This analysis encompassed four different projects that were implemented as reform initiatives at the college. The authors' collaborative work and this subsequent analysis have drawn on insights from Cochran-Smith (2004), who describes teacher education as both a "learning problem and a political problem" that involves the creation of inquiry…

Inquiry into the academic achievement of Latino/a youth in the United States should be of major interest to teachers, administrators, families, communities, scholars, and policy makers committed to equitable multicultural education in schools. Although the diversity of Latinos is well documented, academic achievement discourse continues to lump…

Educational research undertaken for the public good incites educators who work in under-served communities not only to highlight the educational policies and practices that lead to the further marginalization of these communities, but also to imagine ways in which such hegemony can be countered. This article focuses on an emerging challenge found…

It is essential for teachers and teacher educators alike to understand how teachers conceptualize multicultural education. It is such understandings that will help a teacher education program meet the real needs of both the teachers and their students. After all, it is the teacher who works with diversity in the classroom and who must make…

Scholars for decades now have argued for the importance of multiculturalism in the United States, as they become a more diverse society. Multicultural education has the potential to provide a curriculum that is inclusive, offering multiple perspectives, and concerned with equity. It is without question the responsibility of colleges and…

Today's global community encompasses interconnectivity between societies, where a development in one country affects and informs something similar in other countries. Multicultural education is not exempt from this pattern. Multicultural education was first started by concerned activists and educators in the United States as a way to secure social…

In the very near future, Latino students will become the majority in California's public schools and because of their great numbers and presence, the pattern of lackluster academic achievement must be a major concern of teachers, school leaders, and policy makers. Despite having made great strides in narrowing the gap that separated them from…

Acquiring proficiency in the various English language skills and the ability to utilize those skills as a medium of learning is a daunting task. Research suggests that children who do not speak English as their first language (L1) need five to seven years in school before they can perform as well in English as their English peers who are native…

In spite of theoretical validation and legal mandates in special education for parent participation, many studies have indicated that parents' roles in the Individualized Education Programs (IEP) process are still not noticeable and influential and that too often they are not being treated as an equal partner with school professionals. In…

In this article, the author shares how her daughter, who was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss when she was a year old, taught her to teach, and demonstrates the importance of active communication. Teaching her daughter English as her second language has posed many challenges, but has also revealed successful strategies that the author has…

Everyone agrees that family participation is paramount to student achievement. Much has been written about the importance of parent collaboration in the schools. Yet, less has been written about the family who does not speak English and also has a child with disability. This article reviews the research on involvement of parents in the schools,…

Although public school districts in Southern California are experiencing declining enrollment overall, accompanying this decline is a continuing increase in the percentage of students classified as English language learners (EL). In one Southern California school district with an enrollment of approximately 5,500, EL represented almost 31% of…

As they begin their teaching careers, many new teachers have never attended school with, or lived in neighborhoods with, people of color. About 84% of the nation's teachers are White (U.S. Department of Education, 2009), and are often from middle-class backgrounds, while only a little more than half of U.S. public school students are White. The…

Often students' inquiry can be a great teachable moment as well as a "researchable moment." Today, even though much has been written about culturally responsive teaching, the author is often surprised to find that the notion of culturally responsive teaching does not resonate with urban teachers and when it does, they do not know how to teach…

Diversity in educational settings is generally understood as the body of services and programs offered to students, faculty, and staff that seek to ensure compliance with non-discrimination and related policy and law, and to affirm social membership group differences (broadly considered) in curricular, co-curricular, and workplace contexts. Given…