The reading trajectory of African Americans males within the PreK-12 special education system has been at the forefront of scholarship. This case study was to understand how Zion's misidentification may have influenced his reading experiences. The inequalities Zion encountered in Special Education are examined through the Critical Race Theory and…

This study examines how three teachers working at a South Central high school teach critically about race and place. While building on the "spatial turn" in social science, the article draws on Critical Race Spatial Analysis to advance literature at the intersection of race, place, and pedagogy. Additionally, the article utilizes…

This qualitative case study explores how an African American woman social studies teacher made sense of the construct of citizenship utilizing historical and experiential knowledge. The multiple intersections of the participant's identity affected the ways in which she understood and taught citizenship to her high school students. She chose to…

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement's fascination with "grit," the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a…

In the context of high-stakes accountability, education-related policy efforts have aimed to address the improvement of persistently low-achieving (PLA) schools via turnaround reform strategies. Such strategies provide opportunities for educational leaders to influence the process; however, limited research examining the role of the assistant…

Although education reforms have been designed to improve academic achievement for all students, there may be intervening factors, such as teacher expectations, that interfere with the success of these initiatives. This ethnographic case study examined student and teacher perspectives on an urban high school reform, and how that reform was…

This study contributes to the emerging research literature on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) support and persistence activities among urban teenage African American and Latina girls. We present three case studies of girls who participated in an afterschool STEM curriculum. Our within- and cross-case analyses focused on…

This article uses case study methods and theories of literacy as social practice to explore how an adolescent developed her religious identity and religious literacies in relationship with more secular identities and literacy practices across multiple social contexts. It further examines how the youth engaged her religious identity and religious…

This cross-case case study explores how two White principals took the first steps to engage in racial conversations. Using the constructs of race consciousness and antiracism, race neutrality, and resistance to racial dialogue to frame our findings, we illustrate how both principals broached the topic of race with staff members. We demonstrate how…

This article presents a 2-year critical case study of an urban high school innovating to enhance the academic performance of low-income Latina/o students, highlighting high-leverage practices that promote boundary crossing between school and community. First, we highlight foundational elements of school logic, mission, and community ethos that…

Over the past 20 years, market-based choice initiatives have become a popular approach to education reform. Since 2002, the New York City Department of Education has opened over 250 high schools, creating a marketplace so widespread that many students no longer have a zoned or neighborhood school. This article uses two New York City--based case…

This qualitative case study provides a counternarrative to the literature of White teachers who are unsuccessful in bridging the achievement gap and disrupts the assumed meaning of solidarity between successful White teachers and their African American students. As part of successful classroom practice, this teacher interrogated his own whiteness…

Students' academic experiences are often shaped by normalized conceptions of literacy that do not honor the interrelatedness of multiple identities, languages, and literacies. This qualitative case study in an urban middle school highlights students' critical meta-awareness of their identities-in-practice in the figured world of their classroom…

Despite post-racial rhetoric, stereotypes remain salient for American youth. We surveyed 150 elementary and middle schoolers in Northern California and conducted case studies of 12 students. Findings showed that (a) students hold school-related stereotypes that get stronger in middle school, (b) African American and Latino students experience…

This case study examines the leadership practices and actions of an urban high school principal who faced many challenges, but worked diligently to improve student achievement and school climate over a 3-year period. Significant improvements were made by using elements of Distributed Leadership, Professional Learning Communities, and Social…