PRODUCTS

A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner How do Paulo Freire's ideas echo across time and contexts? What does the dialogical nature of text mean for critical pedagogy today? Inspired by Paulo Freire, this text utilizes a dialogical framework, inviting the reader into a deeper conceptual and contextual consciousness through the use of many voices. In this book you will hear from several intellectual generations of Freirean scholars including Nita Freire, Donaldo Macedo, Antonia Darder, Peter McLaren, and Tom Wilson. Freirean Echoes acts as an archive housing the writings of these and other scholars and activists for posterity. A living collection, the book allows for author voices to be in dialogue with each other and with the reader. This collective “talking text” echoes, reverberates, and amplifies critical Freirean ideas, thereby inviting the reader to extend Freirean thought into their lived experiences.

A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner2023 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title Award Secret Lives of Children in the Digital Age: Disruptive Devices and Resourceful Learners offers an examination of the impact on children, their families and their teachers, as digital technologies and new literacy practices have rapidly transformed how children learn, play and communicate. While ease of access to enormous knowledge bases presents many benefits and advantages, mobile screen technologies are often perceived by parents and teachers as disruptive and worrisome. Developed from a wide range of the authors’ research over the past decade to an examination of remote learning during the COVID 19 pandemic, this book posits that while teachers, parents and governments are focused on protecting children, what is often neglected is children’s own agency and capacity to engage with mobile technologies in ways that support them in pursuing their own interests, pleasures and learning. This text works to disrupt boundaries in research, policy and practice, between home and school, and across virtual and actual worlds, positioning children as both users of media texts and coproducers of digitally mediated knowledge, with peers, family and teachers. Secret Lives of Children in the Digital Age contributes to research on digital literacies, and offers a pedagogical examination of digital possibilities for bringing playfulness and innovation into learning.

A 2023 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable MentionThose who are younger continue to be objects of injustice and inequity; those who are younger, people of color, females, and human beings living in poverty have never been included in equitable performances of justice, care, respect, and fairness.The authors in this international volume use existing social values and institutions--and the strengths of these varied perspectives--to address justice in ways that have not previously been considered. The aim is to create more just worlds for those who are young--as well as for the rest of us.The first set of chapters, Bodies, Beings, and Relations in More Just Worlds, place at the forefront the lives of those who are younger who are commonly situated in positions of invisibility, disqualification, and even erasure. In the second section, Performances of Care and Education for More Just Worlds, the authors acknowledge that needed (re)conceptualizations of those who are younger, along with appreciation for human diversity and entanglements between the so-called human and nonhuman worlds, are the foundations for more just care and education environments. From the critique of neoliberal reform discourses to reconceptualizing human relations with nonhuman animal and material worlds, care and learning environments are rethought. The set of chapters in the final section, Stir of Echoes: 20th Century Childhoods in the 21st, take-up the 20th century critical concerns with constructions of “child” that have dominated and continue to govern perspectives imposed on those who are younger. Suggestions for becoming-with those who are younger through resources like reconceptualist scholarship, Black and Indigenous Studies, and various posthuman perspectives are provided throughout.Whatever the emphasis or focus of a section or chapter, throughout the volume is the recognition that dominant discourses (e.g. neoliberal capitalism, conservativism, progressivism, human exceptionalism) and the policies they create (and that facilitate them), influence possibilities for, and limitations to, more just childhood worlds. Therefore, each section includes chapters that address these complex discourses and policy issues. The reader is invited to engage with these complexities, to become-with the various texts, and to generate unthought possibilities for childhoods in more just worlds.Perfect for courses such as: Curriculum Theory │ Multicultural Education │ Cultural Knowledge of Teachers and Teaching │ Sociocultural Foundations │ Anthropology of Education │ Identity, Agency, and Education │ Race and Ethnic Relations in Schools │ Philosophical Foundations of Education │ Educational Epistemologies │ Theorizing and Researching Teaching and Learning │ Qualitative Research in Education: Paradigms, Theories, and Exemplars │ Epistemologies and Theories in Multicultural and Equity Studies │ Curricular Approaches to Multicultural and Equity Studies in Education │ Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (3) │ Multicultural and Global Perspectives in Teaching and Learning │ Teaching for Social Justice │ Diversity and Equity in Education │ 21st Century Childhood Curriculum │ Childhood and Globalization

