Teaching for social justice: A research synthesis on Asian American and Pacific Islander teachers in U.S. schools

This article examines social justice in teaching and teacher education with a focus on the experiences, pedagogies, and instructional practices of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) teachers. We synthesized 37 peer-reviewed research publications on AAPI teachers’ experiences and contributions to diversity and social justice. The results show AAPI teachers disrupting Whiteness through beliefs, pedagogies, and practices that value multiple perspectives and marginalized voices. Policy implications include supporting cultural and linguistic diversity in teacher education programs and schools and providing opportunities for teachers to engage in critical praxis regarding their racial identities and issues of equity in education.     

Fourth annual institute of professional relations

This article provides a critical look into national trends of the achievement gaps between Whites and Blacks and between Whites and Hispanics over the last 3 decades based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress mathematics assessments. It examines multiple facets of inequity underlying the racial and ethnic achievement gaps from 3 perspectives: equality, adequacy, and reciprocity. Although the Black-White and Hispanic-White mathematics achievement gaps narrowed significantly over the last 3 decades, there was some setback in the national progress during the last decade and the achievement gaps remain substantially large. The study finds that the racial and ethnic achievement gaps are highly inequitable, as it turns out that schools do not measure up to essential conditions of equity: Minority students do not (a) get fairly equal educational opportunities, (b) achieve minimally adequate level of competency, and (c) learn in a racially integrated school. The recent trend of widening racial achievement gaps is also seen as a real setback in equity as there was little systemic improvement in those 3 conditions of equity during the last decade. Implications of the findings for educational policies to enhance broader equity and justice are discussed.     

Social justice teacher educators: what kind of knowing is needed?

ABSTRACT

What do teacher educators need to know and do in order to move from espousing to enacting social justice in their own teacher educating practice? This article addresses this question by examining scholarship that focuses on the preparation of preservice teachers for social justice. Using five knowledge domains for teaching (personal, contextual, pedagogical, sociological, social) as an analytic lens, the authors examined teacher education literature published between 2010 and 2016 in three international journals from Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. The study reveals that teacher educators in different contexts seem to highlight personal and contextual knowledge in their preparation of equity-minded preservice teachers and provides insight into how they conceptualise educational equity and social justice. The study illuminates what is likely in place in initial teacher education programmes, and what may be needed or missing if teacher educators are to prepare teachers for today’s diverse classrooms.

Abbreviation ITE: Initial Teacher Education ITE     

Black Superintendents on Educating Black Students in Separate and Unequal Contexts

The negative consequences of school desegregation on Black families, educators, and communities in the US are well documented in education research today. The purpose of this article is to examine the experiential knowledge and wisdom of practice of former Black school superintendents who attended all Black segregated schools and led desegregated school districts. Using critical race theory as a methodological and analytical framework, I seek to advance our understanding of how the positive aspects of valued segregated schools can improve Black education today. Findings include Black superintendent reflections of and calls to action concerning separate and unequal schooling contexts according to the following constituencies: the Black community, the Black parent, the Black teacher, and the Black student. Building on the participant directives for political engagement and community-based activism, I conclude with a discussion about transforming Black education through a political race project aimed to resist educational inequities, advance racial justice, and promote social change in education.     

Competing Paradigms of Educational Justice: Parent Organizing for Educational Equity in a Neoliberal Reform Context

This article examines a grassroots parent organizing effort in a large, high-poverty, urban school district. Drawing from ethnographic field research at a community-based popular education organization, the study describes how parent organizers worked to educate and mobilize Latina/o immigrant parents on issues of educational justice and equity. It identifies three pillars of their approach—a social theory, a theory of change, and a theory of knowledge— and argues that these were not reducible to a set of practices or methods; rather, they constituted a coherent paradigm of educational justice. This paradigm differs in significant ways from the neoliberal justice paradigm that currently dominates education reform and policy. By examining points of tension between these two competing paradigms, this article seeks to accomplish two aims. First, it aims to deepen our understanding of how underlying paradigms of educational justice shape the work of educating, organizing, and reforming schools. Second, it aims to expose the cultural specificity, or non-universality, of the neoliberal paradigm in order to challenge its hegemonic status in education reform and policy.     

School Context and Charter School Achievement: A Framework for Understanding the Performance “Black Box”

This article explores the relationship between charter school racial composition, school environments, and student achievement. We offer an original framework for understanding school context and its influence on schooling outcomes. We conclude that policymakers could better attend to the persistent educational inequality that has shaped U.S. schooling if when designing school choice plans they took account of student racial composition even in a postdesegregation environment.     

