Educational scholars have argued that poverty can hamper student achievement. In this critical discussion paper, we provide a historiography of how urban poverty increased in America over the last 30 years of the 20th century. We contend that educators and educational researchers working in P-12 urban schools should understand how federal urban…

Urban community leaders describe their perceptions of critical issues in education and offer recommendations for the creation of a college-going culture (CGC). This qualitative study employed a maximum entropy analysis. Results demonstrate critical issues with increasing educational attainment including complexity of the urban school system,…

In the 21st century, adolescent girls use the power of the pen (and digital literacies) for the purpose of self-expression, personal enrichment, and academic requirements. This study examines in-depth the types of writing/literacies that girls participate in school and out-of-school. The results of this study indicate that, despite the extensive…

The researcher investigated the achievement of third- and fifth-grade urban African American students who attended science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), Non-STEM, and Theme Title I schools in science and mathematics on the 2015 Georgia Milestones Assessment. The researcher used data from 29 Non-STEM, 14 STEM, and 10 Theme…

The lack of quality of instruction in urban mathematics classrooms in the United States has received much attention in the scholarly literature. Other classroom mechanisms such as relational interactions, however, have not received much attention of mathematics education researchers. Relational interactions go above and beyond content instruction…

This article identifies seven specific attitudes, behaviors, and skills among academically successful urban Black students and explores the relationship to their achievement. This study examines the academic achievement of 157 Black students and finds that when specific "Successful Learner Characteristics" are present, above-average…

The present study examined the extent to which parent involvement in education was directly and indirectly (via school engagement) related to academic outcomes in an effort to more fully understand the school experiences of urban adolescents. Participants (80% racial/ethnic minority; n = 108) were in grades 6, 7 or 8. In the Fall and subsequent…

This study evaluated effects of "Positive Action," a school-based social-emotional and character development intervention, on indicators of positive youth development (PYD) among a sample of low-income, ethnic minority youth attending 14 urban schools. The study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design at the school…

Background: School-based social-emotional and character development (SECD) programs can influence not only SECD but also academic-related outcomes. This study evaluated the impact of one SECD program, Positive Action (PA), on educational outcomes among low-income, urban youth. Methods: The longitudinal study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized…

There is compelling evidence for the role of social information processing (SIP) in aggressive behavior. However, less is known about factors that influence stability versus instability in patterns of SIP over time. Latent transition analysis was used to identify SIP patterns over one year and examine how community violence exposure, aggressive…

Background: Action Research about my 2nd grade classroom in the Buffalo School District. I examined three areas of interest and tried to find some conclusions related to behavior management. Purpose: The purpose of this study is how will implementing procedures, rules, and consequences help improve student behavior. Research Design: Descriptive;…

Community and school violence continue to be a major public health problem, especially among urban children and adolescents. Little research has focused on the effect of school safety and neighborhood violence on academic performance. This study examines the effect of the school and neighborhood climate on academic achievement among a population…

Youth in underserved, urban communities are at risk for a range of negative outcomes related to stress, including social-emotional difficulties, behavior problems, and poor academic performance. Mindfulness-based approaches may improve adjustment among chronically stressed and disadvantaged youth by enhancing self-regulatory capacities. This paper…

In an attempt to bring readers "on-the-ground" insights about effective urban literacy instruction, the authors interviewed three literacy educators who have extensive experience with learners in urban school environments. Each of them has taught literacy and developed teaching practices for urban schools, as well as conducted action research to…

Teaching in an urban setting is not usually easy and sometimes leads to frustration. Some teachers have to find new and creative ways to address the challenges and situations they encounter in certain schools and with certain groups of students. This article describes each of four "bailout" structures that the author came up with to make…