Socioeconomic differences among low-income and racially minoritized students may be consequential for understanding the dynamics of school choice--especially in high-poverty and racially segregated urban contexts that are often targeted by school choice policies. Yet school choice research largely focuses on differences between groups and relies…

In today's anthropology, the word "culture" is conspicuous by its absence from anthropological discourse. But the word is still alive outside anthropology, particularly in sociology and psychology, in ways anthropologists cannot ignore, as fields like urban poverty and education have been altered by the introduction of the culture…

In education, low-income and racially minoritized students in urban districts are often constructed as 'dependent' -- weak in their social positions but deserving of educational opportunity. This social construction of 'urban' students has been central to school choice politics and policymaking in the United States. In this study, I interrogate…

The increase in teacher attrition has been substantial in U.S. public schools over the past three decades. The impact this trend has on student learning is pronounced, especially in high-poverty schools. Minimal research has focused on the resilient teachers who stay in these settings and the personal, professional, and biographical influences…

Available evidence suggests that inequities exist in the distribution of qualified teachers within high-poverty urban schools, and further, that such inequities adversely affect student achievement in these schools. This paper highlights the role of teacher education in addressing this challenge by describing the findings of a study of the…

Leveraging publicly available data about schools" absenteeism from the New Jersey Department of Education, the present study examined how neighborhood-level resource deprivation and violent crime related to chronic absenteeism in Passaic County's elementary, middle, and high schools. Results highlighted geographic disparities in Passaic…

The teacher preparation programs at University of Central Florida graduates approximately 1,000 prospective teachers annually. They are well prepared for teaching positions in the schools that look like the suburban, middle class ones which most of the teacher candidates attended. They have not been as well prepared for the Title I schools that…

In this pilot study, we examine the realities of differential funding structures across the US, which disproportionately disadvantage historically marginalized communities (Black and Brown students) and students living in poverty, contributing to an intractable opportunity gap. Prior research indicates that equitable funding can, in fact, decrease…

Research concerning family preferences for schooling indicates that they value proximity to home as much as academic quality when choosing schools. However, preferences for proximity likely represent inability to access schools farther away from home, especially for disadvantaged students. I test whether distance and district boundaries constrain…

Critical service learning is an approach that works toward social transformation and egalitarian partnerships. However, the ways in which space facilitates or undermines this approach has been largely unexplored. Drawing on a case study from an urban education course, we argue that a critical geography framework can develop students'…

Although we often look to schools to solve complex social problems, many educators are not ready to address the structural racism behind many contemporary conflicts. Pedro Noguera and Julio Angel Alicia present a brief history of the socioeconomic forces that drove school closures and gentrification in Chicago, the remaking of New Orleans after…

Ghettos are a social evil. They are social atrocities maintained by inexcusable racist laws and practices, structures of class domination, and institutionalized political marginalization. After "Brown v. The Board of Education," educational reformers have increasingly (mis)framed the problem of "ghetto schools" as a failure to…

This article begins with an introduction to the concept of urban education. Next, the author addresses the future challenge of long-term and developmental perspective in this field, as contrasted with perspectives held by prekindergarten and preschool professionals in early childhood education. Her hope is that this challenge will be addressed in…

This article investigates the link between school climate and student academic progress in New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) high schools. Using a data set compiled from 2010-2011 NYCDOE school-level aggregated demographic, survey, and progress report achievement data, the authors ran ordinary least squares regressions where they…

This essay explores the political economic roots of the notion of precarity and migrates the construct into critical educational studies, reviewing the literatures on structural dispossession and race; disruptive innovation and educational reform, and embodied precarity as narrated by youth of color, poverty and immigration. Implications for urban…