Foundations of Education

In these times, decisions large and small can have important consequences for educators. Everything from daily curricular choices and interpersonal encounters to long-term educational aims and approaches to educator-client relations is up for careful decision-making. While not every professional decision requires careful preparation and defense, more than ever, in our increasingly polarized, distrustful, and argumentative world, many more than we might anticipate do. How should educators prepare to make careful, defensible public decisions affecting their students and themselves? An important part of that preparation involves training in a range of logical and interpersonal abilities that come before and help to make good educational decisions. A Preface to Educational Decision-Making is aimed at describing those abilities, illustrating their professional uses, and providing a starting point for increasing educators’ practical skills in applying them. What are these abilities? For the most part, they involve common-sense attention to the ways that educators can become clearer about the nature of actual decisions they are asked to make, and aware of what must be done to make those decisions ones that all concerned can recognize as reasonable and as logically presented, even if not universally agreeable. In short, these are factors that provide, for decision-makers and their audiences, a preface to decisions that matter to those who make them and to those affected by them. A most important, though widely ignored set of those abilities center on making the nature of particular decisions clear to all concerned. Those abilities involve becoming sensitive to the ways such decisions can become or can be made to be unclear. In the give and take of public educational decision-making processes, bad decisions are often, even usually begin with confusion over what is to be decided and over what is proposed as the decision to make. The ability to get clarification, and the habit of clarifying before committing are crucial to good decision-making. A second set of preparatory abilities involve recognizing what must be done to actually decide what is true and/or advisable, as part of a decision at hand. Making what is recognized as a reasonable and well-reasoned decision depends in large part on applying those abilities clearly and often publicly. These two large sets of abilities are crucially connected. Making clear to oneself and to others what is to be decided is part and parcel of becoming aware of how to decide an issue at hand. This book works to explain the connections and to describe the order of their application. While most of these abilities have been described in other texts on what is usually called “informal logic,” A Preface to Educational Decision-Making is especially concerned with the sorts of decision that educators are called on to make in their professional lives. Moreover, this book widens the range of abilities to clarify and support professional decisions beyond what is usually discussed. The sections on educational speech acts and on deciding what to call true or advisable provide useful additions to educators’ repertoire of decision-making abilities. Finally, the discussion of interpersonal factors in public decision-making offers useful guides to reaching decisions with other educators and with clients.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Education; Philosophy; Social Foundations, Methods Courses in Education; Pre-student Teaching; and most Graduate courses in Educational Theory, Curriculum, Social Issues

Critical Praxis Leadership: Grassroots Narratives from Justice-Driven Leaders for a Democratic Future is a powerful new book written for a broad audience of educators devoted to achieving equity in public education.In the wake of the past 50 years of surging neoliberal economics, policy and ideology that have given rise to emboldened far-Right movements, the weaknesses of democracy as a political project for promoting equity and justice are revealing themselves in multiple spheres of social life. In the U.S., protectionist and isolationist policies enmeshed with xenophobia, racism, misogyny, homo- and transphobia, and ablism lay bare the historical architecture of inequitable and unjust social structures that provide fuel for the engines of economic and social disparity. Education, long saddled with the Sisyphean task of leveling the playing field and affording economic advancement for economically and socially marginalized populations, has been effectively reeled into an administrative agenda aimed toward maintaining social reproduction which continues to funnel Black, Brown, female, disabled and queer bodies into subordinate social roles and carceral institutions or vanquish them entirely from social life.Within this shameless historical moment of cruelty, it is crucial to highlight the stories and experiences of leaders dedicated to cultivating equitable and just environments amid this global crisis. Justice-driven leaders who engage in critical praxis leadership emphasize grassroots efforts for genuine, actionable change rather than performative gestures or media attention. Their work unfolds in diverse contexts, motivated by different factors and involving varied groups of people. Critical Praxis Leadership features theoretically rich, practically grounded narratives from PK-12 and higher education leaders who strive to become justice-driven in their day-to-day work. As PK-12 school administrators, higher education administrators, union leaders, and community leaders reflect on the ways their praxis is informed by Black feminist, anti/decolonial, posthuman, anti-oppressive and other critical frameworks, readers will be immersed in real-life experiences by a variety of voices. They will get an inside look into how justice-driven leaders strive to live their philosophy in their practice and navigate complex situations while striving toward equitable change in institutions of learning.Practical for professors and students alike, readers will experience real world narratives, praxis-oriented questions and activities, and evocative artwork. While walking alongside current leaders in the field, readers are invited to unpack their own philosophies of justice-driven leadership and engage with thinking/doing justice-driven leadership differently to refine their visions of leadership through a lens of complexity and futurity. The activities and narratives in this book remind readers of the ever-presence of the past in who we are and who we wish to be as educational leaders working within historically rooted institutions designed to maintain systems of power and oppression. They remind readers of the deep colonial and racist roots that still shape the lives of learners and leaders alike, and they propose a movement toward a just future. Readers are encouraged to revisit the past, reclaim their knowledge of how social and institutional systems came to be what they are, and choose to do leadership differently as best they can, always working toward justice that lay on the horizon.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Educational Leadership, School Leaders as Change Agents, Leadership in Higher Education, Critical Perspective on Educational Leadership, Leadership for Equity and Inclusion, and Collaborative Approaches to Educational Leadership

