There is a call for ensuring that all students learn, echoed through the national standards and other reform documents. But how serious is the focus on equity in these standards? We reviewed the standards from three major national standards movements focusing on developing standards for experienced teachers (NBPTS), preservice teachers (NCATE),…

Key concepts in political socialization, tolerance, groups, rights and responsibilities can be used to understand the way in which young people struggle with sexual identity issues. Educators may promote greater tolerance for homosexuality among heterosexuals by situating sexual identity issues within a broader discussion of democratic principles.…

Civic education and its call for social studies to prepare students for citizenship in a participatory democracy have been limited to the political domain and touted as participation with the already existing political domain. This paper is a reflection of how engaging with and challenging heterosexism, homophobia, and heteronormativity in a…

This paper details a social psychological study of prejudice and moral exclusion. We investigated whether participants, 47 non-Muslim U.S. citizens enrolled at a Midwestern university, considered Muslim Americans to be within their scope of justice, and whether principles of fairness, restitution, and corrective intervention would be applied to a…

Effecting change for educational equity is challenging for school administrators. This case study focuses on a new principal with a social justice perspective who recognizes that changes in student demographics require a reassessment of school programs. Realizing that gross inequities have become institutionalized at the school regarding student…

This article discusses the Leading for Equity, Achievement, and Democracy program, which is a partnership administrative credential program of the California State University, East Bay (formerly Hayward), and the Bay Area Coalition for Equitable Schools, based in Oakland, California. This developmental journey involves a process of introspection,…

In this article I discuss how observed discourses of resistance indicate the exclusion of the standpoint of primary school practitioners from feminist theorization, as well as the exclusion of feminist perspectives from primary school practice. I do so from a feminist position which sees the modernist policy framework of the gender-inclusive…

This paper examines how knowledge about racism has been represented in high school Canadian history textbooks authorized by the Province of Ontario during the 1960s and after the year 2000. I argue that even though historical racisms have increasingly made their way into Canadian history textbooks as valid and important topics of study, the idea…

This paper examines the situation for Maori learners for special needs in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Despite considerable legislation and official documentation supporting the provision of culturally appropriate special education services for Maori, research shows that these learners are often neglected, overlooked and sometimes even excluded. The main…

Contemporary academic discourse about diversity and discrimination is a multilayered and contested landscape, with intersecting and conflicting views from a variety of ideological and theoretical positions even from within the field of education. Compounding this tumult are manifestations of nationalist perspectives that may employ similar…

The overrepresentation of students of color in special education continues to be a prevalent, disturbing, and heavily debated problem in this country. What remains is the reality that a large number of African American students continue to be referred and placed in special education programs. On the heels of 2 reports commissioned by the National…

In this article, the author describes the Comic Book Project, which encourages students to address social issues in their lives and schools with art and creativity. The project, founded and directed by Dr. Michael Bitz of Columbia University's Teachers' College in New York, aims primarily to promote literacy. It also gives children an empowering…

Federal educational legislation in the United States has focused increased attention on the racial achievement gap between minority and majority students. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation has forced high-stakes accountability in public schools, with the assumption that these policies will create performance pressures on schools to…

Until a recently perceived surge in delinquency, Asian or Pacific Islander (API) youth appeared to be relatively protected from negative developmental outcomes such as delinquency, school failure, and teen pregnancy. However, the increasing rate of API youth entering the juvenile justice system has sparked more in-depth consideration of…

Chronic school absenteeism has been identified as a precursor to undesirable outcomes in adolescence, including academic failure, school dropout, and juvenile delinquency. In spite of its effect on adolescent functioning, little research has been conducted to identify effective methods of truancy reduction, particularly among elementary-aged…