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,…

This article looks at the American Dream as a merit narrative to understand how it supports barriers to educational success for educators working to improve the lives of students in urban schools. Hard work/perseverance and individualism are interrogated as components of merit narratives used to sustain the American Dream. We analyze data from six…

This article investigates the lasting legacy of the National Teacher Corps (NTC), which was created in 1965 by the U.S. federal government with two crucial assumptions: that teaching poor urban children required a very specific skill set and that teacher preparation programs were not providing adequate training in these skills. Analysis reveals…

Reviews the history of violence in schools, focusing on types and frequencies of violence and the factors that are related to school-based violence. Presents strategies that teachers and other school staff can use to decrease the likelihood of violence. (SLD)

Argues that blending school psychology and school counseling training to produce comprehensive mental health specialists is a way to address the identified social and emotional needs of children in urban schools. Such specialists could result in more comprehensive, coordinated school mental health services and lead to improved academic…

Studied the field teaching experiences of 10 white female preservice teachers in an urban, culturally different school, focusing on attitudes, pedagogy, career expectations, and sense of preparedness. Findings show the positive effects of the field experience on teacher cultural awareness and sense of preparedness to teach. (SLD)

Studies interactional, pedagogical, and curricular actions that stigmatized high school students perceived as affecting their willingness to adapt to varied classrooms. Data from 49 students illustrate that stigmatized students prefer teachers who give personal attention and respect and solicit student opinions. (SLD)

Uses data from 54 urban school districts to test hypotheses explaining the integration of computer technology into the classroom. Finds no statistically significant effects of funding on the provision of computer-assisted learning, but a higher percentage of black students reduces the percentage of district students receiving computer-assisted…

Studied high-ability, high-achieving students in an urban high school over 3 years. Identifies factors that enabled these students to achieve, including belief in self, supportive adults, high-achieving peers, challenging classes, personal characteristics, and family support. (SLD)

Examines problems faced by immigrant students in the New York City public schools. Insight is provided into these educational problems through interviews with 20 students, 9 teachers, and 1 administrator in 2 city public high schools. Data suggest that students' desire to learn is not well supported by available resources. (SLD)

Interviewed 38 inner-city Black and Latino adolescents in a precollege tutorial program. Findings show students' difficulties in leaving their old peer groups and embracing the idea that they could achieve in school. Addresses implications of the findings for policy, assets, and problems. (SLD)

Integrates findings from three independent studies (one national quantitative and two urban qualitative) to analyze two aspects of the teacher/student relationship: (1) how teachers and students view their mutual relationship; and (2) how this relationship affects academic achievement. All three studies highlight the importance teachers place on…

Studies gender differences in the U.S. achievement ideology for 48 gifted and 100 nongifted African-American fifth and sixth graders (59 males and 89 females) in an urban Ohio school district. Results indicate no differential determinants of underachievement by gender but show significant differences by gifted and nongifted academic programs. (SLD)

A peer counseling program in a 1,800-student inner-city high school (60 percent Latinos, 35 percent African Americans, and 5 percent others) appears successful when evaluated for the following: student knowledge acquisition; student evaluation of the program; students' impact on school and community through counseling sessions; and impact on the…

Develops a definition of inner-city children based on community location and poverty level, and applies this definition to eighth grade data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988. Inner-city students differ from others in racial and ethnic backgrounds, family incomes, parents' education and employment, and family composition. (SLD)