This paper examines how two sites of adult learning in the food movement create educational alternatives to the dominant U.S. food system. It further examines how these pedagogies challenge racialised, classed and gendered ideologies and practices in their aims, curricular content, and publically documented educational processes. The first case is…

In her new book, Valerie Kinloch, award-winning author of "Harlem on Our Minds", sheds light on the ways urban youth engage in "meaning-making" experiences as a way to assert critical, creative, and highly sophisticated perspectives on teaching, learning, and survival. Kinloch rejects deficit models that have traditionally…

Drawing on the intersections of a justice oriented participatory action research and critical race theory, this essay explores the possibilities for research embedded in the theoretical, ethical and methodological overlaps between the two. Using the Echoes project as a case study, a participatory collective of intentionally diverse youth from New…

I came to this country with an open mind to pursue the American dream. It did not take me a long to recognize racial disparity as a student and even more so when I became a faculty member in various teacher preparation programs. While I try to evade discussion on race, it is inevitable to talk about it because it seems to be the criteria upon…

This article discusses a relatively new trend in assessment in American history education which offers interesting opportunities to inject the arts into mainstream education in ways that could provide a catalyst for engagement with social justice issues. Document-based questions (DBQs) on statewide social studies assessments afford art and social…

Migration-based language pluralism and globalized identity conflicts pose challenges for educational research and linguistic anthropology, in particular, how we think about education and social inequality. This article proposes new conceptual tools, drawn from linguistic anthropology as well as world systems theory, for analyzing the role of…

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…

Little known about the now celebrated 1912 Bread and Roses strike is that prominent Progressive-era reformers condemned the strikers as "uncivil" and "violent." An examination of Bread and Roses' controversies reveals how a ruling class enlists middle-class sentiments to oppose social-justice arguments and defend a civil…

By taking the position that teaching for social justice is an act of necessity and solidarity, this work seeks to highlight two examples of teacher education initiatives. Because the relationships between teacher, student, family, school, and state are integral to the teaching process, three central questions guide the authors' thinking and…

This study explores the role that participating in a critical inquiry project (CIP) played on the development of new educators who aspire to teach from a social justice perspective. The study also examines how relationships between the first- and second-year teacher participants shaped their development as social justice educators, learners, and…

This study examined what elementary schools in New York State are doing to recognize lesbian gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) families in terms of curriculum, policies, and practices. One hundred and sixteen participants were recruited through the New York Association of School Psychologists email listserve and completed a brief online…

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…

In this paper, the author explores the concept of childhood as a social category that impedes the perception of youngsters as critical thinkers in a visual culture. The author interrogates regularities within contemporary public schooling that work to represent the intellectual and cultural development of youngsters as the project of adult…

Middle and high school students subjected to harsh school discipline policies and practices such as suspensions and expulsions are more likely to disengage from the classroom and course work, and increases their chances of dropping out, according to this new report from the Alliance for Excellent Education. The report recommends implementing…

In 1997, fifteen council meetings were observed and recorded at the Albany Free School and subsequently analyzed. Unbeknownst to the school, the council meetings were found to be very similar to what Lawrence Kohlberg had in mind when he developed his Just Community Model. This article discusses how this council meeting forum compares to…