The Urban Review

, Volume 40, Issue 4, pp 403–419 | Cite as

Do Your Homework! Investigating the Role of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Comprehensive School Reform Models Serving Diverse Student Populations

Article

Abstract

Like the African proverb, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, many educational researchers charge that it takes a comprehensive school reform to raise student achievement. With the passing of the No Child Left Behind legislation in 2002, national officials authorized the Comprehensive School Reform program to support low performing schools as they struggled to improve student achievement. As a result of this national effort, an increase in implementation of comprehensive school reforms is occurring in schools serving predominantly diverse student populations in urban areas. Therefore, this article explores the framework of comprehensive school reforms and challenges stakeholders to do their homework by investigating whether the school reform allows for the implementation of culturally responsive educational experiences for students.

Keywords

Comprehensive school reforms Diverse student populations Culturally responsive teaching 

Notes

Acknowledgements

Ancestral blessings and gratitude to Dr. Asa Hilliard and Dr. Diane Truscott for inspiring and encouraging me to seek research and literature that both questions and affirms educational experiences for urban children.

References

  1. Abt. Associates. (1993). The congressionally mandated study of educational growth and opportunity. Washington D.C.: US Department of Education.Google Scholar
  2. Au, K. H. (1998). Social constructivism and the school literacy learning of students of diverse backgrounds. Journal of Literacy Research, 30, 297–319.Google Scholar
  3. Bell, J. (2001). High performing, high poverty schools. Leadership, 31(1), 8–11.Google Scholar
  4. Borman, B. D., Hewes, G. M., Overman, L. T., & Brown, S. (2003). Comprehensive school reform and achievement: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 73(2), 125–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Borman, B. D., Slavin, R. E., Cheung, A. C. K., Chamberlain, A. M., Madden, N. A., & Chambers, B. (2005). The national randomized field trail of success for all: Second year outcomes. American Educational Research Journal, 42(4), 673–696.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Cardiff, P. (1999). Profiles of poor counties: Some empirical evidence. Washington, D.C.: US Census Bureau.Google Scholar
  7. Carey, K. (2004). The funding gap 2004: Many states still shortchange low-income and minority students. Washington, D.C.: Education Trust. Retrieved April 12 from http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/30B3C1B3-3DA6-4809-AFB9-2DAACF11CF88/0/funding2004.pdf
  8. Cochran-Smith, M. (1997). Knowledge, skills, and experiences for teaching culturally diverse learners: A perspective for practicing teachers. In J. J. Irvine (Ed.), Critical knowledge for diverse teachers (pp. 1–26). Washington, DC: AACTE Publications.Google Scholar
  9. Comer, J. (2004). Leave no child behind: Preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s world. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
  10. Darling-Hammond, L. (2005). New standards and old inequalities: School reform and the education for Black students. In J. E. King (Ed.), Black education: A transformative research and action agenda for the new century (pp. 197–223). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  11. Datnow, A., Borman, G. D., Stringfield, S., Overman, L. T., & Castellano, M. (2003). Comprehensive school reform in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts: Implementation and outcomes from a four-year study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25(2), 143–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Datnow, A., & Stringfield, S. (2000). Working together for reliable school reform. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 5(1–2), 1–32.Google Scholar
  13. Delpit, L. (1995). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. New York: New Press.Google Scholar
  14. Douglas-Hall, A., & Chau, M. (2007). Basic facts about low income children: Birth to Age 18. Retrieved February 10, 2008 from National Center for Children in Poverty Web site: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_762.html
  15. Ellison, C., Boykin, W., Towns, D., & Stokes, A. (2000). Classroom cultural ecology: The dynamics of classroom life in schools serving low-income African American children. Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At Risk, Retrieved September 20, 2006, from http://www.csos.jhu.edu
  16. Engelmann, S., Becker, W. C., Carnine, D., & Gersten, R. (1988). The direct instruction follow through model: Design and outcomes. Education and Treatment of Children, 11, 303–317.Google Scholar
  17. Fass, S., & Cauthen, N. K. (2007). Who are America’s poor children?: The official story. Retrieved February 10, 2008 from National Center for Children in Poverty Web site: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_787.html
