Surveyed black and white student teachers from programs with varying requirements about teaching culturally diverse students. Results indicated that both groups had lower scores on the Cultural Sensitivity toward Teaching African American Students subscale than on the Willingness to Teach African American Students subscale. Black student teachers…

To comply with the district desegregation plan, the San Francisco Unified School District previously required higher scores for Chinese American applicants to its academic magnet high school than for more underrepresented groups. Examines the admissions debate, suggesting that exclusion of Asian and Latino concerns in district policymaking led to…

Examined how one urban charter school struggled during its first year to overcome several barriers, such as the initial small facility, limited curricula, and strained teacher-administrator relationships, to become a cohesive team that nurtured a unique community of learners. Case study data indicated that keys to success included teacher…

Culturally relevant, ongoing project-based learning was facilitated in a predominantly African American urban elementary school via a community garden project. The project involved teachers, students, university members, and community members. This article evaluates the project through two classroom-community collaboration models, noting common…

Examined the relationship between academic performance and various contextual factors for urban, African American high school freshmen. Survey data indicated that gender, peers' church attendance, and percentage of relatives completing high school were significant in predicting positive academic outcomes. Perception of neighborhood deterioration…

Compared how principals in predominantly African American, urban middle schools with high and low suspension rates differed in addressing disciplinary challenges. Data from observations, interviews, and document analysis indicated several factors contributing to lower suspension rates, including high parental involvement, structured environment,…

Examines how an interracial coalition of radical teachers from the Teachers Union of New York City and community activists from Harlem promoted black history and intercultural curriculum and collaborated with parents for school reform during the 1930s-40s. Their efforts to develop more culturally responsive schools were derailed in the late 1940s…

Describes two African American immersion schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which opened in 1990 and 1991 to serve as models for the city's public school system and effectively combat the failure of this system to successfully educate African American students. The schools signified a new direction of educational reform in the city following more…

Examines attempts by black high school student activists in Chicago in the 1960s to gain community control of their schools. Their combined efforts did not lead to decentralization, but instead resulted in more black administrators and curriculum changes, as well as increased awareness of inadequate education, lack of black administrators, lack of…

Explores the complex educational and social conditions facing African American males in public schools, highlighting the effectiveness of comprehensive school reform to overcome barriers to these students' learning (e.g, concentrated poverty, drug use, and violence). Discusses the importance of cultural relevance and teacher-student cultural…

Discusses the disparity in academic achievement between African American males and males and females from other ethnic groups, recommending after school programs to provide services for addressing and decreasing these disparities. Notes policy issues affecting the targeted population, presents four programs that have successfully improved academic…

Explores the influence of environmental and cultural factors on the academic achievement of black male students, examining ways in which these factors shape the relationship between identity, particularly related to race and gender, and school performance. Offers diffuse and direct strategies for countering harmful environmental and cultural…

Evaluates how schools can positively affect the test score gap between black and white students by examining two potential sources for this difference: teachers and students. Offers evidence for the proposition that teachers' perceptions, expectations, and behaviors interact with students' beliefs, behaviors, and work habits in ways that help to…

Examines the experiences and academic outcomes of African American males in grades K-3, focusing on the gender and racial context of achievement in which boys develop academically and socially. Discusses black male school achievement and engagement, identifying variables and recommending a research agenda needed to fully understand the achievement…

Examined African American male students' transition to high school, comparing gender differences in achievement from 8th-12th grades by using data from a longitudinal study in Chicago. In 8th grade, there were few gender differences in achievement or teachers' ratings of students' behaviors and skills. However, males had more significant declines…