When Race Enters the Room: Improving Leadership and Learning Through Racial Literacy

This article explains (a) why racial literacy—an understanding of the origins and function of race in US schools and society—is essential to the work of educational leaders, and (b) how educational leaders can improve their leadership through racial literacy. It introduces the concept of racial literacy as a first step to improving school leadership practices, to be followed by racial realism, racial reconstruction, and racial reconciliation in racially diverse school communities. The article concludes with recommendations and resources designed to advance the racial literacy of educational leaders and their teams as part of a broader commitment to inclusion and social justice in US schools.     

Teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa: Navigating a way through competing state and global imperatives for change

This article focuses on teacher education in post-apartheid South Africa. It argues that the restructuring and reorganization of teacher education is at the nexus of the axes of tension created by national and global imperatives for change. Along with the dismantling of apartheid and the transition to a free and democratic state in 1994 came the urgent need for social reconstruction, democratization, redress, social justice, and equity. At the same time, and as part of a global context, the country needed global competitiveness, human capital development, global skills, international standards, and accountability. These competing modernist discourses have informed the design and orientation of the National Qualifications Framework and national curriculum that took place in parallel with, and simultaneous to, the restructuring and reform of teacher education. This article reviews literature pertinent to understanding the post-apartheid transformation in South African education in general and teacher education in particular. It concludes that policy makers have managed to navigate a way through the axis of tension created by opposed orientations to transformation. A more equitable and improved system of teacher education has been achieved but critical issues of teacher quality and quantity have emerged which urgently need resolution.     

远程开放教育是实现教育公平的重要途径

教育是民族振兴的基石,教育公平是社会公平的重要基础。而我国高等教育至今仍存在一些不公平现象,因此,远程开放教育是实现教育公平的重要途径,其面向全社会各类成员提供学习的条件和机会,提供优质教育,从而缩小数字鸿沟,促进教育公平的实现。     

关于美国国家教育安全战略的政策解读与思考

国家教育安全对于整个国家安全体系的构建具有重要作用。美国自二战以来一直十分重视国家教育安全的战略规划。《回应变革世界之挑战：为21世纪而加强教育》是一份反映新世纪美国国家教育战略规划的重要报告。它提出了创新性教育改革、改善数学和科学知识、加速学校进步、促进自由和理解等教育战略目标。我国有必要从国家安全战略高度审视并规划教育发展,逐步提升自身国际竞争力。     

Autoethnography,a Chicana's Methodological Research Tool: The Role of Storytelling for Those Who Have No Choice but to do Critical Race Theory

This article investigates the role of autoethnographic research as the methodological tool of choice for a Chicana who positions herself along the liminal perspective. I posit that testimonios, autobiographical educational experiences, must be used as valid ethnographic research to contribute to existing knowledge around issues of educational equity. Producing autoethnographic research acknowledges and validates my Chicana presence as well as draws attention to my marginal position inside dominant structures of education. Autoethnography and critical race theory are the manners in which I think about the world and the ways I have chosen to engage in educational research. My work is derived from personal experience in Los Angeles urban schools and later in elite institutions of higher education. These distinct locations present a unique opportunity to problematize the internalized forms of class and racial structures that permeate educational institutions. Grounded in my own educational biography, testimonios frame my research perspective to interrogate the role that educational institutions play in the creation of particular ideologies in working-class students of color.     

Critical Race Studies in Education: Examining a Decade of Research on U.S. Schools

In this article, the authors critically synthesize how Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an emerging field of inquiry has been used as a tool of critique and analysis in K-12 education research. The authors point out that CRT has been used as a framework for examining: persistent racial inequities in education, qualitative research methods, pedagogy and practice, the schooling experiences of marginalized students of color, and the efficacy of race-conscious education policy. The authors explore how these studies have changed the nature of education research and stress the need for further research that critically interrogates race and racism in education.Marvin Lynn is an Assistant Professor of Department of Curriculum & Instruction in University of Maryland, College Park. He completed his B.S., at DePaul University, Chicago, IL, M.A. at Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY and Ph.D. at University of California, Los Angeles. He has published articles in the area of Critical Race Theory and education and critical race pedagogy. He has also written a number of articles that explore the work and lives of Black male teachers.Laurence Parker is Professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies in University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He completed his B.A., at Earlham College, Richmond, IN, M.A. and Ph.D. in University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His current research examines Critical Race Theory and its connection to educational research, policy and practice in the k-12 and post-secondary settings. His research also examines social justice perspectives in educational administration, leadership and policy, particularly with respect to race and social class     

Equity,Elitism, Marketisation: Inclusive Education in Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the concept of equity and subsequently inclusive education began to gain ground in the 1970s. Inclusive education has been made the goal of special education since 1977 and was finally implemented in 1997. Meanwhile, Hong Kong has been struggling to maintain its competitiveness in a global and knowledge-based economy. Elitism and marketisation of education battle against the force of equity and will continue to form strong forces in determining educational policies and directions. Therefore, this article examines Hong Kong's inclusive education agenda, the roles of government bodies and higher education institutions, and the progress achieved. In addition, salient issues that have emerged and affected inclusive education in Hong Kong as a result of the struggle among equity, elitism and marketisation forces are discussed.     

