In education, it is necessary to look at students who are marginalized, and excluded, who is centered or privileged, and how, through academic discourse, silences are created, sustained, and legitimized. The three papers in this collection explore the politics of silencing and voice in education. "It's More Covert Today': The Importance of…

Parents are being invited to step in to help improve public education, but they enter with neither resources nor power. Real parental involvement requires commitment to organizing parents and restructuring schools, as well as inventing rich versions of diverse educational democracies of difference. Schools must function like meaningful…

A 2-year study of small Chicago schools found that small schools, especially small high schools, help students succeed. The study focused on about 150 small schools founded in Chicago during 1990-97 and their progress through 1999. Elementary schools had fewer than 350 students; high schools fewer than 400 students. Quantitative analyses covered…

This collection of papers examines the crisis in public education, focusing on poor and minority children. There are seven chapters in two parts. After "Introduction: Silenced Voices and Extraordinary Conversations" (Michelle Fine and Lois Weis), Part 1, "Scenes of Silencing," includes: (1) "Silencing and Nurturing Voice…