Schools in America are facing rapidly changing demographics, and because of those changing demographics, this article makes the following propositions. First, the increasing demographic changes in urban schools demand new leadership approaches. Second, because many of the urban educational demands are shaped by ongoing social and cultural issues…

Reading is an essential skill for young children. It can chart a course for school success. Without this ability, children are likely to be unsuccessful and drop out of school. In this article, the authors focus on the use of Authentic African American children's literature to support literacy development, help unite the home and school…

The "Brown v. Board of Education" decision of 1954 legally authorized equitable academic conditions and access for African-American students in the United States' public school systems. However, in actuality, Brown did not lead to substantial "de facto" changes in equity and access. The American public education system…

The present study examined cultural orientation as a protective factor against tobacco and marijuana smoking for African American young women (ages 18 to 25). African American college students (N = 145) from a predominantly White university were administered subscales from the African American Acculturation Scale-Revised (AAAS-R); the shortened…

The author discusses several culturally sensitive qualitative research approaches, revisits the Culturally Sensitive Research Framework, a theoretical framework for conducting culturally sensitive research in African-American communities and provides examples of research that has employed culturally sensitive approaches. The discussion then shifts…

The author introduces this article by saying that there is a very intimate relationship between how caring the teacher is and the knowledge that students gain. Actually, it is not limited to student-teacher relationships only but also student-student relationships. Knowledge is something people acquire as they build relationships and have…

In many African American communities, violence and poverty are often part of daily living. As a result, children are at risk for difficulties in all aspect of their lives, particularly their emotional well-being. This study explored the relationship between exposure to chronic community violence and the development of complex post-traumatic stress…

A randomized prevention pilot trial compared caregivers who participated in the Black Parenting Strengths and Strategies (BPSS) Program with control caregivers. BPSS is a strengths- and culturally based parenting program designed to improve aspects of parenting associated with the early development of conduct problems and the promotion of social…

Research indicates that faculty/student relationships affect student satisfaction with college, academic achievement, and retention. However, evidence indicates that African American students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) may not glean the benefits associated with relationships with faculty. The purpose of this study is to understand,…

This article examines the role of culture in the socialization patterns found in the households of low-income African Americans. Using the Triple Quandary theoretical framework, the authors hypothesized that cultural themes consistent with an Afro-cultural ethos would be reported significantly more than those associated with a mainstream cultural…

This article examines a decade or more of scholarly and popular writings that blame the persistence of racial inequality in educational performance primarily, if not exclusively, on the cultural inheritance of African Americans. This article focuses in part on the ways in which contemporary rationales for educational inequality are linked to a…

Describes a third-grade instructional unit that begins with a basic introduction to African geography and culture. Children's books, from sources as diverse as current politics and Masai folk tales, are used to illustrate key concepts and places. Includes a list of children's books used in the lessons. (MJP)

This article looks at an inner city playwriting project that brought professional writers and artists into inner city classrooms to help students explore the cultural history of their community and begin to find their own voices as writers. This project was set up by Larry Hunter, an African American playwright who worked as a writer-in-residence…

John Ogbu's work on "minority education" has spawned a number of interesting and useful debates in the US. Having been both an early admirer and critic of Ogbu's work, I reviewed his work in an "Anthropology and Education Quarterly" article. The present article reflects upon Ogbu's work and upon my scholarly engagement with that corpus over the…

Americans know that Black and Latino children, by and large, are not reaching their full potential when it comes to learning and academic performance. But there are exceptions. The question that's being increasingly asked is how and why exceptions can become the norm. In the half century since the Brown v. Board decision, there remains a wide…