Search results for making sense of rac

Beyond Compensation: Empowering Teachers’ Unions to Think Beyond Bread-and-Butter Issues is an incredibly important book that explores the value of union representation of teachers on the front lines of public education. After the 2018 Supreme Court ruling on Janus v. American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), educators and other union members wondered why they should belong to a union. This book provides an answer and demonstrates that the role of teachers’ unions goes far beyond bread-and-butter issues as shown in the myriad priorities they are involved in. Teachers’ unions today are requesting additional funding for education to improve outcomes for all students—including those who are disadvantaged, as well as racial and ethnic and sexual-minority students and English-language learners. The goal of teachers’ unions is not simply to represent the rights of their members, but rather to improve education on the whole. They are seeking smaller class sizes, safer schools, and the addition of nurses and counselors, issues that go beyond increased pay for teachers. The book explores in detail the role of one teachers’ union, the Washington Teachers’ Union and its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, and their priorities as a roadmap for how other teachers’ unions might pursue these goals and the hazards they might face. The author discusses major educational issues such as teacher evaluation, merit pay for teachers, standardized testing, and community schools and warns about the dangers of vouchers and charter schools. Beyond Compensation is a volume in The Badass Teachers Association Education Series. The series serves to contribute to educators’ and educational leaders’ understandings of the need for teacher education, activism, and leadership in these areas. It will provide a place for future and current educators to learn more about these issues and how they can build their classrooms and communities into the spaces all students deserve. The series consists of print books and e-books for current educators, pre-service teachers, parents, and others in the greater community.

2021 SPE Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention This is a collection of interdisciplinary and logically interconnected papers from nationally and internationally acclaimed researchers in philosophy, psychology, history of education, teacher training, educational leaders and practitioners, child advocates, and educators who have been motivated by the philosophy and pedagogy of Dr. Janusz Korczak (1878-1942), a world famous moral exemplar and champion of children’s rights. The book provides answers to timely questions of how to respect children’s rights in K-12 schools, community centers, summer camps, and colleges; how to create an atmosphere of trust and safety, and provide social-emotional learning in the classroom; how to become a genuine child advocate; and how to support growing child agency. It also tells the story of Korczak, his life, and the lives of the children in his charge. Nurture, Care, Respect, and Trust details how Korczak’s legacy encourages and stimulates new projects and spreads around the world. The volume serves as a rich resource of practical materials for teachers and university instructors, introducing a number of innovative lesson plans, examples of students’ works, and school projects inspired by Korczak’s pedagogy.

The Science I Know: Culturally Relevant Science Lessons from Secondary Classrooms is a collection of culturally relevant lesson plans written by secondary science teachers. Each lesson discusses how the tenets of academic success, cultural competence and critical consciousness that are part of the theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) are addressed (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Additionally, each lesson plan is structured following the 5E learning cycle (Bybee, 2006) and aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NAS, 2012). The goal of this book is to help science teachers understand how to go about designing lessons that are culturally relevant. The hope is that the lessons that are detailed in each chapter will inspire teachers to draw the cultural knowledge from their students and capitalize on it when designing science lessons. After an introductory chapter that discusses how science education has shifted in recent decades to address the needs of diverse students, the main body of the text is divided into three sections. The first part introduces Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) as a framework; this is important for those readers unfamiliar with Gloria Ladson-Billings’ work. It addresses and discusses the three tenets of CRP (Academic Success, Cultural Competence and Critical Consciousness) and it includes an explanation of how each area can be observed and addressed in science education specifically. The second part features lesson plans from secondary science classrooms written by teachers from different subject areas (i.e., life science, physical science, earth science, etc.). The lesson plans follow the 5E Instructional Model (Bybee et. al., 2006). This model promotes inquiry by guiding teachers in the design of lesson plans that are “based upon cognitive psychology, constructivist-learning theory, and best practices in science teaching.” (Duran & Duran, 2004). A brief snapshot of each teacher precedes each lesson plan. A discussion about how each of the CRP tenets is observed appears after each lesson plan. Finally, each plan featured has a section that addresses the concepts of Funds of Knowledge (Moll et al., 1992). This concept guides teachers in the process of identifying and maximizing students’ cultural capital in the classroom. Each lesson plan chapter concludes with questions for further consideration for teachers. The last part of the book features best practices for teachers when preparing and planning to implement culturally relevant practices in their classrooms, as well as a lesson plan template for teachers.The Science I Know is not only essential reading for all science teachers interested in utilizing culturally relevant instructional practices in their classroom, but also a valuable tool in the instruction of pre-service teachers in Colleges of Education. The book’s structure is ideal for classroom use.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Cultural Studies in Education; Education and Culture; Learner Differences; Secondary Science Pedagogy; Culturally Relevant Science; and Multicultural Education

