Urban Education RSS feed -- OnlineFirst Articles

Walking the Walk: Teacher Candidates' Professed Commitment to Urban Teaching and Their Subsequent Career Decisions

Frankenburg, E., Taylor, A., Merseth, K. — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:14:19 PST

This study is a longitudinal analysis of the early career decisions made by graduates of an urban-focused secondary teacher preparation program. By matching graduates’ self-reported commitment to teaching in urban schools at the end of the training program to the demographic data of the schools where they subsequently teach, the authors explore the relationship between preservice teacher attitudes about urban schools and their actual career decisions by tracking the urbanicity and student characteristics of graduates’ schools. The authors find that most graduates attain teaching jobs in urban schools,and higher percentages of graduates who exit the program more committed to teaching in urban schools take jobs in urban schools with higher percentages of students of color and low-income students. The vast majority of graduates remain in urban schools, but those graduates who transfer to work in less urban and/or schools with fewer students of color or teachers who leave the field altogether are those who reported lower urban commitment. Understanding how professed commitments to teaching in urban schools at the end of a teacher education program are associated with the subsequent career decisions of graduates represents an important step in understanding why some individuals elect to teach and remain in urban schools.

The Tale of the Talent Night Rap: Hip Hop Culture in Schools and the Challenge of Interpretation

Low, B. E. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:13:22 PDT

Although the number of calls to integrate Hip-Hop culture into school curricula is growing, little attention is being paid to the reluctance of teachers and administrators to forge relationships between the cultures of school and of youth. This article explores some of the difficulties inherent in the relationships between Hip Hop and schooling, including interpretive tensions between White administrators and teachers and African American youth, and argues that the very controversies surrounding rap music are central to its pedagogic value. The article draws on qualitative research from a 2-year classroom study in an urban high on a "spoken word" poetry curriculum which included rap music.

Libraries, Churches, and Schools: The Literate Lives of Mothers and Children in a Homeless Shelter

MacGillivray, L., Ardell, A. L., Curwen, M. S. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:13:21 PDT

This article addresses the question, "How do mothers and children in a homeless shelter interact with literacy?" We drew on the theoretical framework of social literacy practices in which cultural context is foregrounded. Data for this qualitative study included participant observation in one homeless shelter and interviews with one shelter's residents and other stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, shelter staff at various shelters, and homelessness experts across Los Angeles County, California. While examining the literacy practices of women and children living in one transitional shelter, we identified three institutions that were part of their lives (a) the public library, in which choice was a major factor; (b) the church, which focused on reading the Bible; and (c) schools, where literacy was tied to evaluative outcomes. Although families were overwhelmingly positive about their participation in each of these institutions and all three were referred to as places for learning, children's talk about reading and writing in school focused on procedures such as daily routines and testing. This may reflect the current mandated curriculum as well as the cost of frequent moves, which necessitate that children learn how to succeed in each new school. This study captures the influence of different institutions on the literacy practices of families in crisis and suggests ways to further support reading and writing for children living without homes.

Explaining the Gender Disparity in Latino Youth's Education: Acculturation and Economic Value of Education

Colon, Y., Sanchez, B. — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:13:21 PDT

The purpose of the current study was to examine the roles of acculturation, economic value of education, and gender in the academic achievement of Latino adolescents. Participants (N = 143) were 12th-grade students at an urban public high school. Analyses revealed that a higher economic value of education was related to higher academic achievement. In addition, female participants reported higher levels of economic value of education and had higher grade point averages (GPAs) than male participants. Significant associations were found among aspects of acculturation and academic achievement. Gender differences were also found on acculturation variables. Language preference, an acculturation variable, and economic value of education were found to explain why girls had higher GPAs than boys. This study's findings shed light on factors that contribute to Latinos' educational performance. Future directions and implications are discussed.

The Contributions of School Desegregation to Housing Integration: Case Studies in Two Large Urban Areas

Mitchell, D. E., Batie, M., Mitchell, R. E. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:56:47 PDT

This article examines a half century of housing and school segregation data in two large California school districts. Based on a review of both the methods and the substantive data available tracking the relationship between school and housing integration, the study reported here shows that very substantial school-level integration in these two districts was followed by equally substantial housing desegregation. The study relies on Theil's H as the most appropriate measure of social segregation because this measure can be used to study the integration of multiple groups and can be decomposed to document where the most severe isolation of particular subgroups is occurring.

Race and Support for State Takeovers of Local School Districts

Burns, P. — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 11:19:10 PDT

State takeovers of local school districts represent one of the most recent kinds of education reform. Americans favor both local control over education and state takeovers of failing schools. African American leaders tend to oppose takeovers, but survey data suggest that African American citizens support greater state influence over local education. To explain these paradoxes, this study examines conditions under which jurisdictions support state intervention. It concludes that opposition to this reform emanates from jurisdictions where large percentages of African American voters turn out at high rates. The percentage of a jurisdiction’s schools eligible for takeover because of academic deficiencies exerts a statistically insignificant effect on aggregate-level votes for intervention.

The Color of Success: Race and High-Achieving Urban Youth

Chhuon, V., Carranza, F. D. — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:32:04 PST