This article introduces and explores the concept of the deficit aesthetic. Particular attention is given to how the deficit aesthetic was made and the extent to which it continues to be sustained in early art education, especially in the United States. For many children, particularly at this time, the deficit aesthetic factors as yet another…

It has been more than 50 years since Clay (1966) first introduced the concepts about print (CAP). Emergent readers, aged 4-5, must acquire an understanding of basic and hierarchical concepts of letters, words, and sentences; they must also learn basic knowledge about texts and books; they must develop an awareness of book orientation,…

Despite the United States being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, homelessness remains a significant problem across the nation. It is a complex issue that involves many different factors, such as socioeconomic status, housing costs, degree of external support, and mental/physical health. The causes of homelessness also vary…

Gentrification is a complex issue with very real repercussions for urban youth. Games make learning fun and provide a way for students to explore complex systems through recursive play. We describe a board game designed to help students explore ratios and proportional reasoning while simultaneously engaging the causes and effects of…

Over the past 20 years, both charter schools and pre-kindergarten education have taken on increasingly prominent roles in the schooling of America's children. Charter schools in 43 states now serve more than 2.6 million students--roughly six percent of all students attending public schools. More than two-thirds of four-year-olds attend some form…

For many communication scholars, critical pedagogy has proven a valuable teaching approach intended to strengthen democracy and empower the disenfranchised. However, the pedagogical practice becomes problematic when employed as a way to help the already enfranchised maintain their privileged position. This is the very problem posed by the…

This article offers some explanations for the simultaneous expansion of special educational services and personnel, with the increasing inclusion in mainstream education of more young people with disabilities and learning difficulties. Following discussions with some 70 professionals, administrators and others in a study in four countries, it…

The heart of the public library mission is to provide service to the entire community and serve the underserved. But how does a library identify the people it is not reaching, where they live, and what they need? And what does it mean for a library's services if in its community the underserved are not also underprivileged? Contrary to popular…

Two innovative programs in Belgium promote both educational equity and quality as they reach out to ethnically diverse families. The Bridge Person project in Ghent addresses Belgium's immigrant achievement gap by creating meaningful relationships between schools and socially disadvantaged families. The School in Sight project in Antwerp seeks to…

A recent flurry of announcements from some of the wealthiest and most competitive private colleges brought welcome news to lower- and middle-income families. Many Ivy League institutions, along with dozens of smaller colleges that also attract high-achieving students, unveiled student-aid plans that will significantly lower the cost of attendance…

As with the collapse of the subprime lending industry, the showdown between for-profit colleges and the government shows how the aspirations of the underserved, when combined with lax regulation, make the rich, richer and the poor, poorer. For-profit colleges provide high-cost degree programs that have little chance of leading to high-paying…

As blogs light up with lively conversations about iPads, netbooks, and smart phones, it's easy to forget one major roadblock to preparing all children for the future: the digital divide. Although middle-class students often take high-speed Internet access for granted, a full 65 percent of Americans who make less than $25,000 a year lack broadband…

Middle- and upper-middle-class students continue to outpace those from less privileged backgrounds. Most attempts to redress this inequality focus on the issue of access to financial resources, but as "Producing Success" makes clear, the problem goes beyond mere economics. In this eye-opening study, Peter Demerath examines a typical suburban…

By the time youngsters reach high school in the United States, the achievement gap is immense. Some remarkable inner-city schools, however, are showing that the achievement gap can be closed, even at the middle and high school level, if poor minority kids are given the right kind of instruction. In this article, the author features six schools…

The most exciting innovation in education policy in the last decade is the emergence of highly effective schools in our nation's inner cities, schools where disadvantaged teens make enormous gains in academic achievement. In this book, the author takes readers inside six of these secondary schools and reveals the secret to their success: they are…