationship With The Pittsburgh Public Schools, Brian C B Barnes

Journal of Research Initiatives

TandemEd facilitates Black communities to create campaigns that highlight their positive racial identity and self-defined educational purpose. This article examines leadership of the initial implementation phase of the TandemEd community initiative in relationship with the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS) focusing primarily on the interactions with the superintendent and executive director of the superintendent’s office. The results included ongoing support from PPS as TandemEd formed a citywide steering committee of highly community legitimated persons, executed a leadership and campaign academy for thirty-five Pittsburgh youth, and facilitated design and delivery of various cable television commercials on identity and purpose in the Greater …

Tracking The Legacy Of "Inner-City" Catholic Schools: An Analysis Of U.S. Elementary Catholic School Organizational And Demographic Data, Andrew F. Miller, Annie Smith, Kierstin M. Giunco, Audrey A. Friedman, Myra Rosen-Reynoso, Charles T. Cownie Iii

Journal of Catholic Education

Over the past twenty years, Catholic elementary schools that self identify as “inner-city” have closed at a higher rate than Catholic schools in other locations. These schools have also long been associated with a legacy of effectively serving low-income students, students of color, and recent immigrant students, suggesting that the persistent closure of these schools may have a negative impact on these communities. In this paper, we set out to assess the extent to which there have been demographic or organizational changes over the past twenty years in these “inner-city” schools. We found that while these schools do still serve …

Passing The Mic: Teachers' Conceptions Of Student Voice In Urban Classrooms, Sharon E. Hopkins

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

In education there have been many reforms over the years that have asked teachers to be self-reflexive about their pedagogical practices as well as to develop their own articulation of the true purpose of education. One such reform has been centered around the term “student voice.” While there are many different theoretical interpretations and practical implementations of the term, this study sought to identify how teachers in an urban setting conceive of the term, as well as how they described their own facilitation in practice. This is particularly important for traditionally marginalized students who often feel disempowered in school. Using …

From A Bag Lunch To A Buffet: A Case Study Of A Low-Income African American Academy’S Vision Of Promoting College And Career Readiness In The United States, Edward C. Fletcher Jr., Erik M. Hines, Donna Y. Ford, James L. Moore Iii

Journal of College Access

The purpose of this research study was to examine the ways in which stakeholders at a low-income, predominantly African American STEAM academy implement initiatives that support the college and career readiness of their students. We found that a shift in leadership efforts to ensure that academy students were prepared to be both college and career ready provided equity and access to a quality and individualized curriculum through the implementation of career academies. As a result, stakeholders believed that students were more included, valued, and engaged in the school.

Voices Of Teacher Graduates: Preparation For Black Mattering In Schools, Loyce E. Caruthers, Jennifer Waddell, Bradley Poos, Ashley N. Smith

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

The Institute for Urban Education (IUE) began in 2005, following unitary status of Kanas City Public Schools in 2003, as a four-year undergraduate urban teacher preparation program to prepare students to interrupt school-centered practices of Eurocentric identity and antiblackness. A program feature entails recruitment of high school students from urban communities and scholarships to support fulltime preparation without employment distractions. Graduates commit to teach for a minimum of four-years in an urban school. Our investigation incorporated BlackCrit with in-depth interviews to capture the experiences of nine graduates in the schools where they teach or engage in school leadership. While testimonials …

Down The Rabbit Hole: A Fantastical First Year Of Teaching, Tabitha Dell'angelo, Maria Degenova

#CritEdPol: Journal of Critical Education Policy Studies at Swarthmore College

Interviews and observations of first year teachers in the northeastern United States were used to construct a comic. The comic communicates the excitement, fears, and competing demands of a beginning teacher. The dialogue and setting are presented as surrealist to help the reader gain an understanding of the affective realities that the teachers expressed when describing their early teaching experiences. This approach allows for the multiple dimensions of the teachers’ lived experiences to be experienced in ways that a traditional text does not allow. The work takes a critical look at the transition of beginning teachers into their careers and …

Funds Of Knowledge And Global Competence In Urban Middle Schools, Jalene Tamerat

Middle Grades Review

Global competence—a necessary attribute in an increasingly interconnected world—describes having the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to act creatively and collaboratively on important global issues. In urban settings comprised of racial, ethnic, and/or linguistic-minority students, especially, a logical but seemingly underutilized facilitator of global competence would be instruction that draws from students’ funds of knowledge—the home-based practices central to a household’s functioning and well-being. In this study, 30 Boston-area teachers were interviewed using a semi-structured protocol to draw out their understandings of students’ funds of knowledge and their awareness of how these funds of knowledge might be used to further the …