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner How do ideas change practices and people? In Ideas That Changed Literacy Practices, 32 influential scholars in literacy education get personal about how they have worked on ideas and how those ideas have worked on them. Together, the essays offer never-before revealed personal histories of the authors’ published writing about ideas that have shaped the field of literacy education. As a collection, the essays highlight some of the major themes that have guided and changed literacy practices over the last few decades. They also offer a rare glimpse into the complex ways histories of research emerge alongside personal and political influences on policy and practice. The volume includes an introductory chapter by Sumara and Alvermann in which they detail the processes they used in creating a context for the significance of this work. They begin with the premise that most literacy scholars rarely, if ever, reveal their personal and intellectual investments in ideas that have animated their research and other scholarly endeavors. That this observation rang true for all of the contributors was evidenced in their responses to the invitation. For example, some replied by saying this was the most exciting project they had engaged in because it required reflection on what motivated them to write the requested 3,500-word essay; others mentioned they were looking forward to reading what their peers would share.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner On Liking the Other: Queer Subjects and Religious Discourses studies the intersection of religious and queer discourses in teacher education. It looks at the sometimes difficult topics rooted in these two particular discourses, which are often seen as unwelcome in both public and private educational spaces. In engaging in such a conversation, the authors seek to think about the ways that these discourses, while steeped in discontent, dilemma, and difficulty, might also offer ways to reorient ourselves amidst twenty-first century educational realities. More to the point, the text puts queer histories and logics into conversations with theologies through the concept of liking. Eschewing the typical antagonism that often defines the relationships between religious and queer discourses, this book seeks to look for resonances and overlaps that might provide new habits for conducting the work of meeting in teacher education classrooms and educational worlds. On Liking the Other is an excellent text for a variety of classrooms and courses.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention Improvement Science: Promoting Equity in Schools is intended for classroom teachers, school leaders, and district leaders charged with leading improvement efforts in schools. From questions such as “how do I develop a love of reading in my classroom?” to “how can I better manage student behavior during independent learning time?” to “what should we do to make sure kids of all races read at grade level by 3rd grade” to “how could we include families of all backgrounds as partners in learning” or “how do we increase our graduation rate among underserved students," this book shares real-life examples from those who are currently leading equity-focused improvement in our classrooms and schools. If you are curious about how Improvement Science has been used, or how others have succeeded—or failed—at equity-focused improvement efforts in our classrooms and in our schools, or if you’re wondering how to spur discussions in school districts, universities, and communities about leading equity-focused improvement, this book is for you. Teachers, students, family members, community members, principals and superintendents will be inspired to embrace Improvement Science as a method to improve equity in their schools. The book helps people new to Improvement Science to understand the basic steps to implement the process. If you’re a beginner, it provides some basic steps and a resource (https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/our-ideas/six-core-principles-improvement/) to help you understand the process better; for those with some experience, the book will be an excellent refresher and tool with functional suggestions to take your practice further. 1.       Form a Team. 2.       Examine Data. 3.       Ask Why. 4.       Read Research. 5.       Get Perspective of Those Closest to the Problem. 6.       Plan the Change. After you’ve done the above, then it’s time to test one idea, using short Plan Do Study Act cycles. These are short improvement cycles. Students are only in our classrooms generally for one year, so the cycles need to be short, perhaps even as short as one week, to ensure that every instructional move we are making truly does improve the experience of the students. Readers of Improvement Science: Promoting Equity in Schools will be taking an important step toward achieving the goal of producing socially just classrooms and schools.WATCH: Meet the Authors (ZOOM recording from #CPED21 Virtual Convening, 10/20/21). To learn more about Improvement Science and see our full list of books in this area, please click through to the Myers Education Press Improvement Science website. Perfect for courses such as: Culturally Responsive Learning Environments; Educating For Equity And Social Justice; Cultivating Culturally Responsive Classrooms; Integrating Methods And Curriculum Design; Inquiry, Assessment, And Instructional Design; Foundations Of Culturally And Linguistically Responsive Practice; Math Literacy; Physical Education; Professional Collaboration In Education; Language And Literacy Development Of Diverse Learners; Equal Opportunity: Racism; Diversity And Equity In Schools; Cultural Proficiency In Schools; Language And Power In Education; Teaching For Equity In Literacy; Supportive Classroom Communities; Cultural Diversity In Literature; Engaging Students In Writing; Introduction To School Leadership; Introduction To School Improvement; Teacher Leadership And School Improvement

