Background/Context: There is broad agreement about the benefits of taking AP and/or IB courses in high school. Nonetheless, student access to such courses remains uneven and inequitable, due largely to the practice of tracking students by perceived "ability." These tracking practices are often defended based on the contention that…

Background/Context: The disparity between the race and ethnicity of teachers and students is expected to increase as our nation and classrooms continue to become more racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse. It is extremely important to think about not only the educational needs of such a diverse student population within…

Background/Context: In this article we explore equity issues related to school district decision-making about students' opportunities to learn algebra. We chose algebra because of the important role it plays in the U.S. as a gatekeeper to future academic success. Current research has not yet explored issues of equity in district-level…

This chapter provides a critique of the post-racial discourse that emerged after the election of President Barack Obama as the first African American president of the United States. Using personal narrative, I extend this critique of the post-racial within the context of a multicultural education graduate program.

Background/Context: When inequality of opportunity is discussed in higher education, it typically pertains to access to college. Ample research has examined sociodemographic inequalities in transition to higher education and enrollment in particular types of institutions. Although providing valuable insights, social stratification research does…

To understand the challenges associated with the enactment of educational policies that aim to improve equity and opportunity for students of color with disabilities, this chapter focuses on two separately conducted ethnographic studies. The first investigates district administrators' approaches to addressing racial disproportionality after the…

Background/Context: While many studies show that greater economic inequality widens the achievement gap between rich and poor students, recent studies indicate that countries with greater economic inequality have lower overall student achievement. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study explores whether family inequalities…

Background/Context: Many schools no longer track classes to increase access to courses at all levels, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. However, informal processes can "de facto" track students, placing them at the same level across subjects. Research shows that de facto tracking is prevalent in…

Background/Context:Federal policy, as codified in Race to the Top (RTT) funding guidelines, outlines four types of intervention: turnaround, restart, closure, and transformation. RTT has embraced a technocratic paradigm for school reform that frames choice less as the opportunity for the public to deliberate about what it wants from its schools…

Background/Context: This article employs critical policy analysis as it examines the historical underpinnings of racialized policy discrimination in Detroit. It considers histories, discourses, and oppressive structures as it seeks to understand how policies have been and currently are implemented by Whites in predominantly Black urban areas.…

Background/Context: Education scholars have examined how state policy and informal practice can widen or reproduce racial and gender inequalities in graduate education. Just one empirical study, which focused on psychology programs, has identified organizational practice that supports recruitment and retention of graduate students of color. Focus…

Background/Context: Although millions of undocumented students are enrolled in and guaranteed free public K-12 education, their postsecondary education opportunities are stifled. Some of the barriers encountered by undocumented students include discriminatory public policies, limited availability of information and insensitive college choice…

Background/Context: This article describes Black educators in predominantly White suburban schools who have used advocacy through the lens of culturally relevant pedagogy and serve as Educational Cultural Negotiators to help the students of color in these spaces academically and socially. This article highlights the advocacy needed to address the…

Background/Context: There is a pressing need to consider how citizens should live together, especially in societies that are increasingly ethnically and politically diverse. Even though multicultural education is constructed very differently and serves very different purposes in different national contexts, relatively little attention has been…

Background/Context: Throughout history, a country's economic and military strength has influenced its times of cultural splendor and the rise of famous intellectuals and artists. Spain has been an exception to this. At the turn of the 20th century, a surprising series of events that no one could have predicted occurred. At the time, Spain had…