Learning Racial Literacy While Navigating White Social Studies

Abstract

How do children develop racial literacy? How do they make sense of and respond to the master narratives of race and racism? What role does elementary social studies education play in children’s racial literacy development? I explored these questions as a parent–researcher, inquiring how my child, an Asian American elementary student, develops racial literacy as she learns U.S. history at school. In the following, I first situate my inquiry within the literature on social studies education from a critical race perspective. Next, I delineate my positionality as a critical race motherscholar and the rationale for studying my own child. Last, I present the findings from my inquiry and discuss its implications for elementary social studies education.     

Political education in post-Second World War Germany and the American South

Abstract

Both American and European adult educationalists saw the Danish folk high school as a model for how to educate citizens for more active involvement in their communities. This article examines the experience of Wislade Folk School in Germany and the Highlander Folk School in the United States after the Second World War. In the German case, Wislade was unable to persuade local people to confront the evils of Nazism, but did facilitate the practical tackling of pressing social and economic problems. Highlander struggled to retain support from white Southerners as the School increasingly addressed the evils of segregation, but developed one of its most effective programmes in conjunction with African Americans as part of the emerging civil rights movement. The study concludes that political education is most effective when it addresses people's aspirations, and builds upon existing social capital.     

Adolescents' Self-Reported Risk Factors and Desire to Talk About Family and Friends

Summary

Adolescents entering an urban mental health program completed Adquest, an 80-item self-report inventory asking about important areas in their life such as school and education, work, health, sexuality, substance abuse, personal and family life. This article examines how much adolescents wanted to talk about family and friends with their counselors, gender and age differences in this desire, and how that is mediated by behavioral risk factors. Irrespective of the existence of coping problems and behavioral risks, adolescents expressed a strong desire to discuss family, and, to a lesser extent, friends, in counseling. From a clinical standpoint, this finding highlights Adquest's limitations because it is based on an individual, behavioral risk paradigm rather than on more systemic factors in the lives of these adolescents. Implications regarding the use of practice-based research to facilitate reflective practice are discussed.     

Providing context to the implementation of health promoting schools: A case study

PurposeIssues related to program context are important components of population health interventions and particularly among complex, adaptive initiatives in schools. Health Promoting Schools (HPS) is a global approach to support early development of healthy behaviors among children and youth. The purpose of this study was to explicate the practical and contextual processes that influenced implementation of HPS in schools in Nova Scotia (Canada).MethodsUsing a case-study approach, data was collected using interviews (n = 14) with principals, teachers and parents, observations collected during school visits and document review in five diverse schools.ResultsCase study schools reported a variety of HPS practices and three key themes emerged that provided context to the processes that facilitated their implementation. The results suggest that although school characteristics (theme 1), like staff allocation, physical location and resources, are important, these barriers can be mitigated by building organizational capacity (theme 2) and establishing a supportive school community culture (theme 3).ConclusionsThe study provided insight to the variability in implementation by describing how contextual barriers were experienced and mitigated by schools. Establishing a broad system to support HPS, with collaboration across health and education sectors, could help to progress adoption, implementation and sustainability of HPS.     

Church and Sect or Church and Ascetic Protestantism: Ernst Troeltsch's Problem

Abstract

For approximately one decade after the 1954 Brown v. Topeka decision, there were few governmental pressures censuring school systems which maintained racial segregation. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and a variety of encompassing federal court decisions in the late 1960s challenged and overturned the dual school system in the South and many segregationist practices in the North.

Quantitative data concerning the within-district racial segregation of teachers and students in 143 school systems are examined. The governmental activities integrated teaching staffs and greatly reduced the segregation of black students from white. Changes were more substantial within the South and, by 1972, racial segregation was less within southern school systems than those in other regions.

Because of the residential segregation of the races, schools in many central cities have a different racial composition than those in neighboring suburbs. If the only integration is within a specific school district, present demographic trends may produce a resegregation of students in many metropolises.     

