The purpose of this study is to investigate how teachers perceive their cultural competence. The overarching research questions are "How do teachers perceive their cultural competence and how does their cultural competency impact their professional work?" Individuals' beliefs have a powerful impact on practice. The aim of this study is…

This paper explores the contribution of James Bryce as an Assistant Commissioner to the Taunton Commission from 1865 to 1868. It highlights his criticisms of the English middle class and of middle-class education represented in the endowed grammar schools of Lancashire, England. These criticisms were based partly on finely detailed observation of…

A variety of recent research has shown that the academic achievement gap has been growing between low- and middle-income students. Socioeconomic status has proven to have a large influence on academic attainment as well as the educational opportunities that a child is offered. This paper argues that, because poverty significantly affects children…

This dissertation investigates how the intersections of race, class, and gender operate in the everyday teaching and professional norms of middle-class White women teachers--particularly in schools such as the one in this study, where a majority of middle-class, White women teachers serve predominantly low-income, racially and ethnically diverse…

Preservice science teachers hold a number of existing beliefs and expectations for their students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Many teacher education programs (TEPs) provide diversity coursework, multicultural education courses, and field experiences to better prepare preservice teachers for the CLD classroom. A…

The U.S. economy has undergone dramatic changes in recent decades. Jobs that required limited skills--but still paid a family-supporting wage--have disappeared and increasingly have been replaced with jobs that either require higher levels of education and skills "or" require little education and training but offer no pathways to careers…

In an attempt to address minority issues with Israeli Arab English-as-a-foreign-language ninth-grade students, I as a teacher researcher introduced picture books on the issue and invited students to respond in different modes, one of which was artistic. In one of the lessons, students created collages to represent their identities. In this…

Child rearing is a universal task, yet there are differing solutions according to the dynamics of socio-cultural milieu in which children are raised. Cultural models of what is considered good or bad parenting become explicit in everyday routine practices. Focusing on early mother-infant interactions in this article we examine the discursive…

Vision II school science is often stated to be a democratic and inclusive form of science education. But what characterizes the subject who fits into the Vision II school science? Who is the desirable student and who is constructed as ill-fitting? This article explores discourses that structure the Vision II science classroom, and how different…

This multi-institutional study examines differences between working-class and middle/upper-class students at large, public research universities. Significant differences in factors related to working-class students' social integration (including satisfaction, campus climate, and sense of belonging) and academic integration (including collaborative…

There has been renewed policy interest in intergenerational social mobility as a route to a fairer society, but in ignoring the sociological evidence this article will argue that the current policy agenda will fail to achieve its goal. Based on an analysis of "social congestion", "social exclusion", and "social…

Teachers make a difference. White female middle-class teachers represent 84 percent of Americas' teachers. How does culture influence the self-reflective problem-solving behaviors of urban teachers? Urban schools fail youth by opening the doors for a mass exodus. The problem solving behavior of urban teachers may contribute to the student exodus…

This qualitative study examined the issue of history education and its failure to understand and implement the most effective teaching and learning strategies for the discipline. It did this by conducting interviews, observations, and a focus group with a group of history teachers in a suburban high school in New England. While aiming to explain…

The majority of American educators are White, middle class, and female. Most textbooks and articles for pre-service teachers assume their readers reflect these characteristics. However, as the K-12 student population becomes increasingly diverse, so do the pre-service teacher candidates at our Southern California public university. This article…

The aim of this paper is to analyze how fathers position themselves within their everyday discursive practices at home. We consider the shift from a traditional father figure, defined and perceived as a provider, to an emerging collaborative one in order to explore the discursive acts of fathers' positioning through the observation of the everyday…