Background/Context: The 1960s open space school removed partitions between classrooms in part to alleviate teacher isolation. The model was long ago deemed a failure. Years later, teachers in surviving open space facilities continue to navigate the reform. Despite wide dismissal of the model, components of teachers' work that open space schools…

Background/Context: Over the last century, perhaps no school in American history has been studied more than John Dewey's Laboratory School at the University of Chicago (1896-1904). Scholars have published dozens of articles, books, essays, and assessments of a school that existed for only seven and a half years. Purpose/Objective/Research…

Background: New York City is one of the most segregated school districts in the country, but between 2012 and 2021, school integration moved from a marginal to a central education policy. Existing narratives have emphasized the efforts of parents and school and political leaders, with less attention given to the significance of citywide coalitions…

Background/Context: This research is framed by both the historical lineage of the New Civics and the legacy of educational and curricular debates in the United States. It contributes to the literature on mid-20th century education. Purpose and Research Questions: This study explores the relationship between religion, civics, and education through…

In this paper, the authors discuss the concept of culturally relevant pedagogy 20 years after its introduction to the professional literature. The authors discuss key tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy, examine empirical examples of it, and makes recommendations on how the concept may inform and influence the outcomes of culturally diverse…

Background: Scholars have increasingly expressed concern about a new secessionist movement, grounded in a doctrine of localism and facilitated by permissive state policies regarding the formation of new school districts. Critics contend that school district secessions threaten to exacerbate patterns of segregation and inequality in schools.…

Background/Context: Trends in district and metropolitan school segregation over the past several decades have been well documented, but less attention has focused on the racial/ethnic composition changes at individual schools that generate aggregate trends. These shortcomings limit our ability to understand complex and dynamic patterns of…

Background/Context: This study deals with an intersection of educational history, queer history, and labor history involving the activities of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) teachers. The history of LGBT teachers, particularly before the 1990s, has been addressed by only a handful of historians. The prior research most relevant to this study is…

Background/Context: This article is part of a broader investigation of the sociocultural history of rural education in Mexico that focuses on federally financed "social experiments," the main purpose of which was to find "effective" methods to educate and "civilize" the rural population, especially Indigenous people.…

Background/Context: The traditional literature on the history of higher education in the United States focuses on linear explanations of the inexorable growth of the size, mission, and importance of colleges and universities. That approach ignores or minimizes a recurrent strain of discontent with the higher education sector, especially from…

Background: Over the past decade, courts increasingly have considered cases that involve clashes between public, secular private, and religious institutions in education. Such clashes appear to have intensified as recently as the 2019-2020 Supreme Court term, and the confirmation of Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court in 2020 suggests…

Background/Context: This article discusses the influence and legacy of three Chilean educators in the country's schooling system during the first half of the 20th century. Focus of Study: Based on the changes that Darío Salas, Irma Salas, and Amanda Labarca promoted in the Latin American country, it explores how the ideas of their teacher John…

Background: Getting educational reforms "to scale" continues to be a primary preoccupation of scholars, but such studies tend to remain focused on the organizational or other characteristics of the school(s) receiving a given innovation. Purpose: This article brackets the organizational elements of reform dissemination to consider the…

Background and Context: Racialized disparities in curricular tracking have long been ascribed to narrow tests that create a hierarchy of perceived ability. Consequently, teachers are urged to reject deficit views of ability and embrace more expansive techniques to reveal and respond to the real-life needs of students, especially those from…

Background/Context: Historically, the literature on access to quality education for Mexican Americans has been wrought with injustices committed on them because of the racist and deficit thinking of the time. This includes, but is not limited to, access to literacy in English and Spanish. This article focuses on las escuelitas, or little schools,…