In this research article, the authors examine the intersections of culturally sustaining pedagogy and critical family engagement to explore the possibilities for equitable family-school partnerships in urban schools. Based on the common values of trusting and caring relationships and power disruption within those fields, as well as data from a…

This study documents the collective capacity of the external support providers working to improve K-3 reading outcomes in New York City. Interviews and social network surveys with a sample of the 112 providers at work in this "reading improvement sector" showed that they serve as a conduit for sharing reading-related resources and…

Using data from a participatory ethnography of an urban high school slated for closure, this article examines the impact of comprehensive transformation on the university-school partnership's goal to change from a culture of underachievement and negativity toward a culture of collaboration and excellence. We explore these question/s: How do…

Leading school turnaround has been conceptualized as a school-level issue focused on immediate change. There has been little consideration about how district leaders change systems to sustain school turnaround successes. This case study research conducted through the lens of Change Theory explores the leadership struggles of one mid-sized urban…

Building upon a Freirean notion of dialogic education, the purpose of this multi-case study was to explore what happened when secondary science teachers came together with Latinx parents for their children's science learning in the context of a community-based science learning program. Constant comparative analysis of data revealed similarities…

The Atlanta Schools Critical Education Network for Distinction (ASCEND) is an ongoing interdisciplinary coalition supporting the critical consciousness of social justice educators. ASCEND partners include: (1) activist faculty from two university departments: Middle and Secondary Education and African American Studies; (2) a justice-oriented…

This article employs narrative inquiry to illuminate how teachers' embodied culture of care, or lack thereof, effects African American students. The majority teacher (young, White, female) often struggles to counter the cultural mismatch and connect with her diverse student population. This study highlights narratives of African American students…

This work extends examination of African American students' attitudes toward learning and achievement to contrast the oppositional culture (Ogbu and Fordham) and cultural integrity perspectives. We assessed 200 students' responses to classrooms designed to support competitive, individualistic, communal or high-verve thinking, and behavior.…

The effects of professional teacher dispositions on student development have been widely documented. Yet there is limited discussion of the impact of socially just dispositions. The present study critically examines the relationship between justice-oriented mind-sets in preservice teachers and their perceptions of teaching in urban schools. Using…

Contrary to the charge that advocacy-oriented research cannot meet social science research standards because it is inherently biased, the authors of this article argue that collaborative, community-engaged scholarship (CCES) must meet high standards of rigor if it is to be useful to support equity-oriented, social justice agendas. In fact, they…

This study describes an information/digital literacy project that was conducted with kindergarten and second-grade students and teachers at a university-assisted school. The study centered on the I-LEARN model--a learning model that blends research and theory from information science and instructional systems design--and investigated how the model…

Urban community leaders describe their perceptions of critical issues in education and offer recommendations for the creation of a college-going culture (CGC). This qualitative study employed a maximum entropy analysis. Results demonstrate critical issues with increasing educational attainment including complexity of the urban school system,…

Using a cross-case analysis of online, on-campus and online university teacher preparation courses, this study critically examines the constraints and affordances of online teacher education in preparing teachers for culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) urban schools. The results of the study indicate that while there was no significant…

Annually, thousands of U.S. students fail high school introductory biology. The language demands of biology are large, and science teachers are often unprepared to support students' language needs. Here, we describe a 4-week summer high school introductory biology course executed in a large West Coast city. Our aim was to help 33 students recover…

Black male adolescents face unique barriers in schools that may contribute to racial disparities in educational outcomes. Their social-cognitive strengths, however, influence their confidence to be academically successful despite these barriers. This study explored whether racial academic stereotypes and racial centrality were associated with and…