Deficit thinking is a pseudoscience founded on racial and class bias. It "blames the victim" for school failure instead of examining how schools are structured to prevent poor students and students of color from learning. Dismantling Contemporary Deficit Thinking provides comprehensive critiques and anti-deficit thinking alternatives to this oppressive theory by framing the linkages between prevailing theoretical perspectives and contemporary practices within the complex historical development of deficit thinking. Dismantling Contemporary Deficit Thinking examines the ongoing social construction of deficit thinking in three aspects of current discourse – the genetic pathology model, the culture of poverty model, and the "at-risk" model in which poor students, students of color, and their families are pathologized and marginalized. Richard R. Valencia challenges these three contemporary components of the deficit thinking theory by providing incisive critiques and discussing competing explanations for the pervasive school failure of many students in the nation’s public schools. Valencia also discusses a number of proactive, anti-deficit thinking suggestions from the fields of teacher education, educational leadership, and educational ethnography that are intended to provide a more equitable and democratic schooling for all students.

How can we continue to support educators who wish to design and facilitate social justice classrooms? What knowledge and tools do pre- and in-service educators need to teach about (in)equity, (in)justice, resilience, and agency across the curriculum in K–12 classrooms? The new edition of this compelling text synthesizes in one volume historical foundations, philosophic/theoretical conceptualizations, and applications of social justice education in public school classrooms. ● Part I details the history of the multicultural movement and the instantiation of public schooling as a social justice project. ● Part II connects theoretical frameworks to social justice curricula. Parts I and II are general to all K–12 classrooms. ● Part III provides powerful specific subject-area examples of good practice, including Multilingualism and Ethnic Studies. Social Justice Pedagogy Across the Curriculum, Second Edition includes highlighted Points of Inquiry and Points of Praxis sections that offer recommendations to teachers and researchers, and activities, resources, and suggested readings. These features invite teachers at all stages of their careers to reflect on the role of social justice in education, particularly as it relates to their particular classrooms, schools, and communities. Relevant for any course that addresses history, theory, or practice of multicultural/social justice education and teaching diverse groups of students, this text is essential reading for future and practicing teachers to understand and create resources for transformative, rigorous, and inclusive learning environments that support students from a range of backgrounds.

The purpose of this book is to provide a forum for an interdisciplinary scholarly dialogue with regard to preparing teachers for early childhood special education. In addition, it is aimed at examining and making available relevant and most recent scholarship to practitioners and at addressing critical issues and perspectives around preparing effective educators for the 21 century classroom and the future. This book intends to illuminate a complex and challenging task of preparing effective educators through the lenses of several educational disciplines, including but not limited to, teacher education, general education, special education, early childhood education, and urban education. The information in this work will focus on several educational disciplines that have the most immediate implications for teacher preparation and practice. The overall educational knowledge base will be enhanced due to the educational interdisciplinary approach. This has additional implications for teacher education, special education, educational leadership, curriculum and instruction, educational policy, and urban education, to name a few. The multidimensional nature of the book gives it the freedom to highlight multiple and diverse voices while at the same time providing a forum for different (and sometimes divergent) methodologies, philosophies, and ideologies.

Valencia presents the mostÊcomprehensive, theory-based analysis to date on how societyÊandÊschools are structurally organized and maintained toÊimpedeÊthe optimal academicÊachievement of low-SES, marginalized K–12 Black and Latino/Latina students—comparedÊto theirÊprivileged WhiteÊcounterparts. TheÊbook interrogates how society contributes to educational inequality as seen in racializedÊpatterns in income, wealth, housing, and health, andÊhow public schools create significantÊobstacles for students ofÊcolor as observed in reduced access toÊopportunities (e.g., little access toÊhigh-status curricula knowledge). ÊValenciaÊoffers suggestions for achievingÊequal education (e.g., implementing fairness of school funding,ÊimprovingÊteacher quality, and providingÊstudents of color access to multicultural education) by disrupting structural racism.ÊConsidering the rapid aging of the WhiteÊpopulation and the sharp decline of WhiteÊyouth—coupledÊwith theÊexplosive growth in people ofÊcolor—this book argues that theÊ“AmericanÊImperative” must be toÊassiduouslyÊmount an effort to provide an excellent education forÊstudents ofÊcolor, who the nation will depend on for a sizable proportion of its work force. Book Features:Examines how society and schools are failing Black and Latino/Latina students, principally Mexican Americans who are by far the largest Latino/Latina group.Uses theoretical frameworks that draw from analysis of structural inequality, critical race theory, anti-deficit thinking narratives, class-by-race covariation, and an asset-based perspective of students of color. Discusses the “American Imperative” and the personal and economic consequences of not investing in students of color.