A Comparison Of School Climate Ratings In Urban Alternative And Traditional High Schools, Aaron Perzigian, Michael Braun

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

We investigated whether there are significant differences in ratings of school climate from the perspectives of students, parents, and school staff across four types of urban secondary schools. Data originated from a school climate survey administered in a large urban Midwestern school district to students attending traditional and alternative high schools. We coded all high schools in the sample district into four school types, including traditional, innovative, behavior-focused, and academic remediation-focused. We analyzed data using linear mixed-model regression. Results showed statistically significant differences in specific dimensions of school climate across stakeholder groups and the four school types. Analysis of student …

Enhancing Hbcu Teacher Education Experience Through Authentic University-School Partnerships, Valeisha Ellis, Patricia Jenkins, Tiffany D. Pogue

Georgia Educational Researcher

This mixed-methods study sought to examine teacher education candidates’ practice-based field experiences and relationships with a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) and an urban P-12 school. As informed by the Networked Improvement Community (NIC) and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) conceptual frameworks, the three phases of data collection indicated highly favorable results of desired objectives for an innovative, authentic field experience for local pre-service teacher candidates and P-12 partners. The study also evidences a positive effect on students’ achievement as a result of this field experience. Recommendations for future research, education preparation programs, and building partnerships with P-12 schools are discussed.

Interdistrict Choice And Teacher Beliefs: Implications For Educational Expectations, Equity, And Policymaking, Eric P. Ambroso, Erin Rotheram-Fuller, Daniel D. Liou

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Interdistrict choice, which allows families to choose between schools outside of their districts of residence, is currently serving more students than any other choice program in the United States. Yet, despite this popularity, there is a pressing need for more research on how interdistrict choice may affect educational equity within U.S. public schools. Drawing on the analytic framework of educational racial contract, this study examines the issue of teacher beliefs in the context of interdistrict choice at a large, urban high school in Arizona, where market-based school choice programs have been continually expanded for nearly three decades. Data were collected …

A Case Study Of Teacher Turnover And Retention In An Urban Elementary School, Barry Kamrath, Kim Bradford

Educational Considerations

This mixed methods study examined the phenomenon of teacher turnover in one high poverty urban elementary school to determine common characteristics of teachers who remained long-term (> 5 years), as well as factors that contributed to teachers’ decisions to leave before reaching their sixth year. The study included structured interviews with long-term teachers and surveys of short-term teachers. Qualitative data were analyzed through constant-comparative analysis to determine emergent themes; whereas, quantitative data provided triangulation of interview data as well as the formalizing of comparisons. Long-term teachers had built deep connections to the school, its students, and the community, despite the …

Urban-Focused And Community-Based Teacher Preparation, John R. Walcott

International Christian Community of Teacher Educators Journal

Existing challenges in many urban schools have led to an increased emphasis on urban-focused teacher preparation. While this work can be demanding and complex, many Christian teacher education programs desire to engage in this work as part of their efforts to prepare their teacher candidates to teach all students and to promote more equitable educational opportunities in urban communities. In this article, the author reviews the literature on effective urban teacher preparation and then discusses the potential for collaboration with local schools and communities to support this work in Christian teacher education programs. The author argues that authentic engagement with …

Close Reading In The Urban Classroom: A Teacher's Introspection, Sharonica Nelson

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research

The purpose of this action piece is to discuss my experience with teaching close reading in the urban classroom. It explains ideas and challenges that I encountered when teaching close reading in conjunction with close reading strategies. I detail close reading strategies and explain how they can be used advantageously. The article closes with ideas on how I learned the importance of promoting student self-application of strategies, incorporating strategies so that they are not time consuming, differentiating strategies, and ultimately, the idea of promoting reading for enjoyment.

