A survey of the ways in which misinformation campaigns damage race relations and educational integrity in US public schools and universities and a blueprint for how to counteract such efforts

An investigation into how schooling can enhance and hinder critical-racial consciousness through the making of the Latinx racialized group

A visionary overview of the political role of publicly elected school boards and a proactive take on the work they can accomplish toward social justice

"This book chronicles the lived experiences of 47 college students navigating the challenging terrains of the United States' foster care system. Through insightful, in-depth life story interviews, Johnson offers insight into the harsh realities of how our nation's education, welfare, and other social systems often intertwine in ways that diminish the potential and opportunities for these young people. Yet, amidst these adversities, the stories resonate with themes of hope, resistance, and possibility. Guided by resilience theory and other asset-based concepts, Johnson sheds light on the protective mechanisms that enable postsecondary access and success, even in the face of towering barriers"--

As the demographics of college students in the United States continue to shift, researchers increasingly design studies that offer insight into students enrolled in higher and postsecondary education institutions. This timely book addresses the challenges in appropriately engaging these students in research and how to develop scholarship featuring college student populations. Featuring tangible examples and strategies, this text breaks down the central tensions and opportunities that exist when designing qualitative studies that center college students and their development, experiences, and success. Chapters cover topics such as the philosophical underpinnings of qualitative research, study design, methodological approaches, data methods, issues of positionality, data analysis, trustworthiness, and writing up students’ stories. Scholars and practitioners at all career levels will benefit from the chapters describing key considerations that scholars must make when doing research with college students in the contemporary context. Discussing both traditional as well as more contemporary and critical approaches to qualitative research, this book helps students, faculty, and researchers grapple with key considerations of doing research with and on college students in the contemporary context, as well as with tangible ideas of how to better reach the college students that are enrolling in their institutions.

America's latest war, according to renowned social critic Henry Giroux, is a war on youth. While this may seem counterintuitive in our youth-obsessed culture, Giroux lays bare the grim reality of how our educational, social, and economic institutions continually fail young people. Their systemic failure is the result of what Giroux identifies as ""four fundamentalisms"": market deregulation, patriotic and religious fervor, the instrumentalization of education, and the militarization of society. We see the consequences most plainly in the decaying education system: schools are increasingly desi.

The Big Lies of School Reform provides a critical interruption to the ongoing policy conversations taking place around public education in the United States today. By analyzing the discourse employed by politicians, lobbyists, think tanks, and special interest groups, the authors uncover the hidden assumptions that often underlie popular statements about school reform, and demonstrate how misinformation or half-truths have been used to reshape public education in ways that serve the interests of private enterprise. Through a thoughtful series of essays that each identify one “lie“ about popular school reform initiatives, the authors of this collection reveal the concrete impacts of these falsehoods—from directing funding to shaping curricula to defining student achievement. Luminary contributors including Deborah Meier, Jeannie Oakes, Gloria Ladson-Billings, and Jim Cummins explain how reform movements affect teachers and administrators, and how widely-accepted mistruths can hinder genuine efforts to keep public education equitable, effective, and above all, truly public. Topics covered include common core standards, tracking, alternative paths to licensure, and the disempowerment of teachers’ unions. Beyond critically examining the popular rhetoric, the contributors offer visions for improving educational access, opportunity, and outcomes for all students and educators, and for protecting public education as a common good.

Unpacking Critical Race Theory (CRT) and exploring why it has become a focus in politics across the US and the UK, White Lies uses CRT to expose the systemic racism that shapes education. It charts the coordinated campaigns – involving think tanks, mainstream media and politicians – that have tried to silence antiracism in the wake of George Floyd's murder and 'Black Lives Matter'. Each chapter is devoted to exposing a key ‘white lie’ by examining the evidence that shows how the interests of white people continue to occupy centre stage and block movement towards a more equitable education for all. Gillborn establishes how the public debates, shaped by misinformation and 'white lies', sustain race inequity and portray antiracism as a threat to freedom and justice. Key controversies are dissected and debunked, including: the extensive and coordinated anti-CRT campaigns in the US and the UK; the use of racial gaslighting to undermine claims to social justice; how multiple forms of intimidation are used to silence antiracist teaching and protest; the inaccurate portrayal of the white working class as race victims; and how cruelty, in policy, aims to unify whites and demonize minorities. By avoiding unnecessary jargon to make complex debates accessible to a wide audience, this book is ideal reading for anyone studying CRT or interested in the topic of contemporary educational equality.

An inside look at one revealing battle over multicultural education.

When a trial lawyer stands before a jury to argue a case about a Black victim killed by a white person, how should the lawyer best argue the case? Critical race theorists (CRTs) are pessimistic that a white jury can set aside its own racism in judging the Black victims’ actions, and are skeptical of a jury’s ability to fairly judge a white actor’s motives. Before the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery killings, there was strong evidence (The Innocence Project) that the CRTs were right. After all, the prosecutors in the Ahmaud Arbery case were so convinced that a white jury in a Georgia county would not convict white vigilantes, that they initially didn’t even charge the killers with a crime. However, then, back-to-back, in both cases, prosecutors prosecuted, and the jury returned guilty verdicts. They convicted Derrick Chauvin of murder. They convicted Travis and Gregory McMichael and “Roddie” William Bryant of murder. This book examines the how and why of these verdicts and asks whether they hold lessons vital to withstanding CRT challenges to the American justice system.