This chapter recounts the story of how I came to design a Research Apprenticeship Course at UCLA--what we call the RAC. I lay out the origin story of the RAC dating back to early collaborations with Arturo Madrid of the Tomas Rivera Policy Research Center and the Ford Foundation Family of Fellows in the mid to late 1980s. These collaborations…

Through a close reading of the talk of a self-identified critical educator of color, we explore the contradictions, possibilities, limitations, and consequences of this identity for teachers and teacher educators. We examine how the performances of particular critical educator of color identities problematically intertwine claims of Freirian…

This dissertation develops a theoretical and empirical framework for the model of metalinguistic community, a community of positioned social actors engaged primarily in discourse about language and cultural symbols tied to language. Building upon the notions of speech community (Duranti, 1994; Gumperz, 1968; Morgan, 2004), linguistic community…

This article examines how an ethnically diverse group of youth critically debriefs their facilitation of diversity workshops for other youth. Using naturally occurring tape-recorded conversations and a critical ethnographic and discourse analysis perspective, the article examines youth's contributions towards a participatory process of learning,…

The Learning Communities Demonstration is a large-scale, random assignment evaluation of learning community programs at six community colleges. During the first year of the demonstration, all six colleges expanded their learning community programs and, in the process, faced similar challenges in selecting courses to link, recruiting and supporting…

Teachers who work together to blend academic and career/technical (CT) instruction have found a key to motivating students to complete high school and prepare for college, advanced training and careers. This newsletter highlights key strategies schools are using to join academic and technical studies to advance student motivation and achievement.…

This paper is about practice--practicing that takes place on a weekly basis among a group of artists who work on a day-to-day basis with elementary school teachers. The paper concerns itself with the complexity of "vague and misty overtones" witnessed as reflections in a mirror, according to one jazz musician, and with the nature of risk…

Although there is a great deal of disagreement about how to handle the changes that confront postsecondary education, few will suggest that being wedded to the status quo is sufficient. Many contend that the future of higher education is up for grabs; how those of us in the "industry" respond will determine whether American higher…

In remarks to members of the NAS affiliate in California, Martin Trow reflects on goals and missions. The push for intellectual diversity does not resonate as did the message of equal opportunity that once drove the California Civil Rights Initiative. Our campaign at the national level to create new havens of serious scholarship is promising, he…

Asian Americans have been viewed as a model, high-achieving minority, but recently some researchers have questioned the "myth" of universal Asian-American success. A study examined the validity of current explanations of Asian-American success in school. With a group of high-achieving Chinese-American high school freshmen in Northern…