This article chronicles how a group of university researchers initiated a research and professional development project called Culture of Care at a large high school in the Denver Metropolitan area. After implementation, Latino/Hispanic students and their parents maintained the project. It was the charge of Latino/Hispanic parents to dismantle the…

Caring instruction has been shown to support students' engagement with and learning of academic content. Although previous research has shown that caring instruction matters, research is needed that illustrates the nature of caring instruction in a manner that is situated in relation to specific school subjects. Additionally, information about the…

When Deborah Peterson reluctantly accepted the principalship of Roosevelt High School in Portland, Oregon, a high-poverty school no other qualified applicants would touch that her supervisor assigned to her, books for new principals were no help. The books suggested actions like crafting a school vision and developing professional learning…

Disparities in suspension rates for White, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students are more often a result of inequitable disciplinary actions than differences in behavior. Exclusionary discipline undermines students' academic achievement by weakening their connection with school and removing them from the classroom. Students who experience…

This case study examines the experiences of two fifth grade teachers as they dealt with district mandates while trying to address their high-poverty urban children's learning needs. It reveals their personal struggles that led to both compliance and resistance. In this case, the act of finding the space to engage in the intellectual and creative…

An important dimension of teachers' professional judgments is connected to their educational values and ideals. Teachers' professional judgments are not only informed by instrumental considerations but also affected by what they consider to be educationally worthwhile, that is, what teachers consider to be in their pupils' best interest. This…

Schools are obliged to support young women who become mothers. Drawing from an interview study of young women in a Durban school, this article shows how their experience is situated within discourses of shame and stigma. Such shame works to reduce their agency and increase their vulnerability to drop out of school. Both teachers and peers are…

This research study was conducted as an autoethnographic study of me and supplemented with three African-American female administrators' perspectives and experiences as school administrators. The narrative process was used to tell all of our stories. The narrative process enabled me to tell my story and how my story relates to the stories of…

The recent Institute of Medicine report on prevention (National Research Council & Institute of Medicine, 2009) noted the substantial interrelationship among mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders and pointed out that, to a great extent, these problems stem from a set of common conditions. However, despite the evidence, current research and…

Through listening to the voices of students, educators and community members can begin to reconstruct the culture of urban schools that are often full of stories about student deficits, genetic explanations about achievement, and cultural mismatch theories that may be traced to historical and sociological ideologies. The purpose of this heuristic…

The research is clear on the importance of student connectedness to school. Adolescents who feel connected to school and perceive the adults there to be caring are more likely to be academically and socially engaged. Middle school is a critical time for students to feel connected to school, but these grade levels present greater challenges to…

This study describes how a culturally responsive school leader promoted equity in a racially and linguistically diverse school. The authors shadowed Faith, an assistant principal, and did follow-up interviews with her after each day of shadowing. They observed teachers in their classrooms, conducted multiple interviews with teachers and parents,…

Using a theoretical framework that integrates socio-cultural theory, postcolonial perspectives, and the ethic of care, we (a) characterize the relationship between immigrant parents and their children's teachers, (b) offer reasons for the relationship, and (c) suggest some strategies for improving them. Several focus group discussions were held…

The article defends ubuntu against the assault by Enslin and Horsthemke ("Comp Educ" 40(4):545-558, 2004). It challenges claims that the Africanist/Afrocentrist project, in which the philosophy of ubuntu is central, faces numerous problems, involves substantial political, moral, epistemological and educational errors, and should…

This article is based on a larger study that examined the expectations and experiences of Estonian parents related to preparation for school, factors influencing the choice of the school, and school troubles and joys. This article focuses on the part of the study concerning the families' expectations for schools and teachers, and on the real…