The racial "mismatch" between a non-White student public school population and a primarily White teaching force continues to be underexamined through an appropriate cultural lens. This literature review provides examples of how White teachers must properly recognize non-White students' actions and rhetoric in classroom settings as…

This meta-analysis of 51 studies examines the relationship between various kinds of parental involvement programs and the academic achievement of pre-kindergarten-12th-grade school children. Analyses determined the effect sizes for various parental involvement programs overall and subcategories of involvement. Results indicate a significant…

For over a century after the 1896 "Plessy v. Ferguson" decision, researchers have been grappling with how to effectively implement educational reform policies to provide students with an equal education in American schools. This literature review examines previous school desegregation cases and school desegregation plans to investigate…

The educational aspirations of Black males in urban, suburban, and rural high schools were examined in this study, using a nationally-representative sample of respondents to the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS:88/00). Hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed statistically significant relationships between aspirations and SES,…

Basic quality-of-life indicators including employment, access to health care, and involvement with the criminal justice system paint a grim picture for the lives of urban Black males; thus, it is increasingly important to identify prevention and intervention strategies that can improve outcomes for this group. After-school programs have been…

This policy study examined the differences in student achievement scores in reading and mathematics in selected public middle schools of choice and in traditional public middle schools with similar demographics and socioeconomic characteristics in a southeastern school district in North Carolina during the 1997-1998, 1998-1999, and 1999-2000…

Dr. Larry D. Fields, the former principal of Rowland H. Latham Elementary, led the development of a complementary learning model that became known as the Latham Way. The Latham Way produced remarkable academic success among poor minority students. The chi-square of the expected and the actual scores in reading and mathematics were significant at p…

In spite of the most adverse circumstances, some children manage to survive and even thrive, academically and socially, into adulthood. A complex array of individual, family, and community factors has been identified that best explains resilience and lays the foundation for programs and interventions targeted at fostering the development and…

This article presents information on the history and role of Web-based tools and vignette use in education by providing a definition of a vignette and other Web-based collaboration tools. After providing background on the use of vignettes and case-based scenarios in teaching and learning, the author discusses how Web-based tools may be used to…

This article briefly reviews initiatives that have attempted to create communities of educators using Web-based, electronic conferencing. The authors critically analyze the advocacy for electronic communication as a medium for bringing educators together across time and distance with an emphasis on what is known about urban schools, access to…

This meta-analysis of 41 studies examines the relationship between parental involvement and the academic achievement of urban elementary school children. Analyses determined the effect sizes for parental involvement overall and subcategories of involvement. Results indicate a significant relationship between parental involvement overall and…

Formulates three reference group hypotheses to explain why some disadvantaged students achieve more highly than others. Focusing on low SES Hispanic language minority students, analysis shows that both middle class and Hispanic reference group orientations have a positive impact on educational achievement. (PS)

Discusses the use of regimentation and depersonalization as socializing mechanisms at an inner city junior high school. Focuses on the routine encounters of newcomers and the way such encounters force students to redefine themselves according to institutional needs and practices. (PS)

Critically evaluates recent statements and actions by federal and state officials who do not realize the efforts that will be necessary to raise school standards. Reviews kinds of standards proposed by current reform, considers their effects, and discusses the conditions under which at risk students could respond positively to higher standards.…

Discusses Foster McMurray's critical retrospective essay, included in the second edition of Arthur Bestor's "Educational Wastelands: The Retreat from Learning in Our Public Schools." Disagrees with McMurray's conception of liberal education and maintaining the centrality of the academic disciplines. (PS)