Information about the MIT Media Lab PLATFORM, a Summit of Innovators, is presented. This Summit was comprised of engineers, computer scientists, coders, activists, designers, and technology wizards, a gathering of people of color who have been remarkably successful, provocative, and creative against the odds. The event enabled the author and other…

This article presents the author's views about the school district deconstruction in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He discusses his 30-year experience as a principal and central office administrator with the School District of Philadelphia and his involvement in the efforts to lead urban school reform in the country. He also describes the…

This paper focuses on three secondary education teachers who earned licensure through a graduate-level urban teacher preparation program and then accepted positions at diverse, urban schools in the western U.S. The primary research question asks: "How do three urban secondary teachers implement the pedagogical tool of expressing and cultivating…

In this article, the authors describe a conceptual framework for using locally relevant mathematics curricula to increase access to mathematics for marginalized youth. Drawing on different strands of research on equity in mathematics education, the authors propose that there are three kinds of access that are afforded by the use of contexts that…

The Roma, also known as gypsies or "tsinganoi," are amongst the oldest ethnic minorities in Europe. Nonetheless, they have been one of the most universally marginalized groups across all of the European nations. Their marginalization is evident in how Roma children have been treated in schools. Until recently, most nations have only offered them a…

Addressing the underdevelopment awaiting most children belonging to historically disparaged groups in the uneven playing field of public education remains--the top problem in advancing equity and excellence in education. Clearly, excellence in the educational system requires equity in opportunities to learn regardless of children's background or…

The continued persistence of sexism and institutional gender bias in schools is well documented. The empirical research in this area has uncovered a host of negative outcomes associated with gender inequity for all children. Research suggests that schools provide an excellent forum in which issues of gender inequities may be examined and…

Discusses the notion of habitus and its utility in understanding how race and class influence educational experiences, educational opportunity, and life trajectories. Uses examples from a longitudinal study of how 15 urban black women from three high schools interpreted educational opportunity in the college application process and how they…

This keynote address introduces the concept of educational sovereignty (the need to challenge the arbitrary authority of the power structure to determine the essence of the educational experience for Hispanic and other minority students), concluding that communities must create their own infrastructures for development including mechanisms for the…

This conversation between two educators begins by examining what brought them to their interest in looking at learning from an ethnographic perspective. Though they come from different viewpoints in regard to education, they agree that they got interested in ethnography through teaching. They discuss time, space, and language in relation to…