During the past two decades there has been a concentrated effort to enact standards-based education reforms at the federal, state, and local levels. Following a grounded theory approach, this article examines the experiences of secondary social studies teachers who have been directly impacted by the incorporation of English Language Arts based…

This multiple case study examines practices of educators in high schools called "odds-beaters". These schools are exemplary in that they consistently achieve better-than-predicted graduation outcomes among economically disadvantaged, African-American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, and English language learners. Findings from this study revealed…

Over the past decades, U.S. immigration has changed significantly, yet the way we teach about immigration in schools has changed little. The American Immigration Council has developed a two-year program on Long Island, an area experiencing an increase of new arrivals and anti-immigrant sentiment. The program empowers teachers with the knowledge to…

This ethnographic case study explores the nature of situated transformative pedagogy that empowers linguistically and culturally diverse adolescent English language learners. Grounded in theoretical perspectives of critical multicultural education and sociosemiotics, this study, through developmental, spiral analyses of data collected from…

However well-intentioned, standardization and increased testing conflict with theories and research that supports authentic learning and collaboration. Implementing methods to empower and engage students can feel nearly impossible within a high-stake environment. This article discusses the findings of an action research study conducted to explore…

Building on the work of John Hattie, Richard Kent, and Tom Newkirk, a think tank collaborative in New York City's high schools works to raise the level of students' close reading, argumentation, and agency across the curriculum by teaching students to analyze athletic competitions, to compose sports arguments, and to transfer and apply these…

The majority of research on the implementation of ePortfolios focuses on curriculum, faculty development, or student buy-in. When ePortfolio systems have been described in technical terms, the focus has been on the functionality, affordances, and limitations of ePortfolio systems (e.g., TaskStream, LiveText), free web tools (e.g., Google Docs),…

The effects of neoliberal ideologies infiltrate all aspects of the teaching-learning environment, including academic practices of reading and writing. Writing, more than simply a demonstration of academic proficiency, represents a means of thinking--an opportunity to develop critical thought, build resistance to neoliberal individualism through…

Although a growing body of literature is produced on reform of urban school districts, few studies examine shifts in the culture of managers resulting from reorganization in these bureaucracies. This article engages an analysis of central office managerial culture in the New York City Department of Education during a culminating moment of district…

The profusion of human rights atrocities and purported incidents of genocide across the globe in recent decades has increasingly forced multiple and complicated issues associated with combating these violations onto the political agendas of world leaders and institutions. Scholars are united in recognizing the growing importance and need for…

Through a Foucauldian lens, this article examines the affordances and constraints of an online peer-review program in four special education English language arts classes in two New York City middle schools. Data from classroom observations, teacher interviews, and online student spaces and artifacts provide insight into the technologies of power…

Positive youth development and youth organizing are strengths-based approaches to the lives, needs, and contributions of young people (Damon & Gregory, 2003). These approaches privilege the voices of youth as they engage with issues in their communities and challenge institutions to respond. Few studies, however, have explored the role of…

The psychological, social, and emotional aspects of education have enjoyed increased attention in recent years as often termed "non-cognitive factors" and "soft skills" have gained traction in research, policy, and practice circles as major drivers of student achievement. This renewed attention represents an important shift, as…

This qualitative case study investigates how service-learning may enable self-direction and the development of a critical consciousness for marginalized high school students by exploring the dynamics of service-learning through a theoretical framework of critical theory. Service-learning is theorized to counter the oppressive nature of schooling…

This study looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an…