A key issue continuing to plague current educational systems is the intransigent racial and socio-economic achievement gaps for students. Using narrative inquiry and Harré and van Langenhove's (1999) six modes of positioning theory, this study considered preservice teachers' construction of socially just pedagogy within their public…

Efforts to support marginalized students require not only identifying systemic inequities, but providing a classroom infrastructure that supports the academic achievement of all students. This action research study examined the effects of implementing goal-setting strategies and emphasizing creativity in a culturally responsive classroom (CRC) on…

This article explores how preservice elementary teachers change their negative beliefs toward mathematics into positive ones after taking a mathematics methods course that follows the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA) instructional method. Also explored is the relationship between those beliefs and sociomathematical authority. By administering…

For youth, schools are simultaneously sites of production, socialization, and development. At school, students learn about race, social values and norms, power, and positionality (Noguera, 2003, p. 443). This "hidden curricula" reinforces social inequities and influences how individual students experience the process of schooling as well as come…

This paper describes the experiences of preservice teachers developing deeper understanding of themselves and diverse students through participation in the Philadelphia Urban Seminar. The Seminar focuses on the reconstruction of more complete understanding of urban students and urban communities by combining field experience in Philadelphia with…

This paper responds to the call for further inquiry into the experiences of graduates of urban focused teacher education programs. I present and analyze the experience of Mia, a White, monolingual English female who earned licensure in secondary social studies through a graduate-level, equity-focused teacher preparation program before accepting a…

Research points to particular problems in the experiences of White teachers teaching children of color and diverse backgrounds because often they are unfamiliar with their students' backgrounds and communities. Additionally, research points to the educational value of linking students' lived experiences to their classroom learning. This paper…

The policy discourse on improving student achievement has shifted from student outcomes to focusing on evaluating teacher effectiveness using standardized test scores. A major urban newspaper released a public database that ranked teachers' effectiveness using Value-Added Modeling. Teachers, whom are generally marginalized, were given the…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) offers the promise of increased success for underserved students in urban schools. This qualitative case study examines a middle school reading teacher's understandings and implementation of CRP and the researcher's supportive role over a three-semester collaboration. Two categories of results are described:…

Drawing on case studies of five elementary school teachers in one inner city school, the author explored ways teachers foster social inclusion in their classrooms. Rooted in classroom observations and extensive teacher interviews, teachers' teaching methods and practices were examined as a base from which to explore socially inclusive pedagogy in…

This paper develops the argument that new literacies constitute an indispensable foundation for developing school discourse among 1.5 and newcomer urban adolescents. A mother and literacy educator presents insights learned from indirectly participating in co-constructing Standard English discourse with her newcomer adolescent son through video…

The purpose of this study was to examine urban teachers' identified strengths in varied cognitive, affective, and psychological capacities, and their impact on self-efficacy and teacher practices. Clifton and Anderson in the Gallup Organization's Strengths Quest (2004) presented compelling evidence suggesting a mind-set of "what's right with me"…

What constitutes effective reading instruction for urban and ethnically diverse learners has been the topic of a great deal of debate. Particularly, during this time of sweeping mandates and increased calls for accountability. The response from urban schools to The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) serves as the backdrop for this paper which will…

The authors explore the ways current curricula continue to frustrate parental and student goals in the classroom, focusing on three separate ethnographic studies of subjects from African American, Appalachian, and Latino backgrounds. The researchers determine that, despite the idiographic nature of their individual studies, many marginalized…

This paper discusses challenges initiated by first and second generation Latino and Chinese American fourth graders in an urban elementary school, toward the perspective of California history in the mandated Social Studies curriculum. The required text highlighted significant moments in California and United States history with limited, if any,…