School decentralization, which has reshaped power relations in the educational system, has empowered teachers and parents. Taking Abbott's approach to professions, the authors examine teachers' perceptions of the implications of parents' empowerment for teacher--parent relations. In-depth interviews with homeroom teachers in affluent urban…

In this article, the author discusses the demographic trends affecting America's public schools. As an expert on empirical evaluation of education, the author believes the major debates over vouchers, charter schools, bilingual education, and other issues are not really about preparing the next generation to compete with China or India, or about…

The "Closing the Achievement Gap" series explores the Casey Foundation's education investments and presents stories, results, and lessons learned. This publication presents stories about two successful charter efforts and Foundation contributions. Contributions include: (1) Supporting a variety of activities and programs; (2) Financial…

According to this author, "unchecked capitalism is destroying the nation's public schools, and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the final nail in their coffin." He argues that, marching under the banner of "accountability," right-wing, pro-business forces are willfully undermining the democratic right of all children to a free,…

In this study, I compared the shifts in attitude of affluent high school seniors participating in a course on social justice issues to a control group of similar adolescents. In this course, participating adolescents learned about social justice issues such as homelessness, poverty, world hunger, and illegal immigration. An analysis of presurvey…

This case study explains varied perspectives on a difficult dialogue. It provides recommendations for student affairs professionals and faculty members who work with students and teach courses in content areas that are related to diversity, social justice, and privilege.

Male privilege is one aspect of social inequality that underlies much of the oppression and violence that occurs on college campuses. Mad Skills, a program addressing power and privilege with college men, is described along with general recommendations about how to engage men in difficult dialogues. The PIE Model is used to describe defensive…

Study of adults (N=3,025) revealed significantly fewer network resources among the poor than among higher income groups. Asserts social workers must avoid addressing the problems of the poor solely through informal networks and target network interventions carefully to achieve maximum effectiveness. (Author)

Describes how hero images or human models can be useful in developing socially approved ideals in young people. (MG)

Some scholars have suggested that it is the "most advantaged" children, the children of high income households or who have high cognitive ability, who are negatively affected by early maternal employment. If this were true, less advantaged children would not be affected as strongly. Findings indicate that in terms of effects on cognitive…

Sonia Nieto (2004) defines multicultural education as "a process of ... basic education for all students ... [that] challenges and rejects racism and other forms of discrimination in schools and society and accepts and affirms the pluralism ... that students, their communities, and teachers represent" (p. 346). This definition necessitates…

This essay is a response to Barbara Applebaum's essay, "Engaging Student Disengagement: Resistance or Disagreement?" in which Applebaum explores privileged university students' "disengagement" when asked to confront institutionalized oppression. Applebaum analyzes and recommends Lynn Weber Cannon's rules for classroom discourse…

College is increasingly essential for economic and social mobility. Current research devotes significant attention to race and socioeconomic factors in college access. Yet wealth's role, as differentiated from income, is largely unexplored. Utilizing a nationally representative dataset, this study analyzes the role of wealth among students who…

Children are exploring elements of literacy and numeracy. Such explorations begin in the earliest days of life and are a natural outgrowth of children's curiosity and interest in how the world works. Based on experiences, children build a reservoir of knowledge about language, reading, and mathematics that they take with them to kindergarten,…

This study examines the influences of social and cultural capital on persistence from 1st to 2nd year and how these effects differ between community colleges and 4-year institutions. Results show that social and cultural capital have a positive association with student persistence overall but matter less when students begin at a community college.…