Challenging Deficit Default And Educators’ Biases In Urban Schools, Lynette Parker, Charlene Reid, Tanya Ghans

Race and Pedagogy Journal: Teaching and Learning for Justice

This paper explores kindergarten and 1st grade teachers’ beliefs about students in an urban elementary school. Teachers situated concerns about a new literacy program and benchmark goals within an ideology that pathologized poor students of color as being academically unprepared. Teachers’ claims were corroborated by their grade-level administrator. However, an analysis of student performance data revealed educators’ pathological beliefs to be unwarranted. Deficit beliefs about the capabilities of the poor students of color were associated with fear of failure, uncritical acceptance of poverty as brain trauma, and their ascription to negative views about poor and minority students.

A Review Of For White Folks Who Teach In The Hood…And The Rest Of Y’All Too: Reality Pedagogy And Urban Education, Jackie Mania-Singer

Administrative Issues Journal

This literature review provides a summary and analysis of Christopher Emdin’s For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood…and the Rest of Y’all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education. Emdin proposes a theory of reality pedagogy and provides a framework, the Seven Cs, for practical implementation of the approach in the urban classroom.

Literature Review On Interventions For Disruptive Behavior, Anna M. Veelman

Scholarship and Engagement in Education

Incorporating arts education can be a valuable intervention for students in an urban setting. Teaching through the arts can act as an initial, Tier One intervention, for students who exhibit disruptive behaviors in the classroom, due to trauma, as well as benefit the overall classroom culture. The arts curriculum has a restorative power that allows students to learn social-emotional regulation skills, bodily-awareness, and expression.

Some students come to school, particularly in an urban environment, coping with traumatic experiences. The reality of their daily lives may have an affect on them, emotionally and socially. Art education may serve as an outlet …

The Case For A Socio-Cultural Approach To Literacy And Student Support Services, Marina Palomino-Bach, Julia Fisher

Journal of Catholic Education

Many urban Catholic high schools pride themselves as developing our students in a holistic way. In these schools, educators are able to develop and support their students in both a moral and an academic sense. This belief in educating the whole child is appealing to many families, especially those in our most underserved urban contexts. Families in these urban contexts look toward Catholic high schools as offering the necessary holistic support and guidance needed to achieve academic, collegiate, and moral success and stability. As co-developers of a newly launched Academic Resource Center within one urban Catholic high school setting, however, …

Schools And The No-Prison Phenomenon: Anti-Blackness And Secondary Policing In The Black Lives Matter Era, Lynette Parker

Journal of Educational Controversy

Black boys in schools are often labeled as discipline problems, criminalized and overclassified into special education programs. This article describes the ways in which current practices of labeling and disciplining Black boys have far-reaching impacts on their lives beyond school. It explores the ways Black boys, who are surveilled and criminalized in school, are further victimized when school records are used to characterize them as deviant as a way of justifying violence against them. Drawing upon anti-blackness as a theoretical framework, the author explores the 9-1-1 transcripts in the cases of Trayvon Martin and Tamir Rice to clarify the role …

No Teaching More Fulfilling: An Interview With Pam Jones, Linda Levine

Occasional Paper Series

Teacher educator Linda Levine interviews colleague Pamela Jones on her enduring commitment to quality education for all. Pam shares her thoughts and insight into what it takes to be a successful teacher in high-needs urban schools. Two guiding principles emerge as prerequisites for success: teachers need to be true to themselves and to find teaching assignments in places that resonate with them.

Effectiveness Of A Parent-Child Home Numeracy Intervention On Urban Catholic School First Grade Students, Millicent D. Lore, Aubrey H. Wang, M. Toni Buckley

Journal of Catholic Education

Catholic social teaching affirms the primary role of parents in their children’s education, as well as the importance of forging a positive home-school partnership. The purpose of this article is to provide empirical evidence for further cultivating a collaborative, home-school relationship aimed at improving the mathematics performance of Catholic school first grade students by training parents as providers of at-home numeracy support. The participants included 60 parents (29 Black; 2 Asian; 1 Latino; 26 White; and 2 other) from two urban, Catholic schools. Parents randomly assigned to the experimental group received numeracy training and materials and then, implemented a 15-week …

Flattening Hierarchies In A Round World: A Multilogue Response To Goldenberg’S “Youth Historians In Harlem (Part 2 Of 2)”, Michael Bowman

Education's Histories

Michael Bowman continues the discussion of Barry Goldenberg's work, asking what history does and who benefits from flattening hierarchies.

