This study explores the use of teacher narrative sketches in a graduate level course titled, "Language Diversity and Literacy Instruction." The narrative assignment asked students to write stories of their own experiences with language diversity in literacy or other content areas. The shared teacher narratives, which drew on their…

This study examined the impact of the racial justice movement that emerged in the United States after the murder of George Floyd and during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on the discussion around equity and diversity initiatives in a predominantly White school district. We conducted thematic analyses of public communications of school…

Anti-immigrant vitriol is growing, even disturbing our educational spaces. Teachers are also affected by the negative discourses around them and need to develop knowledge that shapes their attitudes and actions regarding immigrant youth. This article details a professional development with high school teachers that used reader response to develop…

Tamara is a single mother of two children, Isaiah (2 years old) and RaShawn (5 years old). She recently noticed that Isaiah was not developing in the same ways his older brother did when he was Isaiah's age. Unsure of where to go with her concerns about Isaiah's development, Tamara contacted a local University child development center that…

Given changes in the U.S. school-age population, it is crucial that colleges of education prepare teacher candidates to work effectively with students from diverse backgrounds. Because diversity constitutes such a small portion of the curriculum in many teacher education programs, it is crucial that teacher educators find creative ways to…

An unfortunate, yet persistent, truth in U.S. public schools is the large achievement gap existing between children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and their White, middle-class counterparts. The potential for cultural dissonance between contemporary teachers and their students necessitates that educators must persistently…

This article describes a recent implementation of digital literacies in which high school literature students engaged in literary analysis of a novel using the video game Minecraft. Students who had previously expressed reluctance with reading and dissatisfaction with school experiences used their gaming skills to re-create scenes, respond to…

"Culture" has tended to play a central role in the nomenclature and operationalization of popular frameworks for attending to matters of diversity in education. These frameworks include multicultural education, culturally responsive pedagogy, culturally relevant teaching, cultural proficiency, and cultural competence. In this article, I…

Students learn through connections when understanding is enhanced by a more holistic view of the content. When mathematics is presented from diverse perspectives, students with diverse backgrounds, expectations, histories, and experiences benefit greatly. In this article the author addresses the need to teach mathematics with cultural competency…

Formal administrative protocols for responding to bias incidents are now the norm in higher education. In considering these developments, the author of this article poses critical questions about racial justice work on campus, identifies key features of an under-acknowledged institutional racism, and contributes to discussions about ways that…

In this article the authors describe pedagogy which rests on commitments to solidarity, activism, and intersectional understandings of personhood and social (in)justices. The authors seek to create accessible classrooms where our many selves and critical consciousness can be in (dis)comforting conversation with one another. Then, they hope to…

This case study research investigated preservice and in-service teachers' (N = 23) experiences and understandings as they participated in a multicultural children and young adults' literature course that incorporates visits to a Holocaust museum. A graduate level course was redesigned within a framework of social justice pedagogy by focusing on…

This one year study examines the journey of two preservice urban high-school teachers in Arizona as they enact Culturally Responsive Teaching in a year-long student teaching residency. Factors that influenced their Culturally Responsive Teaching practices are discussed along themes that emerged from interviews and classroom observations.…

White teachers see racial diversity in the schools as a "necessary evil." Common beliefs are that (1) Black students are saved by nurturing White teachers and well-behaved White children; and (2) White students learn from "disadvantaged" Black children the dual lesson of empathy and gratitude. A pilot project in the fall of…

This article describes two approaches to improving literacy in a high poverty, diverse urban high school. One curriculum program, "Striving Readers," included a prescribed course of study for students reading below grade level along with schoolwide strategies. This approach did not improve targeted students' reading scores or motivation…