Although Critical Race Theory (CRT) originated in the legal arena, its influence has proliferated throughout the social sciences literature. Yet CRT has not spread significantly into the field of educational leadership, where the discourse on diversity has failed to penetrate the salience of racism in schooling. The purpose of this article is to confront the silence on race in schools and to summon scholars in the politics of education to critical analysis of race as an issue in public schools.
In this article, Gerardo López expands the concept of "parent involvement" by illustrating ways that parents are involved in their children's educational development that lie outside of traditional school-related models. Rather than viewing involvement as the enactment of specific scripted school activities, López describes how the Padillas, an (im)migrant family, understood involvement as a means of instilling in their children the value of education through the medium of hard work, and viewed taking their children to work as a form of involvement. López argues that, while exposing their children to their hard work in the fields, the Padilla parents were simultaneously teaching them three important, "real-life" lessons: 1) to become acquainted with the type of work they do; 2) to recognize that this work is difficult, strenuous, and without adequate compensation; and 3) to realize that without an education they may end up working in a similar type of job. These findings not only challenge discursive/hegemonic understandings of parent involvement, but also open up new avenues for research and practice. (pp. 416–437)
Migrants are one of the most academically vulnerable groups in the United States, constantly faced with economic, health, and work-related problems that translate into lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates. These hardships make it difficult for schools to effectively negotiate the parental involvement terrain and promote academic success for this group. Because of the paucity of literature on effective parental involvement practices for migrants, we sought to fill this gap in the literature. Using a qualitative approach, interviews and observations were conducted in four effective migrant-impacted school districts throughout a 5-month period. Findings suggest these schools were successful at involving parents because they aimed to meet parental needs above all other involvement considerations. In other words, schools were successful not because they subscribed to a particular definition of involvement, but because they held themselves accountable to meet the multiple needs of migrant parents on a daily and ongoing basis.
Purpose: This article reflects on the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision while discussing the significant lessons learned from this and subsequent court decisions. Argument: In this article, we posit that a fundamentally different conversation surrounding the legacy of Brown is needed if we are to critically understand the past, present, and future of race relations as a backdrop to issues of segregated schooling in this country. Implications: The troublesome legacy of Brown provides a unique opportunity to interrogate why we, as a country, continue to have faith in this particular court decision as a remedy for racial inequality. We invite readers to symbolically "let go" of Brown in order to imagine new possibilities for racial justice, educational opportunity, and social reform.This particular year marks the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education court decision of 1954. As with most anniversaries, these occasions provide a unique opportunity for reflection and contemplation. In this Downloaded from López and Burciaga 797 particular case, it allows us to reflect on both the advances and shortcomings surrounding the effects of this landmark court case. To be certain, countless learned organizations, public interest groups, media outlets, academic institutions, and individuals are also seizing the opportunity to reflect on the historical significance of this particular anniversary. Many of them are contemplating the question of whether we have "arrived" as a society with respect to the issues of racism and inequality, while simultaneously providing a space to discuss the barriers and challenges we still face 60 years after the famous decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court.As we started writing, we also began by asking ourselves whether or not we have "arrived" as a society with respect to these broader social issues. Then, in line with our academic training and preparation, we turned to the literature and included interdisciplinary analyses related to pre-and post-Brown legal cases (e.g., Dumas, 2011;Fine, 2004;Haney-López, 1996;San Miguel, 2005). This scholarship helped frame our approach to presenting a more complex legacy of Brown than we currently discuss in our field. After perusing other literature, we quickly realized that many authors had also asked similar questions with respect to Brown's impact; questions such as: What progress have we made since the Brown decision? even the 30th anniversary of Brown (Goodman, 1984). From our perspective, it seemed as though individuals had been asking the same set of questions for well more than 30 years.Not wanting to reproduce the same line of argumentation, we decided to approach our discussion surrounding the historical legacy of Brown somewhat differently. Rather than answering the same questions posed by others, we decided that it would be worthwhile to explore a different set of
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