Law Commons^™

Still Unconstitutional: Our Nation's Experiment With State-Sponsored Sex Segregation In Education, David S. Cohen, Nancy Levit

Faculty Works

Since federal regulations authorized single-sex education in 2006, there has been an explosion of single-sex schools and classes. Although the Supreme Court has not ruled, three federal court decisions have addressed the constitutionality of single-sex classes, and the issue will percolate toward Supreme Court review soon. The arguments are that parents should have choices and “diversity” of educational options, that “brain research” shows that boys and girls are so biologically different to need sex-specific educational environments, that educational outcomes are better, and single-sex learning environments allows boys and girls to break through gender stereotypes. This article dissects these arguments within …

Diverging Destinies Redux, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

My recent “where to live” conversation with a newly hired colleague yielded an unsurprising list of “possibles”: selected blocks of Mount Airy and Germantown, plus the Main Line towns of Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Haverford, Villanova, Gladwyne, and so forth. Despite my colleague’s professed open mind about potential neighborhoods, Jenkintown — my own somewhat obscure and distinctly unfashionable (but much more affordable) suburb — drew a blank stare, as did a dozen other solidly middleclass areas I mentioned. By my calculation, there are over 400 zip codes within a thirty-mile radius of Rittenhouse Square, which is in the center of downtown …

Who We Are: Incarcerated Students And The New Prison Literature, 1995-2010, Reilly Hannah N. Lorastein

Honors Projects

This project focuses on American prison writings from the late 1990s to the 2000s. Much has been written about American prison intellectuals such as Malcolm X, George Jackson, Eldridge Cleaver, and Angela Davis, who wrote as active participants in black and brown freedom movements in the United States. However the new prison literature that has emerged over the past two decades through higher education programs within prisons has received little to no attention. This study provides a more nuanced view of the steadily growing silent population in the United States through close readings of Openline, an inter-disciplinary journal featuring …

The Hegemony Of English In South African Education, Kelsey E. Figone

Scripps Senior Theses

The South African Constitution recognizes 11 official languages and protects an individual’s right to use their mother-tongue freely. Despite this recognition, the majority of South African schools use English as the language of learning and teaching (LOLT). Learning in English is a struggle for many students who speak indigenous African languages, rather than English, as a mother-tongue, and the educational system is failing its students. This perpetuates inequality between different South African communities in a way that has roots in the divisions of South Africa’s past. An examination of the power of language and South Africa’s experience with colonialism and …

We Must Begin To View The World Differently: Only Then Perhaps We Can Change It!, Nicos Trimikliniotis

Nicos Trimikliniotis

This is an interview with Ana Esther Ceceña, researcher/professor in geopolitics, National Autonomous University of México, Director of the Geopolitics Latinamerican Observatory, in Lisbon, Portugal. She presented her paper for the Project on Polarisation in the last 500 years led by Immanuel Wallerstein, where she examines ecology, indigenous peoples and movements in March 2010.

Stereotype Threat: A Case Of Overclaim Syndrome?, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

The theory of Stereotype Threat (ST) predicts that, when widely accepted stereotypes allege a group’s intellectual inferiority, fears of confirming these stereotypes cause individuals in the group to underperform relative to their true ability and knowledge. There are now hundreds of published studies purporting to document an impact for ST on the performance of women and racial minorities in a range of situations. This article reviews the literature on stereotype threat, focusing especially on studies investigating the influence of ST in the context of gender. It concludes that there is currently no justification for concluding that ST explains women’s underperformance …

The Cypriot Roma And The Failure Of Education:Anti-Discrimination And Multiculturalism As A Post-Accession Challenge, Nicos Trimikliniotis

Nicos Trimikliniotis

This covers the period prior to 2008. At its outset, this study explores the general context of the Roma in Cyprus and their identity as Cypriot citizens, their legal classification, cultural identity and population concentration. It then examines the legal framework within which the Roma of Cyprus are educated by describing the provisions regarding access to education, as well as recent legislation transposing the anti-discrimination acquis. According to the Constitution of the Cyprus Republic, the vast majority of Roma are classified as belonging to the ‘Turkish community’ without a minority rights status and as such their access to education in …

Engines Of Inequality: Class, Race, And Family Structure, Amy L. Wax

All Faculty Scholarship

The past 30 years have witnessed a dramatic divergence in family structure by social class, income, education, and race. This article reviews the data on these trends, explores their significance, and assesses social scientists’ recent attempts to explain them. The article concludes that society-wide changes in economic conditions or social expectations cannot account for these patterns. Rather, for reasons that are poorly understood, cultural disparities have emerged by class and race in attitudes and behaviors surrounding family, sexuality, and reproduction. These disparities will likely fuel social and economic inequality and contribute to disparities in children’s life prospects for decades to …

The Heart Of The Game: Putting Race And Educational Equity At The Center Of Title Ix, Deborah L. Brake, Verna L. Williams

Articles

This article examines how race and educational equity issues shape women's sports experiences, building upon the narrative of Darnellia Russell, a high school basketball player profiled in the documentary The Heart of the Game. Darnellia is a star player who, because of an unintended pregnancy, has to fight to play the game she loves.

This girl's story provides a unique and underutilized lens through which to examine gender and athletics, as well as evaluate the legal framework for gender equality in sport. In focusing on this narrative, we seek to give voice to black female athletes and to express their …

"Free" Religion And "Captive" Schools: Protestants, Catholics, And Education, 1945-1965, Sarah Barringer Gordon

All Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Latino Educational Neglect: The Result Bespeaks Discrimination, Lupe S. Salinas

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Memphis Sings 'Soul' Music, Rural Does Country: School Finance Litigation In Tennessee, Lee A. Harris

University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class

No abstract provided.

Mapping Discriminatory Landscapes In A Divided Educational System: The Case Of Cyprus, Nicos Trimikliniotis

Nicos Trimikliniotis

This paper examines the way in which the Cyprus educational system, primarily concentrating on the Greek-Cypriot side, reproduces discriminatory patterns via an outmoded and ethnically divided educational model, in spite of some efforts to introduce multi-cultural elements of local level. Existing literature and a number of studies and reports on immigrant and minority students illustrate the need for further research on the subject, so that a comprehensive reform of the educational system can take place to move from an ethnocentric model towards a more critically orientated humanistic education based on tolerance and understanding – a matter of urgency if Cyprus …

Gender Politics In Massachusetts: Progress For Paid Family Leave, Elizabeth A. Sherman

New England Journal of Public Policy

Advances in the educational and occupational status of women in the United States over the past quarter century have greatly expanded the participation of women in the workforce. However, economic and social changes in women’s lives have put pressure on traditional family roles and on the political system to respond to the problems families face balancing work and family responsibilities. Initiatives for paid family leave in Massachusetts reflect the newfound political strength of women in politics — as leaders of political organizations, as elected officials, and as voters — and the willingness of the state’s political elite to grapple with …

Hawaiian Eth(N)Ics: Race And Religion In Kamehameha Schools, Leigh Caroline Case

William & Mary Bill of Rights Journal

No abstract provided.

Education And Religion As Factors Influencing Attitudes Toward Population Growth In The United States, Larry Barnett

Larry D Barnett

No abstract provided.