Too Strict or Too Lenient?: Examining The Role of School Strictness With Educational and Juvenile Justice Outcomes

Abstract

Although there is research exploring how school punishment practices are influencing academic and juvenile justice outcomes, how strict or lenient school punishment practices are related to aspects of education such as grade retention and dropping out, as well as juvenile justice contact, remains unknown. This study draws from the Texas Education Agency’s Public Education Information Management System to investigate the relationship between strict and lenient school punishment practices, academic progress or failure, and juvenile justice contact. Results indicate that schools with more strict punishment practices can contribute to higher grade retention and juvenile justice referral rates; however, it also appears that lenient punishment practices also exacerbate these same outcomes as well as higher referral rates. The importance of fair, just, and balanced school punishment practices is discussed.     

Equal Opportunities Policies in English Schools: Towards Greater Gender Equality in the Teaching Workforce?

The under‐representation of women in promoted posts is one particular pattern of occupational segregation by gender across post‐industrial societies. This phenomenon also characterizes those professions which have been described as ‘women‐friendly’, such as teaching. The development of national and European legislation and recommendations on equal opportunities reflects this concern to address the gender imbalance among the workforce. But do schools identify women's under‐representation in promoted posts as an issue? To what extent do school's policies recognize and remedy the gender imbalance at managerial level? To answer these questions this article draws on a study of women teachers' careers in nursery, primary and secondary education in England. It shows that school equal opportunities policy statements widely ignore the under‐representation of women in school managerial positions. It suggests that the constructions of gender issues in schools by those in charge of designing and implementing school policies, that is, head‐teachers and governors, represent a key hindering factor for equal opportunities policies to contribute to greater gender equality. A major argument in the article is that because head‐teachers' and governors' discourses do not always fundamentally challenge the position of women in society, school policies and practices can offer only a limited contribution to gender equality.     

Gender equality regimes and evaluation regimes in Europe and their implications for policy design and evaluation

PurposeThis article starts from the assumption that it is important for the evaluation of gender equality interventions in RTDI (Research, Technology Development and Innovation) to consider its context regarding gender equality regime and evaluation culture because this context does influence effects and long term impacts of such activities. It aims to provide key characteristics for the differentiation of gender equality regimes and evaluation regimes to be considered when designing policy interventions or evaluating specific gender equality interventions in RTDI.Design/methodology/approachAfter a literature review of relevant typologies for welfare state and gender equality regimes, it was analysed to which extent the seven EFFORTI countries correspond to certain typologies based on the data basis of the context research performed in the EFFORTI project. For this context research, international/national and qualitative/quantitative data regarding the relevant framework conditions were firstly collected for each of the EFFORTI countries and secondly compared in a cross-country analysis.FindingsThe research showed that when it comes to gender equality policies, most EFFORTI countries can either be assigned to the Social-Democratic category or Conservative Equal Employment Regime category in the typology of von Wahl (2005), with the latter type tending to provide less favourable conditions for women in the general labour market as well as women in RTDI (e.g. overtime culture). In how far these different types of context can have an impact on the evaluation of interventions can be exemplarily illustrated using case studies carried out as part of EFFORTI.Connecting the typologies for gender equality policy with evaluation regimes has not proved fruitful, as the two discourses have only begun to converge in recent years. The evaluation regimes and cultures of the respective countries have therefore been described independently. However, it was shown that countries with more expertise in certain areas (e.g. gender, evaluations) developed more routinized and institutionalised procedures in the respective field.Originality/valueConsidering the different framework conditions is relevant when it comes to evaluation as different national contexts might require different policy and designs of activities, but might also shape the interventions’ effects. This article therefore aims to provide support in this regard for future evaluations of gender policies.     

Implementing Multicultural Education as seen from a number of different perspectives

This paper looks back over a period of twenty years at the issues surrounding the introduction of race equality policies. The author has worked in a variety of roles in education. Policy development in a comprehensive school is explored from the head teachers perspective; introducing teachers in initial training to race equality is explored from the senior tutor's perspective; introducing policies into two local authorities is explored from the perspective of the Chief Inspector and the Director of Education.

In the period covered, from 1977 to the present day, race equality has moved from being a high profile subject to being marginalised by government initiatives which have included the introduction of national curriculum accompanied by extensive testing. The paper analyses how race equality might be put at the centre of the education agenda. There are lessons to be learned from the experiences gained inpursuing race equality in the 1970's and 1980's. This paper shows how different sectors of the education service can learn from these lessons. Policy initiatives, the paper argues, must be part of mainstream education. They must be judged by how far the policies contribute to improving the educational achievements of ethnic minority pupils in mainstream education.     

