In this article, we draw on critical philosophies and theories related to diversity, leadership, and learning to suggest that successful school-family partnerships not only encompass collaborative structures but involve educators who reject deficit-based views of diverse families. We marshal data from our studies of school-family relations in two…

Since Fall 2001, the faculty and leaders of the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at the University of California, Los Angeles, have participated in a collaborative inquiry project. This five-year research endeavor provides opportunities for teacher educators, assisted by university researchers, to study their own practice. This paper presents an…

In this article, the author discusses African American mothers' beliefs about the negative impact that teacher bias can have on students' self-esteem and academic achievement. She draws from in-depth interview data to highlight mothers' opinions of, and experiences with, teachers they characterize as "unqualified" and…