Within an early childhood methods course, teacher candidates were prepared to spend three weeks in immersive clinical field experience. Early childhood placements were in rural, high poverty areas of central New York State. In addition to readings and authentic project-based undertakings, preparation included interactive activities on culturally…

The first-year seminar Why Are We Here? Student Culture and the Problem of College (WAWH) helps high-achieving students become motivated agents in their education by changing attitudes toward themselves, college, and their roles as students. The author presents the intentional design, execution, analysis, and results of the WAWH seminar, a…

The demographic profile of the United States has been rapidly changing; by 2020, minority students will constitute the majority of the public school student population nationwide. This makes cultural competence a necessity for today's school leaders. Educational leadership preparation programs are responsible for preparing culturally competent…

This article presents bystander intervention education as a best-practice approach to sexual violence prevention in college settings. It draws out a connection between mission-specific resources that can be used to advance the prevention agenda, while examining how bystander intervention education can deepen community engagement in collegiate…

This article explores the benefits and challenges of operating an inclusive elementary and special education teacher preparation program within a disability studies framework. How does such a program balance issues of theory and practice? How does it provide students with a critical approach that essentially views disability as a social and…

Dramatic changes in the higher education landscape and the recent recession have intensified the challenges students face in postsecondary enrollment and completion. In response, some states, communities, and institutions have developed "postsecondary opportunity programs (POPs)"--comprehensive college access and success programs…

Critical Small Schools: Beyond Privatization in New York City Urban Educational Reform features the most current empirical research about the successes and challenges of the small schools movement and the implications of such for urban public educational policy. Situated in a climate of hierarchical reform, many of the principles of the original…

Although a vibrant literature on the social justice advantages of writing service-learning programs has existed for many years, the focus has tended to be on specific projects and courses, often accompanied by an understandable suspicion that entrenched institutions like universities have interests inimical to radical social change. As a result,…

Urban public schools and their teachers are under siege. From increased standardization, privatization and testing to a growing number of students whose needs are not being met by schools, urban public school teachers face a daunting task. Without a space in which to critically examine their daily experiences within schools, many well-intentioned…