The achievement gap is a historic and pervasive issue of social justice in education. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has further stalled student achievement in reading and math, amplifying the urgency for accelerating student learning to close the gap. The third grade is a critical year for literacy in education; if students have not mastered…

In this study, the researcher uses quantitative methods to examine the extent to which Title I funding helps public schools with large populations of economically-disadvantaged students increase student academic achievement in reading and math in grades 3-5, and whether the leaders of these schools utilize specific social justice actions…

This ethnographically-oriented, multi-year study examined an epistolary writing relationship between third grade students and the teacher's uncle, known to them as Uncle Billy, who, at the time of the study, was corresponding from prison. Taking place within a Reformed Christian school, this study encapsulates the pedagogy of Ms. Thompson, the…

Promoting relevant, meaningful, and equitable science teaching learning environments for both teachers and students has become a critical objective for science education. To achieve this goal, fostering students' sensemaking experiences in science becomes critical. Working towards such a committed, and equitable sensemaking environment is closely…

This study examines the experiences of six K-5 elementary school teachers in professional learning spaces for antiracism. Teachers from two elementary schools established school-university partnerships to begin antiracist work: one on a whole-school level, the other a group of teachers meeting voluntarily with university faculty. Given the paucity…

Regardless of the school community or type of school in the United States, Black students are disproportionately excluded from school at a higher rate than any other student group. These discipline practices are a matter of race that negatively impact educational outcomes for Black students and have a direct correlation with their involvement in…

This study utilized an action research design with qualitative methods to explore the transformative potential of a multicultural literature curriculum within a general education setting. Providing young students with opportunities to develop perspective taking and empathetic responses to others who are different, offers the critical potential for…

This qualitative study, situated within a critical theory frame (Friere, 1970; Grant, Brown, & Brown, 2016; hooks, 1994; Kincheloe, 2008), explored the ways elementary students engaged in and constructed meaning from critical classroom discussions exploring inequities and injustices as related to gender and race. The questions guiding the…

The purpose of this research was to study the development, implementation, assessment, and revision of an integrated social justice curriculum with the goal of providing an understanding of the elements which supported and hindered social justice education from the perspective of an elementary school teacher. The research procedures used in this…