Hauntings, Remembering, and Aesthetics offers an intimate, artful exploration of what is lost—and what remains—when schools are closed. Grounded in the stories of two shuttered public schools in Chicago, it weaves together research, narrative, memory, and visual art to honor the communities shaped by these institutions and reckon with the systemic forces that led to their closure. Drawing from archival research, local records, personal memories, and conversations with former students, educators, and community members, the author—who has a personal connection to each school—reconstructs the histories left behind by braiding their voices with collages and photographs. The book makes visible the deep ties between school communities and the neighborhoods they served. This powerful storytelling serves as a prompt for reflection and reconsideration of school closures.The portraits that emerge tell of schools that operated under immense financial strain but built strong, nurturing environments through resourcefulness and relationships. Participants recall staff who shaped their lives, naming teachers and leaders as transformative figures in their youth. They speak openly about the racism, classism, and broken promises surrounding public education in gentrifying neighborhoods—where public housing was demolished and communities were displaced. In their words, school closures were not isolated policy decisions but outcomes of a broader inequality and disinvestment. Far from passive witnesses, these community members critically examine the past, theorizing their experiences and naming the systemic failures that framed them. They express a desire to pause, reflect, and remember—to reclaim the memory of their schools as spaces of resilience, joy, and collective resistance. As one participant shared, “There’s so much history in us.” That history, the book argues, is too often erased in mainstream narratives about school closures. By presenting these stories through both visual and literary forms, the book creates a new kind of archive—one grounded in lived experiences and presented through aesthetics. It invites educators, parents, policymakers, journalists, and anyone invested in public education to listen differently: to hear what was lost when the schools closed, and to recognize what still echoes in the voices of those who remember.This is not just a story of the past—it is a call to action in the present through stories that have always been here. These acts of remembering resist the dominant, data-driven narratives that often justify school closures. It reveals the human cost of policies disconnected from community realities and asks us to imagine more just futures for public education in our cities. This book asks us to see and hear stories anew, through the haunting beauty of memory, artwork, and collective reflection.Perfect for courses such as: Social Foundations of Education; Educational Policy Studies; History of Urban Education; Sociology of Education; Teacher Education in Urban Education; Historical and Cultural Contexts of Urban Education; Qualitative Research Methods; Arts-based Research Methods; Visual Research Methods

Recognizing the "diversity crisis" in regards to the cultural dissonance between educators and their diverse students, Diversifying the Educator Pipeline provides a critical examination of the mistakes we have made in our efforts to bolster the presence of Black educators. Grounded with the historical context of Black educators in America, Shaylyn Marks weaves research, practice and personal accounts to critically examine why efforts to diversify the educator pipeline have not yielded the desired results. With an analytical lens, the recruitment, preparation, and retention of Black educators is examined while offering alternative practices to strengthen these efforts. Acknowledging the cyclical nature of potential trauma and harm that occurs in educational spaces, insights and recommendations are provided for all stakeholders as a means to cultivate a diverse educator workforce that better supports and reflects diverse classrooms of students. Diversifying the Educator Pipeline illuminates issues pertaining to the ways in which Black students and educators are disenfranchised, and serves as a call to action for the education community.Perfect for courses such as: Socio-Cultural Foundations of Education; Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice; Cultural Perspectives in Education; Afrofuturism: in Search of the Black Fantastic; Black Feminist and Womanist Perspectives; Educational Leadership; Curriculum Development and Transformation; Advanced Topics in Education; Critical Thinking and contemporary Social Problem; Race and Ethnic Relations; The African American Experience in the United States; Cultural Diversity in U.S. Schools; and Sociology of Education

