This article explores issues surrounding teaching for social justice in urban schools. Using qualitative methods, our study examined the ways in which seven urban teachers used culturally relevant pedagogy as a mechanism for teaching for social justice. We found that by adhering to the tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy (e.g. personal…

This study is the result of my work as a teacher educator in an English methods course and a member of an inquiry community I formed with eight of my students, all middle and secondary student English teachers at the University of Pennsylvania. I investigate what was at stake for them in learning to teach English in Philadelphia urban schools in…

Many urban schools struggle to retain their best teachers because of challenging work environments, poor salaries, and ineffective school leadership. The additional requirements of the No Child Left Behind legislation for teachers to be highly qualified and the increased academic requirements of raising students to a proficient level in reading…

This is a self-study of my professional and cultural biography and identity, a history which directed me first toward the work of urban teaching and then into teacher education and research into comparative educational issues of racial and national identity. I use this inquiry to demonstrate how biography and identity influences the lived…

Investigating University-School Partnerships: A Volume in Professional Development School Research, the fourth book in the PDS Research Series developed by the same editors, includes a collection of organized papers that represent the best and latest examples of practitioner thinking, research, and program design and evaluation in the field at the…

While reform options such as creating new schools seem tempting, they challenge the ills of public schools with new school creation under the same system. Of interest are the lessons that can be gleaned from teachers at a new small school that serves a Black American population. A theory on declining institutions was used to explore teachers'…

Background/Context: This study builds upon research on teacher professional communities and high school restructuring reforms. It employs a conceptual framework that draws upon theories of "community of practice" and "community of learners." Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: This study analyzes how teachers' professional inquiry…

With the enactment of the NCLB mandates, emphasis on high-stakes testing became more prevalent than ever. Some argue that high-stakes tests can be a driving force behind fundamental change in schools. Whether or not this type of test-driven change leads to school improvement is an empirical question. What we do know is that high-stake testing can…

In the foreword and preface to this lecture Margaret Lindsey, Columbia University Teachers College, reviews the contributions of Florence B. Stratemeyer to the field of student teaching, and Normand R. Bernier, University of Wisconsin, sketches the social and political turmoil forming the context for ferment in teacher education. The three parts…

Among the best examples of the professional development of teachers that has become a key component of systemic educational reform are the curriculum-based teacher networks that have been created and nurtured in public schools by external private and public funders. This study examined the impact of four such networks on teacher renewal and…

Describes the origin and evolution of the P-16 movement in education, which is based on the premise that all education, from preschool through college, ought to function as an integrated system. Describes some of the issues likely to affect the movement and the progress of urban universities over the next few years. (SLD)

This digest, based on an extensive review of research on comprehensive school reform, presents a brief overview of the role of teachers in comprehensive schoolwide reform (CSR). CSR is most successful when schools have decision-making autonomy in administration and instruction. Teachers also prefer models that fit with the school's overall…

Explored how the discourse of child-centered pedagogy both shapes and limits how teachers talk about issues of social difference in their teaching practice through the experiences of four inner-city elementary school teachers in Canada. Considers the concept of the child as a unique individual and the teacher as a neutral change agent in relation…

Provides a conceptual framework for understanding what is involved in improving urban science teaching and what might be implied by conducting research on its improvement. Believes that three sets of forces and conditions have a direct impact on urban science classrooms. Suggests how this framework can direct research. (Contains 28 references.)…

Argues that most teacher education faculties are not geared for educating their clientele for urban systems. Offers some suggestions as to what has to be done before the situation can be improved. (RJ)