The continued discrepancies in educational outcomes and learning conditions found among our nation's schools serving low-income students and students of color call for teacher educators to seriously consider what factors lead to culturally responsive policies and practices. This article summarizes a comparative study of 96 middle school and high…

The dominant cultural image of veteran teachers is conveyed in the fictional life story of Mr Chipping of Brookfield School as conveyed in James Hilton's short novel "Goodbye, Mr Chips." This reflects emerging ideals and practices of teacher professionalism in England from the 1920s onwards in terms of its emphasis on autonomy and…

This critical essay is based on ethnographic research that followed thirteen students (from different social classes and racial background) through the college application process during their senior year of high school (Bloom, 2007). The study's purpose was to understand the accumulation and use of social and cultural capital by critically…

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…

Fueled by optimism and driven to succeed, middle- and upper-middle-class families--and those who aspire to join their ranks--are cherished by public schools. It is easy to see why. Better educated and more affluent, middle-class families tend to send their children to school ready (and eager) to learn. And, as 45% of American voters, middle-class…

In a review of historical efforts to improve the condition of the poor by education, it is noted that these attempts failed to lessen the problems of poverty. In the past the capitalist factory system demanded a cheap labor supply and therefore education was viewed only as a necessary vocational preparation. The contemporary issues of poverty and…

Class strategies, how individual members of class fractions tactically gain advantage in fields including education, have been used to analyse schooling and initial post-compulsory education. In this paper, class strategies are applied to adult education in considering participation across social classes. Using empirical data from a biographical…

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…

Using a life notes methodology (Bell-Scott, 1994; Dillard, 2000, 2006; Simmons, 2007), I use personal narratives to describe my epistemological influences on my approach to educational practice, research, and the preparation of school leaders. Second, I share personal accounts of how my social justice lens expanded to be inclusive of lesbian, gay,…

This article examines the legacy of segregation and desegregation in the town of Parsons, Kansas. We argue that school desegregation, the goal of which was to increase access and equalize educational opportunities for African Americans, did not have that desired affect. Fifty years after the closing of the all-Black Douglass School, Parsons'…

Examines the reform in England and Wales that changed the secondary school system from a selective to a comprehensive type during the period 1965-74. Discusses middle class resistance to this change. Analyzes enrollment patterns to show how the middle class retained an advantage even as the schools changed. (MJP)

The message about general literacy standards in Canada (as reported in the Southam Literacy Survey) is that approximately five million Canadians are illiterate. The validity of this message must be challenged because a group of middle-class Canadians with middle-class values established the criteria for being "literate" and felt that all…

According to Census Bureau data, the gap in after-tax income between the richest 20 percent of American households and the rest of the nation hit its widest point in 1984. The top fifth of U.S. households received 42.3 percent of all after-tax income that year, a gain largely at the expense of middle income households. Since 1980 the share of…

Now that the school effectiveness field is maturing, more refined and contextually sensitive observations about schools are possible. This paper focuses on socioeconomic status (SES) as one social context variable demonstrating substantial predictive power in numerous school improvement studies. Instead of viewing middle class behavior as superior…

Three experienced social workers discuss the question "Do we or don't we impose middle-class norms on lower-class clients?" The discussion covered the general areas of (1) imposing values, (2) scapegoating, (3) functional norms, and (4) fatalism and poverty. (Author/BW)