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…

Presents an example of how professional development measures and an integrated approach to literacy positively affected one urban high school. Notes that the reading achievement of these urban high school youths was influenced by quality instruction and support for classroom teachers. Indicates that school structures influence student achievement.…

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.)…

Urban schools are challenged to improve teacher retention and quality. Unfortunately, research on effective teaching and attributes of effective teachers rarely has considered urban contextual influences. The purposes of the current study were (a) to develop and validate an instrument for evaluating urban teacher attributes and (b) to determine…

This paper describes a qualitative research study that investigated strategies used by urban teachers to build their personal resilience. Sixteen resilient teachers from four urban districts that reported student achievement equal to or higher than the state average on standard tests of reading and mathematics were interviewed. The definition of…

This paper examines the use of students' lived experiences in an urban elementary science classroom. Students bring different funds of knowledge that are accumulated through their lived experiences into the classroom, and I examine what those funds of knowledge mean to an elementary science teacher working in an urban school. I describe how a…

In this discussion of one university's teacher education program, steps taken to mentor pre-service teachers learning to support families and children in urban settings are aligned with advocacy strategies. Using a service-learning model, teachers explore issues of social justice by completing a full year of field experiences in an urban…

Maintaining that urban teaching and learning is characterized by many contradictions, this book proposes that there is a wide range of social, cultural, psychological, and pedagogical knowledge urban educators must possess in order to engage in effective and transformative practice. It is necessary for those teaching in urban schools to be…

How do beginning teachers experience the complex process of learning to teach in an urban setting? This article contributes to the literature on teaching in urban settings by theorizing the process of learning to teach based on longitudinal interview data generated from practitioners who were viewed by the researcher as critical informants. The…

The present study investigated number and nature of school psychological referrals in a black, lower socioeconomic, "inner-city" school system. Unlike earlier investigations, this study demonstrated statistically significant sex and/or developmental differences in stated reason for school psychological referrals. (Author)

This paper deals with six sets of concerns and suggestions that arise as attitudes toward urban teaching are assessed. The first set arises from the complexity of measuring attitudes. It is strongly recommended that critiques of attitude data be based on plausible rival hypotheses. The second set involves the identification of beliefs related to a…

The article offers teachers of vocational horticulture a number of specific suggestions for organizing FFA horticulture chapters that will appeal to urban and suburban students and that will improve the quality of their learning. (AJ)

Low reading achievement in the Chicago public schools spurred the development of a mastery approach reading package. This approach assumes that in time any student can achieve the level of the brightest student. Implementation of a mastery program in urban areas presents special problems, including diversity of student backgrounds, time and space…

The Laboratory's Cooperative Urban Teacher Education Program (CUTE), presently involving 23 Midwest liberal arts colleges plus four public and two parochial school systems in Oklahoma City, Wichita, and Kansas City, was organized in 1966 to develop and implement practical plans for cooperation in the preparing of teachers for inner-city schools. A…