Despite Best Intentions: A Critical Analysis Of Social Justice Leadership And Decision Making, David E. Dematthews, Angus Shiva Mungal, Paul A. Carrola

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this article is to explore the relationship between social justice leadership and organizational decision making in order to make recommendations for how principals can make more socially just decisions in difficult school contexts. This article begins with a discussion of social justice leadership, facets and theories associated with social justice, and how facets can be contradictory and problematic in practice. Then, rational choice theory is presented to detail key assumptions and criticisms that are associated with decision-making in complex organizations. Next, rational choice theory is utilized as a straw man for analyzing principal decision-making in complex organizations …

Summer In The City: Respect And Autonomy In The Urban Classroom, Matthew Brill

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

This article is a reflection on my time as a STEP-UP fellow. In the course of the article I discuss what I believe I have learned about education from my time in this program.The lessons learned about urban education are valuable to any educator.

Sharing Authority And Agency: A Multilogue Response To Goldenberg’S “Youth Historians In Harlem,” Part 2 Of 2, Jack Dougherty

Education's Histories

Jack Dougherty (Trinity College) provides a multilogue response to Part 2 of Barry M. Goldenberg's Youth Historians in Harlem series.

Urban Teachers Engaging In Critical Talk: Navigating Deficit Discourse And Neoliberal Logics, Heidi Pitzer

Journal of Educational Controversy

This article examines urban teachers’ critiques—their critical talk—as moments of agency, and as potential, but tenuous, avenues for transformation. The article draws on data from a qualitative interpretive study examining the complexities of urban teachers’ work. This research begins from a perspective that is attentive to and critical of both (a) the racialized deficit discourse, a predominant framework in urban schools—often taken up by urban teachers—that constructs poor urban youth and youth of color as deficient, as objects in need of control and correction; and (b) neoliberal approaches to education, particularly the market-based, audit culture logics and …

Teachers’ And Parents’ Perceptions Of Parental Involvement On Inner City Children’S Academic Success, Molly Zhou

Georgia Educational Researcher

Parental involvement (PI) is an important factor in children’s academic learning. In this study, teachers’ and parents’ perceptions of parental involvement on inner city children’s academic success were examined. The setting of the study was in an inner city Tittle I elementary school with a 90% African American student population. A purposeful random sampling method was used in the study. Fifty five parents and 14 teachers participated in the study. The Parental Involvement Survey was used to collect data from the 69 participants. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS. The findings revealed that parents and teachers perceived that family, extended …

Geometry: A Medium To Facilitate Geometric Reasoning Among Sixth Grade African-American Males, Olufunke Adefope

Georgia Educational Researcher

In this article, the author describes how a curricular unit that provided opportunities for active engagement and participation was used to support the geometric reasoning of sixth grade African American (AA) male students. The curricular unit was designed to support students’ understanding of quadrilaterals. Data sources (pre- and post-tests, video recordings of classroom episodes, mathematics interviews) were analyzed through quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings showed that students improved in their understanding of quadrilateral classifications. Specifically, students were able to use their knowledge of geometry to evaluate the relationships between pairs of quadrilaterals. However, levels of understanding were varied. Little research …

Urban Catholic Elementary Schools: What Are The Governance Models?, Erik P. Goldschmidt, Mary E. Walsh

Journal of Catholic Education

The closure of nearly half of Catholic elementary schools in the United States since the 1960s has led to the development of many innovative initiatives to stabilize, strengthen, and sustain urban Catholic elementary education. Improving school governance models has been a common agenda of these efforts. This study examined the governance models in use by urban Catholic elementary schools across the United States. Seven major governance models for urban Catholic elementary schools were identified and studied using structured interviews and document analysis. An eighth model, faith-inspired charter schools, is presented as one alternative to a Catholic school. The variety of …

The Influence Of A Reform-Based Mathematics Methods Course On Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs, Brian R. Evans, Jacqueline Leonard, Kathleen Krier, Steve Ryan

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Beliefs about teaching mathematics and urban students’ ability to learn mathematics are often overlooked in the discourse on highly qualified teachers. Altering teacher experiences has the potential to change their beliefs. It was found in this qualitative case study that preservice teachers’ beliefs about teaching mathematics to urban students were changed after teachers taught brief sample lessons to their peers and watched video episodes of quality teaching. These findings suggest preservice teacher beliefs can be positively changed after taking reform-based mathematics methods courses. Additional studies are needed to determine if these changes can be sustained during teacher induction.