Civic Action,Historical Agency,and Grassroots Advocacy: Historical Inquiry Into Freedom Summer

Abstract

In this article, the authors discuss how to explore the agency of ordinary citizens using local institutions to combat Jim Crow segregation laws during Freedom Summer. Primary sources from Miami (OH) University website about Freedom Summer and Susan Goldman Rubin's trade book ground the inquiry. Through the series of activities discussed, middle school students utilize the steps of the Inquiry Arc in the C3 Framework to analyze primary and secondary sources about Freedom Summer to determine how ordinary citizens took civic action to address the economic, social, cultural, and political inequalities of Jim Crow segregation laws. These experiences equip students with the knowledge and skills to be change agents in their own communities.     

Is Disney Disabling?

Abstract

This article discusses ongoing lawsuits against Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., brought by people with autism and their families. These lawsuits illuminate an ethical dilemma about the appropriate scope of disability equality. This article suggests that Disney and the courts have adopted a standard of simple equality where all theme park patrons are treated the same way, regardless of ability. I argue, however, that the standard of equality that should be used moving forward is equal access to advantage – specifically, equal access to opportunities that enable people with disabilities to have an enjoyable theme park experience.     

Between rhetoric and reality: disabled Rwandan young women’s perspectives on gender inequality in school

Abstract

This article examines the limits of national discussions on gender equality in Rwanda from the perspectives of disabled young women. Based on 16 in-depth interviews and three focus group interviews with disabled Rwandan young women, this article points out that the barriers to gender equality are interpersonal and institutional. The empirical analysis reveals that gender biases at Rwanda’s largest inclusive secondary school are reinforced by wider cultural and religious norms, which endorse the subordination of disabled girls and young women in school. The study suggests that the equality rhetoric/reality gap will remain in Rwandan schools and society if the wider cultural and religious institutions are not examined and transformed.     

Refusing to be co-opted: revolutionary multicultural education amidst global neoliberalisation

Abstract

In this article, I explore how neoliberalism dictates the terms of debate about education reform and equity in the U.S. and abroad. In particular, I explain how two paradigmatic reforms – the edTPA evaluation for preservice teachers in the United States and the global initiative Teach For All – have co-opted the discourse of multicultural education in an attempt to advance their own priorities and not those at the heart of the field, thus jeopardising the possibility of real justice. Finally, I envision a way forward, through a theory of revolutionary multicultural education, as we seek to reimagine the terms of debate about the goals of educating all students.     

Subtle images of antigypsyism: An analysis of the visual perception of “Roma”

ABSTRACT

This paper analyses the powerful stereotypical media discourse that shapes and reproduces a certain racialised and prejudiced perception of people identified as “Roma” in Germany. Using a close analysis of a single picture – appearing as harmless at first glance – and through the reconstruction of its various interpretational contexts and semantics the paper identifies mechanisms used in stereotypical media coverage of “Roma”. This qualitative analysis draws on media analysis of antigypsyism as well as on research of photographic construction of the “gypsy” in order to analyse the contemporary visual regime of “Roma” in Germany. As it portrays “the Roma” as a fundamentally different and socially deviant group, this visual stereotyping is shown to be an integral element of the persistent antigypsyist ideology, deeply embedded in German society.     

A (not so) simple dialogue activity

ABSTRACT

This article explores the research on peer-to-peer dialogue in higher education, including the innovative practice of intergroup dialogue and other practices such as nonviolent communication and contemplative listening. I then describe an activity I do with my community college students, in a context where lack of time and other resources do not allow a more resource-intensive dialogue practice. I ask them to experience dialogue with several free, easily available resources, including nonviolent communication, contemplative practice, and public radio podcasts from On Being, then have a conversation outside of class in which they mostly practice deeply listening to someone with different political beliefs than they have. They may make a brief attempt at dialogue or nonviolent communication. I discuss how my activity may accomplish some of the goals of intergroup dialogue and be useful where students are learning about diversity and inequality across social divides, including in social work education and sustainability education. I nest this activity in a course that involves some contemplative practice, to explore how both sustainability education and the social justice component of social work may benefit from contemplative practice. Finally, I detail some other resources about hope and despair that support this activity.     

