The author of this chapter argues that the failure of Spanish language education policies in the United States to educate both Latinos and non-Latinos has to do with the clash between three positions--(a) the English language, characterized by U.S. educational authorities as the unique and powerful lingua franca; (b) the Spanish language, as…

Language and cultural preservation efforts among different communities of language speakers in the United States have received increasing attention as interest in linguistic rights and globalization continues to deepen. In addition to mounting evidence of the cognitive, psychological, and academic benefits of heritage language/community language…

Students and educators are constrained from finding meaning in the current educational system as a result of the tension between educators' pedagogical practices and systemic constraints, such as high-stakes standardized tests and district-mandated instructional curriculum. Such restrictive educational policies limit educators from developing…

In this article, the author explores poverty as an outside-of-school factor and its influence on the inside-of-school experiences and outcome of students. He considers the interconnected space of learning, instructional practices, and poverty. In particular, he uses critical race theory as an analytic tool to unpack, shed light on, problematize,…

Since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, public discourse on "failing schools" as measured by high-stakes standardized tests has disproportionately affected students from minoritized communities (such as language, race, class, dis/ability), emphasizing climates of assessment at the expense of broader, more democratic, and…

The purpose of this article is to explore the pedagogical dimensions of the Funds of Knowledge (FoK) framework and approach with a focus on the role of power and agency in the sites where such teaching and learning takes place. This analysis is undertaken to make the pedagogies and associated power implications of the FoK work more explicit to…

This article focuses on the emergence of what the author refers to as "global ill-literacies," that is, the hybrid, transcultural linguistic and literacy practices of Hip Hop youth in local and global contexts, as well as the pedagogical possibilities that scholars open up as they engage these forms. By reviewing a broad but focused range of…

In this article, the author outlines two general research approaches, within the education world, to these mass-mediated formations: "Deference" and "Denial." Researchers who recognize the social practices that give local meaning to mass media formations and ways of speaking do not attempt to recontextualize youth media in their own social…

In this chapter, the authors examine developments in the teacher workforce and in the occupation of teaching across recent generations. They take their point of departure from the perspective of prevailing policy discourse on enduring problems of educational equity, asking not only how teaching has evolved in recent decades but more specifically…

Within the past decade, adolescents have become an increasingly scrutinized age group in the United States and abroad. The stereotypical image of youth and of adolescence by extension--as a boisterous embodiment of the "unruly" stage of life between childhood and adulthood--has long dominated discussions about definitions of and subsequent policy…

The characteristics of contemporary societies are increasingly theorized as global, fluid, and networked. These conditions underpin the emerging knowledge economy as it is shaped by the societal and technological forces of late capitalism. These shifts and developments have significantly affected the communicational landscape of the 21st century.…

This article engages in the debate about what counts as professional knowledge from the perspective of improving outcomes for diverse learners. The authors begin by highlighting the importance of assumptions about appropriate roles for teachers and how those assumptions have shaped the debate about what teachers need to know. Then, they consider…

Language as subject matter is highly protean; it has been defined in various ways in schools, usually as a reflection of predominant images of teaching and learning. Language is also "in, of," and "for" the world. It exists and flourishes "in" the lives and circumstances of its users, created "of" their worlds; it is thus a way of both being in…

This article focuses on the basic idea that having equality and justice for all in schooling cannot be achieved in the current climate where students are viewed solely as individuals. In fact, given the educational debt and achievement gaps, the ideas of equality and justice are necessarily contradictory. Achieving justice, in light of the…

Teaching in socially just ways and in ways that produce social justice requires the recognition that learners need access to the knowledge deemed valuable by the content domains, even as the knowledge they bring to their learning must not only be recognized but valued. In this review, the author revisits that notion of teaching as the fusion of…