A 2020 AESA Critics' Choice Book Award winnerThe rise of high-stakes testing in New York and across the nation has narrowed and simplified what is taught, while becoming central to the effort to privatize public schools. However, it and similar reform efforts have met resistance, with New York as the exemplar for how to repel standardized testing and invasive data collection, such as inBloom. In New York, the two parent/teacher organizations that have been most effective are Long Island Opt Out and New York State Allies for Public Education.  The opt-out movement has been so successful that 20% of students statewide and 50% of students on Long Island refused to take tests. In Opting Out, two parent leaders of the opt-out movement—Jeanette Deutermann and Lisa Rudley—tell why and how they became activists in the two organizations. The story of parents, students, and teachers resisting not only high-stakes testing but also privatization and other corporate reforms parallels the rise of teachers across the country going on strike to demand increases in school funding and teacher salaries. Both the success of the opt-out movement and teacher strikes reflect the rise of grassroots organizing using social media to influence policy makers at the local, state, and national levels.

The Disquisition: An Equity-Driven Capstone for Leadership Preparation Programs provides a thoughtful, detailed example of a capstone process and paper (The Disquisition) that employs improvement science, critical theory, and critical praxis to prepare educational leaders to disrupt inequity within their organizations. The chapters in this book represent 12 years of collaborative learning among experienced, respected, and award-winning leadership preparation faculty presently at or formerly from Western Carolina University (WCU). It integrates multiple sources of data from research, student feedback, faculty experiences, capstone committee member input, learnings from the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), and program evaluation data examining the achievement of student learning outcomes. Following foundational chapters that describe the origin and evolution of the disquisition at WCU and its focus on social justice, faculty present six chapters—each one clearly detailing a primary component of the disquisition process and paper including the problem of practice; a causal analysis; identifying the improvement initiative; designing the improvement initiative; evaluating the improvement initiative and reporting results; and implications, recommendations, and leadership lessons learned. Each of these chapters includes a brief introduction to the component; expectations for students as practitioners (leading the work); expectations for students as scholars (evaluating and writing about the work); an excerpt from the disquisition paper outline relevant to the component; example figures, tables, or text from completed disquisition papers; and scholarly resources for scholar-practitioners. The final chapter of the book presents the process for convening a disquisition committee, a description of the IRB process, and the expectations for defending the disquisition at both the proposal defense and the final defense meeting.  Although this book is written as a guide for students engaging in the disquisition process and writing the disquisition paper, it serves as a strong model for leadership preparation programs and university administrators who seek to build or refine their capstone (and program) in ways that ensure students are prepared to lead justice-driven transformation across their organizations.Perfect for courses such as: Dissertation-in-Practice Writing; Academic Writing for the Scholar Practitioner; Capstone-Independent Study; Capstone-Student Learning Community; Improvement Science: Data Collection, Analysis & Reporting; Improvement Science: Data Presentation; The Role of the Scholar-Practitioner as Educational Leader

2026 SPE Outstanding Book Award Honorable MentionMethodology and Praxis: Thinking with Patti Lather examines the work of Patti Lather and its importance at the intersections of curriculum theory, cultural studies, and critical qualitative research. The book explores the impact of Lather's work on the field both broadly and specifically and engages with her ideas and methods in innovative ways. From 1988-2014, Patti Lather was a faculty member at Ohio State University’s School of Educational Policy and Leadership, where she taught qualitative research, feminist methodology, and courses on gender and education. She has authored four influential books: Getting Smart: Feminist Research and Pedagogy With/in the Postmodern (1991 Critics Choice Award); Troubling the Angels: Women Living with HIV/AIDS (co-written with Chris Smithies, 1998 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title); Getting Lost: Feminist Efforts Toward a Double(d) Science (2008 Critic’s Choice Award); and Engaging (Social) Science: Policy from the Side of the Messy (awarded the Critic’s Choice Award in 2010 and 2011). Dr. Lather has delivered lectures extensively both nationally and internationally, and has held several distinguished visiting lectureships. Her research explores (post)critical, feminist, and poststructural theories, with her recent work focusing on how the demand for scientifically-based research in education affects qualitative inquiry. She has served in visiting roles at institutions such as the University of British Columbia, Goteborg University, York University, and the Danish Pedagogy Institute, and in 1995 she undertook a sabbatical at the Humanities Research Institute at the University of California, Irvine, where she participated in a seminar on feminist research methodology. Her accolades include a 1989 Fulbright to New Zealand and induction as an AERA Fellow in 2009. Lather is a prominent and prolific scholar whose work has been influential in shaping multiple fields, challenging conventional understandings of research and knowledge, and advocating for social justice and equity in education. This collection represents a diverse group of scholars that build on these contributions and showcase the diverse ways in which research improves teaching and learning. Contributors in this volume include scholars in educational theory, social science, research methodology, feminist social theory, and curriculum theorizing. Perfect for courses such as: Cultural Studies of Education; Qualitative Research Methodology; Contemporary Curriculum Theory; Advanced Qualitative Inquiry; Feminist Theory and Methodology; Education Policy Studies; Research In Education