Reflexive Risk-Education and Cosmopolitanism in the Risk Society

Abstract

The extreme environment that students face, in terms of the global risk society, is the unintentional and high-risk consequence of the development of modern society. This paper, therefore, aims to discuss the possible strategies beyond traditional school practices for educators to think and act upon based on sociologists’ theoretical views of and empirical studies on the risk society. I will indicate that current education systems are an accomplice in producing modern risks, and will attempt to analyze the gaps between current education and reflexive risk-education. The gaps are: the experiential gap between individuals and the global society, the public-sphere gap between school and society, and the epistemological/cultural gap between eastern/nonwestern and western cultures. Three possible strategies to develop reflexive risk-education are discussed: developing an integrated curriculum through ‘critical glocal pedagogy’, assembling the social network through collaborations, such as with NGOs, and creating new social imaginations.     

Good work? Sustainable work and sustainable development: a critical gender perspective from the Global North

ABSTRACT

Work has just recently been recognized as an important topic in the discourse of development. But often it stays unclear how work is related to issues of gender equality, an indispensable goal of sustainable development from its start. The article explores how gender and work is addressed in three approaches to work and sustainable development, which are currently discussed in the German language literature on this topic: in the current mainstream concept of the green economy and green jobs, in alternative concepts of degrowth or postgrowth societies and in eco-feminist concepts of caring societies. The critical discussion of these approaches leads to the argument that a fundamental reassessment and reorganization of the critical society-nature relationship and consequently a new conceptualization of sustainable work is needed.     

Faculty mentoring: Applying ecological theory to practice at historically Black colleges or universities

ABSTRACT

This article examines student mentoring at historically Black colleges or universities (HBCUs) through the lens of ecological theory. By examining the person’s human behavior on a micro level and the HBCU on a macro level, the researchers will examine faculty mentoring as a positive influence that assists students in advancing their educational pursuits. Specifically, this article examines how the faculty mentor assists students with navigating the various outer and inner forces that may impede more functional behaviors as they transition to graduate school. This information is important in helping to codify and promote the unique role that HBCU faculty and administrators play in the lives of their students from a student perspective. This article will help to demonstrate why the HBCU experience is not only valued, but necessary in higher education.     

Cultural production in the working-class resistance: labour activism,gender politics,and solidarities

ABSTRACT

Against the backdrop of China as a seemingly ideal model to justify and normalize capitalist globalization, this article seeks to demonstrate how grassroots and bottom-up resistance can disrupt hegemonic ideologies and dominant values. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with a local NGO and an activist group from March 2016 to July 2017, my study demonstrates that labour activism through cultural production becomes an important constitution of contemporary working-class resistance in China. Collective cultural production, such as advocacy songs, live shows, and writing endorsement articles, expresses a working-class subjective position and an anti-capitalist standpoint. Rural migrant workers’ inequality serves as a political and ideological stance from which different social actors join together in activism and resistance to construct imaginations of a new socialist China where there are equal relations in production and distribution, and social inclusion and respect. In the process of forming solidarities, feminist agendas for gender equality are marginalized in working-class resistance and gendered power relations greatly shape activists’ subjectivities, practices, and experiences. This study contributes to the intersection of labour studies, cultural studies, and feminist studies in China. I argue that grassroots labour cultural production contributes to the discursive formation of counter-hegemonic power; yet a more inclusive activist agenda is still required to imagine and build an equal and just society.     

Evaluation of the What's Real: Myths & Facts about Marriage Curriculum: Differential Impacts of Gender*

ABSTRACT

What’s Real is a high school marriage education curriculum designed to teach students how to develop healthy relationships and marriages. This study evaluated the effectiveness of this curriculum with 206 high school students who were in either the What’s Real group or a control group. Findings suggest that the curriculum increases knowledge of healthy relationship concepts, positively impacts attitudes related to students’ willingness to be involved in pre- and postmarital counseling, and increases students’ attitudes toward cohabitation avoidance. Implications for further development of the curriculum and other implications for practitioners and policymakers are discussed.