Moments & Movements: Counterstories for Critical Asian American+ Studies in Education is a collection of counterstories born from community and shared commitments to challenge the ways diverse diasporas and experiences of people from the Asian continent and the Pacific Ocean are largely made invisible, silenced, and erased. By defying reductionist narratives, the collection highlights stories built upon generations of struggle, resistance, advocacy, and joy, that impart wisdom for the current moment and for Asian American+ movements in the future, particularly movements based in education. The book’s topics, located at the nexus of multiple and interconnected fields, such as education, race/ethnic studies, policy and community studies, have broad appeal to a cross-section of university academics; P-12 teachers and leaders; and community educators and activists. Using the framing of Critical Asian American+ Studies, the chapters in this volume emphasize criticality as central to the work of educators committed to more just futures. The plus (+) symbol in “Asian American+” highlights the volume’s efforts at diverse inclusion and openness to various groups under a broad umbrella geographic category, including voices of various Pasifika, Arab and Middle Eastern communities, without eliding their distinct histories, cultures, politics, and experiences or erasing the tensions within and across the broader category of Asian American studies. The book is organized thematically into four sections that reflect key moments in an ongoing movement. This organization acknowledges that readers may be at different points in their journeys towards developing more critical perspectives or knowledge of Asian American, Arab/Middle Eastern American, and Pasifika peoples’ experiences in education. The first section, "The Moment We Begin", focuses on foundational beginnings, telling stories of how the authors made important first steps in creating the change they wished to see in their educational spheres. The second section, "Building an Inclusive Movement", examines how educators sustain and deepen their work within and outside of classrooms. The third section, "Extending the Movement", then looks at Critical Asian American+ Studies outside of classrooms and schools by attending to educational leadership, families and teacher identities, policy arenas, and educational, cultural, and community activism. Finally, in the fourth section, "Envisioning New Worlds", chapters attend to what justice-focused, future-oriented movements might look like for Critical Asian American+ Studies. All too often, critical community-grounded work can feel daunting. This collection pushes beyond prescribed borders that separate our communities and separate us into our own educational spheres (e.g. P-12, higher education, teacher education) and roles (professor, teacher, principal, student). As one of the few edited collections with such diverse perspectives, this collection provides multiple paths forward in Asian American, Arab/Middle Eastern American, and Pasifika Studies, inspires with its counterstories of struggle and success, and challenges readers to consider their own next steps.Perfect for courses such as: Asian Americans in Education; Critical Studies in Education; Multicultural Education/Sociocultural Foundations in Education; Ethnic Studies/Asian American Studies; Social Justice in Education; Critical Pedagogy and Education; Urban Education; Race, Ethnicity, and Education; Introduction to Education; School and Society

What Do We Mean by That?: Interrogating Familiar Expressions in Education is a collection of essays that opens a space for all educational workers—teachers, teacher educators, administrators, politicians, and others—to unpack commonly used educational phrases and ideas. The idea is to carefully examine what we say to one another when we talk about schools, curriculum, students, and other educational problems or issues—when we say things like “We have to meet students where they are,” and “All children can learn,” or “What does the data say?” What Do We Mean by That? challenges and clarifies such phrases and the how, and why, that they shape educational policies and practices. The influential curricular theorist Dwayne Huebner charged us to always be aware of our “man-made tools,” such as language, and said that since “all educators attempt to shape the world; theorists should call attention to the tools used for the shaping in order that the world being shaped can be more beautiful and just.” Language is a tool in educational practice in myriad ways: between administrators and teachers, teachers and students, teachers and parents, and students and students, as examples. A scripted curriculum is a tool intended to provide fixed language to teachers. It is normal for phrases to make their way into our everyday practices and get lodged there. But we need opportunities to interrupt ourselves and study our language tools to ensure they help create beauty and justice. This collection of thoughtful essays seeks to be this interruption. It is an invaluable tool for improving the educational experience of students and schools.Perfect for courses such as: Foundations of Education; Curriculum Studies; Diversity in Education; Educational Rhetoric and Policy