Reflecting on Autoethnographic and Phenomenological Experiences: A Caregiver’s Journey is a unique critical qualitative inquiry study that uses the author’s experience as a caregiver to his wife suffering from dementia as the basis of a critical autoethnography. It explores components of positive caregiving that may be not only melancholic and empirical, but also emotionally painful. The book employs multiple approaches that include critical narrative, phenomenology, autoethnography and experiential writing. Through a phenomenological lens of an insider that includes self- and other-hood, marriage, career, fatherhood, suicide, despair, triple grief, loss, caregiving, cooking, housekeeping, advocating mind reading, and encouraging, a narrative illustrating self-reflection on particular experiences is constructed. These culminating experiences result in first-hand and didactical understandings by the caregiver. Individual, personal, and subjective interpretation of relational happenings are explored. Reflective journaling and observations of the seasons of marital life seek to understand if and how shared experiences transcend multiple contexts and help the reader understand experiences of dementia. Reflecting on Autoethnographic and Phenomenological Experiences: A Caregiver’s Journey is a volume that will be invaluable to qualitative inquiry researchers, autoethnographers, and those readers interested in the research of caregiving.

A 2022 AESA Critics' Choice Book Award Winner A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Award Winner This book offers qualitative researchers an entrée into the world of working with archival repositories and special collections. It serves as a primer for students and researchers who might not be familiar with these sorts of collections, but with an interest in what has become known as the “archival turn,” in which the use of archival materials and artifacts in contemporary research has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Suited to novice researchers seeking a general introduction into how special collections are created and how they can be used, the book offers useful, clear guidance on using different types of archives, developing topics for research within the archives, assessing materials available, how to work with archivists and curators, documenting the research process, and writing up an archival study. Archival records and material culture (including manuscripts, documents, audio- and video-recordings, and visual and material culture) housed in special collections provide a wealth of resources for qualitative researchers seeking to conduct research in the social sciences.

A 2022 SPE Outstanding Book Honorable Mention What are the elements of culturally responsive and sustaining instruction? How can these elements be implemented in classrooms? One of the most effective methods of addressing these issues is the Culturally Responsive Instruction Observation Protocol (CRIOP), which is being used in school districts nationwide to guide teacher professional development. A Framework for Culturally Responsive Practices presents scholarship in second language acquisition, sociolinguistics, culturally appropriate assessment, educational anthropology, educational psychology, instruction, and critical pedagogy to provide guidance to those who strive to teach in ways that meet the needs of a diverse student population. The book is a culmination of the authors’ many years of experience as both researchers and instructional coaches in schools, presenting a comprehensive portrait of the research and practices associated with culturally responsive teaching. Each chapter showcases a different element of the CRIOP, providing supporting research as well as ways to implement the element in K-8 classrooms. The book also includes several specific examples written by teachers in the field and a comprehensive bibliography. This is a practical guide that can be used in a variety of courses for pre-service teachers as well as by teachers and administrators in school districts across the country.

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.