Since "Brown v. Board of Education" and the subsequent desegregation of schools, an achievement gap has persisted between students of color and White students, specifically in urban schools. Education has sought to close this gap through a variety of school improvement efforts, yet this gap remains today. The classroom teacher has the…

This dissertation outlines a comprehensive research endeavor focused on the history of elementary literacy instruction in the Kansas City Kansas Public Schools (KCKPS) from 1990 until 2022. The research methodology combines historical analysis of artifacts, archives, and oral histories to answer the overarching research question, "What is the…

This study examined the learning trajectory of five US humanities teachers when navigating learning to teach the difficult history of school desegregation within a context of a six-month inquiry-based professional development. The research questions were: What do teachers frame as problems when teaching difficult histories? How do they…

This qualitative case study research explores the discursive practices of three White secondary US history teachers while teaching about the "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" Supreme Court decision. Using critical discourse analysis as a methodology, this study examines teachers' use of naming, verb tense and presupposition to…

"Resisting Divide-and-Conquer Strategies in Education: Pathways and Possibilities" examines the ways in which divide-and-conquer strategies operate in the American public education system. In U.S. education, these mechanisms are endemic and enduring, if not always evident. Coordinated, strategic, well-funded, politically-viable campaigns…

One way for teachers to use engaging and relevant social studies curriculum is by delving into local history to help students understand the influence that community activists have had on national policies and events. In this article, we provide teachers an approach to incorporate topics of racial inequity in their classrooms by showcasing a…

United States history classrooms have the potential to simultaneously foster an understanding of students' cultures and experiences today in relation to the nation's history and develop critical thinking and technology literacy. Yet classroom materials and instructors tend to avoid, ignore, or misrepresent controversial topics such as race and…

This historiography chronicles educators' efforts to teach for diversity through heightening awareness of immigrant experiences as well as discrimination against minoritized religious and racial groups in public school classrooms from the 1920s through the 1970s. This curriculum and pedagogical work was couched under various terms, such as…

More than 50 years after the "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka" decision, the democratic promises inherent in "Brown" have yet to be fulfilled (Franklin 2005) and educational quality, or lack thereof, continues to be intimately linked with social constructions of race (Baszile 2008; Ladson-Billings 2012).…

School segregation and inequity are deep-rooted realities in U.S. society. Despite historical efforts at integration, too many schools are de facto segregated, and those serving mostly students of color are routinely under-resourced when compared to those servicing mostly white students. Teachers and students can struggle to talk about this…

Different worldviews, different histories of induction into teaching, presumed differences in responsibilities, and different emphases in preservice and in-service preparation have all long contributed to enduring schisms that keep general education (or mainstream) teachers and English language support faculty from coordinating and finding common…

Full membership is acceptance and belonging in a school community where all stakeholders have a voice and the culture is reflective of these values and beliefs. This qualitative study compared the perceptions of general and special education teachers from two southern high schools. The author explored how scripts of disability inform teacher…

The author utilized Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the passage of the US Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 in an effort to disrupt the simplistic, uncritical understandings of the US Civil Rights Movement common to school texts while also arguing for the ongoing importance of the VRA in a time when voting rights for people of color are under…

In this article, we attempt to honor the rich legacy of Derrick Bell by detailing how exploring his specific contributions to critical race theory (CRT) provided lessons for developing and refining critical race pedagogy (CRP). We examine Bell's racial realism thesis in connection with his pedagogical work. In doing so, we find that he was as…

Between the turn of the twentieth century and the "Brown v. Board of Education" decision in 1954, the way that American schools taught about "race" changed dramatically. This transformation was engineered by the nation's most prominent anthropologists, including Franz Boas, Ruth Benedict, and Margaret Mead, during World War II.…