Framing Teacher Education: An Analysis of the Comprehensive Educator Equity Plans of 16 State Education Agencies

This article explores the nature of a federal intervention into teacher education through state policy making and problem framing. The authors examined the 16 comprehensive educator equity plans that were approved by the U.S. Department of Education in 2015 and surface four inadequacies the reports communicate about teacher education: (a) an inability to recruit diverse candidates, (b) an unsuitable curriculum for high-needs schools, (c) limited exposure to diverse teaching placements, and (d) an environment that lacks accountability. Through this project, this article covers how federal educational aims are delegated to states in order to frame economics as the goal of education and teacher education as negligent in this pursuit.     

How closely related are the national curriculum and the global dimension? A content analysis of the global dimension in elementary school textbooks in Taiwan

Over the past few decades, researchers, educators, and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about preparing future generations for life in the rapidly changing global society; thus, interest in the global dimension of school curricula has been growing. However, as tension often exists between this global dimension and national education, infusing the former into the latter is not an easy task. Although some countries claim their national curriculum has a global dimension, and many global educators emphasize the relevance of global education in all curriculum areas, little empirical evidence supports such claims. To bridge this gap, the extent to which school textbooks reflect a global dimension must be explored. Therefore, this study conducted a content analysis of 84 elementary school textbooks in Taiwan to examine the scope of their global dimension. We found that around 10 % of the textbooks’ content was related to the global dimension, the majority of which was in the learning areas of social studies and integrative activities. The most evident global education concepts were ecological sustainability and world peace, whereas human rights and social justice were underrepresented. The ideal of linking the global dimension with all aspects of education and all curriculum areas remains a challenge. We provide suggestions for teachers, educational authorities, and textbook publishers and authors regarding revisions to current textbooks to enhance the global dimension.     

教育公平视域下小学生课业负担过重成因及消解:基于罗尔斯《正义论》视角

“减负”是基础教育改革中的老大难题。教育以“人尽其才”为本原,而本原失真是造成学业负担过重的根源,中产阶层尤为突出。基于罗尔斯《正义论》视角,通过转变教育观念、强化学校教育职责、促进教师专业发展、重塑教育共同体、治理校外培训机构、加强学习策略教学等促进教育公平,从根本上构建缓解学业负担过重的长效机制,促进生命的健康成长与内在价值的彰显。     

公平感:教育公平的深度价值追求

教育公平是事实判断和价值判断的结合,这也日益成为人们衡量教育公平的学理基础.但长期以来,人们在教育公平追求中形成了重事实、轻价值判断的取向,使客观公平事实的改观并未能完全满足人们主观觉知意义上的公平感受.公平感是公平追求中被人们忽略的价值量度,又是衡量生活质量的重要维度,理应成为教育公平的深度价值追求.当前,要消除人们对教育公平的误解,一如既往地改善教育公平发展的硬件环境和条件,由此不断提升教育发展的质量,维护和提升教育参与者的主观公平感.     

Race and School Vouchers: Legal,Historical, and Political Contexts

This article investigates legal and political issues as they relate to school vouchers serving students of color. Specifically, we draw on the empirical, historical, and legal research to examine whether school vouchers will create a more equitable system of education for poor students of color. First, we present a history of vouchers, including how they were used to support segregation. We then discuss how vouchers as a broad opportunity for educational equity for poor children (of color) might present particular challenges in light of, first, the race-neutral approach in contemporary case law and state statutes and, second, the relatively small percentage of U.S. children taking advantage of such programs. Finally, we present empirical results regarding African American families’ support and use of vouchers and a discussion of the racial politics of school vouchers. We argue that unless voucher programs and proponents address race directly, operate on a larger scale, and attend to the broader social justice issues facing urban communities, it will be difficult for such policies to support the greater good for African American children or society as a whole.     

我国教育公平研究的现状及特点

教育公平包括教育权利平等、教育起点公平、教育过程公平和教育结果公平。改革开放以来,我国教育公平的总体水平不断提高,但某些方面有差距扩大趋势。我国教育公平问题突出表现在城乡差距、区域差距和阶层差距等方面。造成教育公平问题的原因包括教育制度、教育体制、教育政策、社会分层及文化因素等。要确立公平理念、加大投入、深化改革、健全制度、注重均衡、侧重补偿,综合统筹、多管齐下地促进教育公平。政府是教育公平的主要责任者。从总体上看,我国教育公平研究具有广阔的研究视野和强烈的现实关照性,在公平观上基本采用了罗尔斯的正义论体系,同时也表现出关注宏观层面多于中观和微观层面、关注起点公平多于过程公平和结果公平的特点。