This article argues that multiculturalism, especially when it is led and controlled by Whites, and in the absence of collective anti-racist struggles, can reproduce the ontologies, epistemologies, and practices of white supremacy. I use a case study of a reenactment of Atlantic black slavery, produced by white teachers to investigate whether…

This article reports on a case study that investigated how six Japanese American youth interpreted the effectiveness and relevance of extra-curricular diversity initiatives at their Midwestern middle and secondary public schools. These initiatives were intended to raise cultural awareness, but ultimately promoted cultural fetishism and racially…

As the gulfs between low-income and more affluent youth widen, researchers and practitioners continue to search for effective means of closing gaps in academic achievement, digital participation, and civic engagement. This article examines how youth organizing offers a bridge across these divides. We consider how one youth organizing group, The…

This study focuses on the life history of a Japanese teacher who was actively involved in social and educational movements in the 1960s. There are traditions of teacher resistance against social oppression worldwide, and this study brings forth one such example in Japan. This study highlights how one teacher, collaborating with his colleagues,…

The lack of strong literacy skills and practices among students is perhaps the clearest indicator that the education system continues to leave millions of children behind. To advance the reading, writing, and speaking skills of middle and high school students, this study examines a professional development model that brought trained…

This article features key findings from a study that highlights the transformative impact of a pedagogical approach that employs Critical Multimodal Hip Hop Production (CMHHP). The study took place in an extended day program in a northern California public middle school among a group of 30, urban, African American, Chicano/a/Latino/a, and Asian…

This article draws upon five different empirical studies to examine how critical dialogue can be fostered across educational settings and with diverse populations: middle-school students discussing immigration picture books, a teacher study group exploring texts on homelessness, a teacher education class studying critical literacy, working class…

This article describes a curriculum project designed to create opportunities for transformative educational experiences in relation to democratic and social justice ideals. The project used an empowering interactive art form, Forum Theatre, to explore the topic of bullying. Through the development of Forum Theatre scenes by eighth grade students…

Social justice is a complex theory and practice that includes the equitable redistribution of resources and the recognition of culture. This is a report about the Tubman Theater Project, a culturally relevant drama program in which African American middle and high school students confronted racism and classism, as well as their unexamined…

The authors describe themes of cultural persistence, political resistance, and hope in the art of one Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Midwestern United States. The themes are described across three contexts: community mural art, poetry from students in an alternative high school, and poetry from seventh grade students in a neighborhood middle…

In this article we report results of a qualitative interview study focusing on middle school Language Arts teachers' perceptions, attitudes, and reported practices related to LGBQ topics. The study found that virtually all of the teacher participants recognized that the topic of same-sex sexuality was important for their students, yet the teachers…

Drawing from the theoretical lenses of cultural memory and critical race theory, we examined how elementary level and middle school level social studies textbooks represent the history of racial violence directed toward African Americans and resistance to this violence in the U.S. Using a literary analysis method, we found that textbooks often…

A critical challenge in urban science education is determining how to provide empowering science learning experiences for all students. In an effort to address the achievement gap in science education, I have focused on the concept of ownership, specifically when and how students gain ownership in science learning. This paper presents a teacher…

The focus of this qualitative study is to document two middle school science teachers' perceptions of social justice and how these teachers implement various aspects of social justice in their science instruction. The two teachers teach science in an urban school that serves students from low-income, immigrant, and ethnic minority families. The…

The Social Problem Solving through Science (SPSS) project engaged middle school-aged youth in the study of local environmental challenges with implications for human health and well-being, both globally and locally. Students considered environmental risk factors in a series of structured activities to develop background knowledge on environmental…