Literary Imagination and Professional Knowledge: Using Literature in Teacher Education establishes a foundation for expanding the use of literature in teacher education curricula. The contributors to this collection have a wide variety of education and experience, thus bringing a richness to the content of the volume. Literature can be a valuable means for illuminating subject matter in college courses focused on educational psychology, educational foundations, human development, educational assessment, and other areas critical to the development of future teachers. When literary excerpts are incorporated into the presentation of content, the resulting connections can serve to enhance--in both quality and scope--student understanding and classroom discussions.This book is intended to provide specific suggestions and outlines for incorporating literature (e.g., fiction, poetry, and narrative) in teacher education courses. A variety of genres, historical contexts, and specific applications are represented. Among the literary works highlighted are Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Milton’s Paradise Lost, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, Homer’s Odyssey, Dante’s Inferno, The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende, the Gilgamesh legend, the poetry of Jason Reynolds, the writings and artwork of William Blake, and classic folk and fairy tales. They are used as frameworks for introducing or exemplifying concepts typically covered in teacher education curricula. One chapter also describes a research investigation into the effects of using literature on pre-service teachers’ beliefs and attitudes about cultural diversity.Perfect for courses such as: Educational Psychology │ Educational Foundations │ Child Development │ Teaching Methods - Elementary │ Teaching Methods - Secondary │ Student Teaching

In this pioneering interdisciplinary reader, Hilton Kelly and Heather Moore Roberson have curated essential readings for thinking about black education from slavery to the present day. The reading selections are timeless with both historical and contemporary readings from educational anthropology, history, legal studies, literary studies, and sociology to document the foundations and development of Black education in the United States. In addition, the authors highlight scholarship offering historical, conceptual, and pedagogical gems that shine a light on Black people’s enduring pursuit of liberatory education. This book is an invitation to a broad audience, from people with no previous knowledge to scholars in the field, to think critically about Black education and to inspire others to uncover the agency, dreams, struggles, aspirations, and liberation of Black people across generations. Perfect for courses such as:  Black Education from Slavery to Freedom │ Foundations of American Education │ Introduction to Africana Studies │ Introduction to Foundations of Education │ Schools & Society │ Race and Education │ African American Education │ African American Philosophy │ Education in African American Culture

Teachers’ religious identities shape their classroom practices in varied ways. From the books they select to the relationships they build with students to the way they see their role as a teacher, teachers’ religious identities shape their sense of what is possible and impossible within classroom settings. This book examines these complex navigations through portraits of three early-career evangelical Christian teachers as they explore the tension they feel between their teaching identities and their religious identities in the setting of the U.S. public education system. What these portraits make clear is that the prevailing assumption that religious teachers have wholly separate teaching and religious identities is an impossibility, no matter how devoutly it might be wished for, legislated, and imagined. Who are these teachers? How does their evangelical religious identity influence the way they navigate classroom spaces? How are they making sense of their own experiences as a religious person in a public school classroom?Perfect for courses in: Diversity and Inclusion in the Classroom | Introduction to Diversity for Educators | Foundations of Teaching for Learning | Role of the Teacher in American Education | Religion and Education | Educational Foundations

American public education has been under assault for the last few decades as a “broken” system that needs a complete overhaul. In large part, these opinions are offered by people and organizations who know little about schools. But who are these influencers? This book is about conservative philanthropies, the organizations and individuals within their networks, and the strategies they use to shape educational policy and practice in K-12 and higher education. Each chapter examines a philanthropy, philanthropic network, or corporation focused on pushing an agenda of individualism, privatization, and conservative ideologies. Based in extensive research, including the tax filings of specific philanthropic foundations, the authors demonstrate how the philanthropic elite work within federal, state, and local governmental contexts to influence policy and practice. Within a global context of increasing wealth inequality, the authors question the motivations of these privileged few to withhold tax dollars from the US treasury where duly elected representatives can determine how tax dollars are used to benefit society. By allowing these philanthropic organizations tax exemptions under the guise of assumed benevolence, are citizens giving up their ability to hold these organizations accountable for how the money is spent? This book, aimed at a general audience of educators, provides the in-depth knowledge necessary to understand and resist private control of public policies and institutions.