This article uses a critical sociohistorical lens to discuss and explain examples of the ways in which young people reflect, refract, and contribute to discourses of gentrification, displacement, and racial, ethnic, and geographic community identity building in a rapidly changing urban neighborhood. The article explores examples from open-ended…

This article maps out two critical race media projects -- a documentary and a Chicana/o-centric student newspaper--developed by Chicana/o scholars seeking to fulfilll the promise of praxis hailed by critical race theorists. Fortified and guided by the quintessential tenets of critical race theory and Latino critical race theory, these critical…

As enrollment-driven postsecondary institutions, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) must actively find ways to better "serve" their students. Guided by Stanton-Salazar's social capital framework, this study sought to understand how institutional agents use various forms of capital to develop structures that support and empower…

Using Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Feminism as guiding conceptual frameworks, this mixed-methods empirical study examines Black girls' exclusionary discipline outcomes. First, we examined disciplinary data from a large urban school district to assess racial group differences in office referral reasons and disparities for Black girls in…

This case study examined action research conducted by bilingual education teachers in urban schools as a tool for progressing from novice-to-expert teachers. We described a longitudinal study across four cohorts of first-year bilingual education teachers as action researchers (n = 9). The study investigated the following: (1) how school leaders…

Using a qualitative approach, we sought to understand the social networks and decision-making strategies of minority males as they choose to attend a postsecondary institution. Data were obtained from interviews where students self-report perceptions of their college transition process. Our findings suggest that students' social networks are…

This article explores the results of a study of Latino youth in New York City public high schools. We propose that the common element among the schools is what we call here "transcaring," an overarching culture of care that allows for the creation of third spaces within school, transcending traditional dichotomies around language,…

This article examines how four urban elementary teachers designed their literacy instruction in ways that sought to sustain students' cultural competence--maintaining their language and cultural practices while also gaining access to more dominant ones--amid expectations to prepare students for high-stakes testing. A large part of their teaching…

This article addresses teachers' uptake of Black and Latina/o youth linguistic repertoires within the official space of an English Language Arts (ELA) classroom and how youth respond to corrective feedback that is focused on the form of their messages, rather than their function. Corrective feedback offered by one Latina teacher indexed larger…

Although recent attention to homophobic bullying in American K-12 schools has increased public concern over the plight of queer students, it has also fallen short of addressing a range of dilemmas facing urban queer youth of color, whose needs extend beyond protection from homophobic victimization. Drawing upon an ethnographic study of an HIV/AIDS…

This article presents a 2-year critical case study of an urban high school innovating to enhance the academic performance of low-income Latina/o students, highlighting high-leverage practices that promote boundary crossing between school and community. First, we highlight foundational elements of school logic, mission, and community ethos that…

Using 8,265 positive behavior cards and 544 conduct reports for 244 students, regressions of how race and gender influence the allocation of punishments or rewards for students at a New England elementary school with an Effective Behavioral Support (EBS) program were examined. Girls were most likely to receive a positive behavior card for…

This mixed-methods study examines educational experiences of Latino immigrant young adult dropouts in New York City, along with pre- and postmigration factors that impact school participation. Due to age, interrupted schooling, and limited English proficiency, high schools view this population as hard to serve. Increasing numbers of these youth…

Students' academic experiences are often shaped by normalized conceptions of literacy that do not honor the interrelatedness of multiple identities, languages, and literacies. This qualitative case study in an urban middle school highlights students' critical meta-awareness of their identities-in-practice in the figured world of their classroom…

Despite post-racial rhetoric, stereotypes remain salient for American youth. We surveyed 150 elementary and middle schoolers in Northern California and conducted case studies of 12 students. Findings showed that (a) students hold school-related stereotypes that get stronger in middle school, (b) African American and Latino students experience…