Drawing from over 2 decades of research, this book offers an in-depth analysis of a systemic form of everyday racism commonly experienced by People of Color. Racial microaggressions are layered and cumulative assaults, often carried out in subtle and unconscious ways, which take a psychological and physiological toll on the body, mind, and spirit. The authors make a unique contribution to the study of racial microaggressions by using Critical Race Theory (CRT) to develop the concepts, frameworks, and models provided in this book. Focusing on the lived experiences of People of Color, Racial Microaggressions in Education can be used to disrupt the everyday racism that continues to target so many Communities of Color. “A brilliant and timely contribution to the current discussions and actions related to race and racism.” —Dolores Delgado Bernal, California State University, Los Angeles “An excellent review of critical race theory and methods.” —Margaret Montoya, University of New Mexico “Timely, relevant, evidenced based, and instructive, this book is essential reading for those who want to commit themselves to achieving racial justice in education.” —Tyrone C. Howard, professor, University of California, Los Angeles “Beautifully written with passion, humanity, and academic rigor. An essential examination of racial microaggressions as a key issue facing contemporary educators and society at large.” —David Gillborn, professor of critical race studies, University of Birmingham

The third edition of the best selling collection, Chicano School Failure and Success presents a complete and comprehensive review of the multiple and complex issues affecting Chicano students today. Richly informative and accessibly written, this edition includes completely revised and updated chapters that incorporate recent scholarship and research on the current realities of the Chicano school experience. It features four entirely new chapters on important topics such as la Chicana, two way dual language education, higher education, and gifted Chicano students. Contributors to this edition include experts in fields ranging from higher education, bilingual education, special education, gifted education, educational psychology, and anthropology. In order to capture the broad nature of Chicano school failure and success, contributors provide an in-depth look at topics as diverse as Chicano student dropout rates, the relationship between Chicano families and schools, and the impact of standards-based school reform and deficit thinking on Chicano student achievement. Committed to understanding the plight and improvement of schooling for Chicanos, this timely new edition addresses all the latest issues in Chicano education and will be a valued resource for students, educators, researchers, policy makers, and community activists alike.

In this book, internationally migrant families invite us to listen to the storylines of their mostly muted voices as they navigate the local schools in their new cultural context. They call us to hear them as they grapple with issues they encounter. They implore us to feel like an outsider and see the school as a foreign culture with language and communication barriers. The book is organized to enhance this carework. Each chapter begins with a vignette that includes the voices of one or more members of international migrating families, while introducing the context of the chapter. At the end of each chapter readers will find specific implications to consider. These are constructed with preservice teachers, practicing teachers, and educational administrators in mind. As you read each chapter, there is the call for school transformation. The families in this book entreat school personnel to engage with international migrant families and to embrace a risk and resilience model as we strive together for success. These storylines challenge us to examine our personal storylines for biases and deficit understandings and call us all to purposefully rewrite these in the spirit of possibilities as the families in this book have embodied for us.

This edited book on Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) provides and explores powerful examples of FLCs as a impactful form of professional learning for faculty in higher education. The chapters describe faculty learning community initiatives across different fields of study and within dynamic and flexible teaching and learning models. Contributing authors provide a framework for faculty learning communities, show the impact of faculty learning communities on teaching practices or student learning, and describe how these communities of practice can lead to institutional change. The book’s foreword, by Milton D. Cox, investigates the changes in the FLC world over the past decade: the influence of Communities of Practices (CoP), recent recommendations about virtual FLCs and CoPs, and the positive affirmation for FLCs that implementation science has provided.

In her insightful interdisciplinary history, physician and historian Mical Raz examines the interplay between psychiatric theory and social policy throughout the 1960s, ending with President Richard Nixon's 1971 veto of a bill that would have provided universal day care. She shows that this cooperation between mental health professionals and policymakers was based on an understanding of what poor men, women, and children lacked. This perception was rooted in psychiatric theories of deprivation focused on two overlapping sections of American society: the poor had less, and African Americans, disproportionately represented among America's poor, were seen as having practically nothing.

This groundbreaking volume brings together major figures in Disability Studies in Education (DSE) and Critical Race Theory (CRT) to explore some of today’s most important issues in education. Scholars examine the achievement/opportunity gaps from both historical and contemporary perspectives, as well as the overrepresentation of minority students in special education and the school-to-prison pipeline. Chapters also address school reform and the impact on students based on race, class, and dis/ability and the capacity of law and policy to include (and exclude). Readers will discover how some students are included (and excluded) within schools and society, why some citizens are afforded expanded (or limited) opportunities in life, and who moves up in the world and who is trapped at the “bottom of the well.” Contributors: D.L. Adams, Susan Baglieri, Stephen J. Ball, Alicia Broderick, Kathleen M. Collins, Nirmala Erevelles, Edward Fergus, Zanita E. Fenton, David Gillborn, Kris Guitiérrez, Kathleen A. King Thorius, Elizabeth Kozleski, Zeus Leonardo, Claustina Mahon-Reynolds, Elizabeth Mendoza, Christina Paguyo, Laurence Parker, Nicola Rollock, Paolo Tan, Sally Tomlinson, and Carol Vincent “With a stunning set of authors, this book provokes outrage and possibility at the rich intersection of critical race, class, and disability studies, refracting back on educational policy and practices, inequities and exclusions but marking also spaces for solidarities. This volume is a must-read for preservice, and long-term educators, as the fault lines of race, (dis)ability, and class meet in the belly of educational reform movements and educational justice struggles.” —Michelle Fine, distinguished professor of Critical Psychology and Urban Education, The Graduate Center, CUNY “Offers those who sincerely seek to better understand the complexity of the intersection of race/ethnicity, dis/ability, social class, and gender a stimulating read that sheds new light on the root of some of our long-standing societal and educational inequities.” —Wanda J. Blanchett, distinguished professor and dean, Rutgers University, Graduate School of Education