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention For the last few decades, teacher preparation has increasingly aligned itself with “best practices,” standards, and accountability, and such policies became mandatory in P-12 schooling nationwide. Technical skills instruction and methods have become the common practice of teacher preparation and accreditation of programs. Teacher candidates are encouraged to be unquestioning servants of a school system rather than educators who govern the meaning of schooling. The purpose of this book is to present a view of how we got to where we are today and to offer strategies to bring the job of teaching back to its roots. It seeks to identify the conservative influences that treat students as a commodity rather than future citizen scholars. For teacher candidates, this has meant the excision of social foundations of education courses and any further explorations of the philosophy of education or the history of schooling in their curricula. The Commodification of American Education looks at ways to re-establish teachers as professionals rather than mere technicians, and to take back public education to transform schools into places that educate while eliminating inequality and oppression.

Centering Multilingual Learners in School Curriculum through Community Asset Mapping is written for educators working with culturally and linguistically diverse student populations, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds. It presents and explores Community Asset Mapping (CAM) as a transformative pedagogical approach that values students’ lived experiences, cultural wealth, and linguistic repertoires as essential components of learning. It speaks to teachers who seek to integrate students’ strengths and assets into the curriculum while challenging hierarchical structures of knowledge and language within the education system. Written by two multilingual language education professionals who draw upon their own educational journeys and rich, multifaceted experience working with multilingual learners, this book is also grounded in a post-qualitative research approach. It weaves together culturally responsive teaching, translanguaging, and community asset mapping as a co-learning practice, alongside a diverse range of critical theories and pedagogical approaches. This resource extends beyond academic scholarship; it engages with community-based initiatives, social entrepreneurship, and lived experiences to offer both a holistic perspective and a practical, action-oriented approach. Through this lens, the authors aim to equip educators with the tools to transform classrooms into more equitable and justice-driven learning spaces. Throughout the book, numerous examples and practical resources are offered to bring these ideas to life, demonstrating how CAM can be implemented in the classroom as a powerful and enriching teaching strategy. More than just a resource, this book is a call to action—an invitation for educators to embark on a collaborative journey. It embraces vulnerability, emphasizes co-learning, and celebrates the communities that shape the work of language education professionals. Through this shared effort, the authors invite educators to join them in critically reimagining education and advocating for more equitable, asset-based practices that truly honor the voices and experiences of their students.Perfect for courses such as: Multicultural and multilingual Education; Sociolinguistics; Methods and Materials in TESOL Education; Curriculum Design in Education or TESOL; Language, Culture and Society; Urban Education; Family Engagement in Education

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner Anticipating Education is an interdisciplinary collection of Britzman’s previously published and unpublished papers that examines the dilemmas created by anticipating education, provoked when teachers, students, and professors encounter the unknown while trying to know emotional situations affecting their waiting, wanting, and wishing for teaching and learning. Anticipation has a particular flavor in scenes of education and not only since schooling presents again the mise-en-scène of childhood; anticipation also signifies the estranged temporality of anxiety, phantasies, and defense that compose and decompose hopes for transforming knowledge, sociality, and subjectivity in group life.

The Little Shelter That Could: Literacy Resilience of Mothers and Children Facing Homelessness tells the story of homelessness, life in a shelter, and the impact of these factors on children’s lives and education. It is also a story of hope. Dr. Sadia Warsi discovered something remarkable during her research at Joseph's Shelter. Instead of educational disruption, she found literacy resilience. Families created sophisticated learning environments that challenged assumptions about capabilities during crisis. The Little Shelter That Could reveals extraordinary educational leadership, where children became teachers in hallway spaces and mothers transformed dormitories into literacy-rich environments. Through anonymized, reconstructed narrative case studies based on her research, this book documents how education served as both anchor during crisis and pathway to future possibilities. Rather than focusing on deficits, this work illuminates sophisticated educational knowledge families possess during vulnerable moments. Readers encounter stories of mothers who strategically selected books to accelerate their children's reading while in emergency housing, families who created "learning corners" that became the shelter's educational heart, and parents whose daily bus journeys maintained their children's school enrollment. Written for early childhood educators and teacher candidates, this book provides frameworks for recognizing family educational assets invisible to traditional assessments. Dr. Warsi challenges deficit-based approaches, offering asset-based strategies that build on what families already know. Drawing from extensive experience in special education and multicultural competency, Warsi provides trauma-informed approaches that honor family expertise while supporting growth. Twenty-five years after the initial study, these lessons remain urgently relevant, as housing instability affects an increasing number of families. The Little Shelter That Could offers hope, practical strategies, and a transformative vision for early childhood education that honors every family's educational assets.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Early Childhood Education; Family and Community Engagement in Education; Culturally Responsive Teaching; Early Childhood Literacy Development; Trauma-Informed Educational Practices; Introduction to Special Education; Assessment in Early Childhood Education; Supporting Diverse Families; Child Development and Learning; and Educational Equity and Social Justice