  18. Flores, B., Cousin, P. T., & Diaz, E. (1991). Critiquing and transforming the deficit myths about learning, language and culture. Language Arts, 68, 369–379.Google Scholar
  19. Freire, P. (1973). Education for critical consciousness. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
  20. Gay, G. (1993). Building cultural bridges: A bold proposal for teacher education. Education and Urban Society, 25(3), 285–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching. New York: Teachers College Press.Google Scholar
  22. Hilliard, A. (1992). Behavioral style, culture, and teaching and learning. Journal of Negro Education, 61(3), 370–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Hilliard, A. G. (2000). Race, identity, hegemony, and education: What do we need to know now? In W. H. Watkins, J. H. Lewis, & V. Chou (Eds.), Race and education: The roles of history and society in educating African American students (pp. 7–33). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
  24. Hilliard, A. G. (2006). Aliens in the education matrix: Recovering freedom. The New Educator, 2, 87–102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Howard, T. (2003). Culturally relevant pedagogy: Ingredients for critical teacher reflection. Theory into Practice, 42(3), 195–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Kozol, J. (2005). The shame of the nation: The restoration of apartheid schooling in America. New York: Crown Publishers.Google Scholar
  27. Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dream keepers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
  28. Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159–165.Google Scholar
  29. Lee, J. (2002). Racial and achievement gap trends: Reversing the progress towards equity? Educational Researcher, 31, 2–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  30. Lippman, L., Burns, S., & McArthur, E. (1996). Urban schools: The challenge of location and poverty. NCES 96–184. Washington D.C.: US. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics.Google Scholar
  31. Mac Iver, M. A., & Kemper, E. (2002). The impact of Direct Instruction on elementary students’ reading achievement in an urban school district. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 72(2), 197–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Munoz, M., & Dossett, D. (2004). Educating students placed at risk: Evaluating the impact of success for all in urban settings. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 9(3), 261–277.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. National Center for Children in Poverty. (2006). Basic facts about low-income children: Birth to age. Retrieved April 14, 2006 from http://www.nccp.org/media/lic06_text.pdf
  34. Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory & The Center for Comprehensive School Reform Model and Improvement. (2004, January). Direct Instruction Model (K-8). The Catalog of School Reform Models. Retrieved April 2, 2006 from http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/catalog/ModelDetails.asp?ModelID=13
  35. Paige, R., & Gibbons, J. (2004). A guide to education and no child left behind. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved April 14, 2006 from http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/guide/guide.pdf
  36. Perry, T., Steele, C., & Hilliard, A. (2003). Young gifted and Black: Promoting high achievement among African-American students. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.Google Scholar
  37. Pogrow, S. (2000). The unsubstantiated ‘success’ of Success for All: Implications for policy, practice, and the soul of our profession. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(8), 596–600.Google Scholar
  38. Pogrow, S. (2002). Success for all is a failure. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(6), 463–468.Google Scholar
  39. Ross, S. M., Nunnery, J. A., Goldfeder, E., McDonald, A., Rachor, R., Hornbeck, M., & Fleischman, S. (2004). Using school reform models to improve reading achievement: A longitudinal Study for Direct Instruction and Success for All in an urban district. Journal for Education for Students Placed at Risk, 9(4), 357–388.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Ross, S. M., Smith, L. J., & Casey, J. P. (1997). Preventing early school failure: Impacts of Success for All on the standardized test outcomes, minority group performance, and school effectiveness. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 2(1), 29–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Schmoker, M. (1999). Results: The keys to continuous school improvement. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Google Scholar
  42. Schwinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1997). The High Scope Preschool Curriculum comparison study through age 23. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 117–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Schweinhart, L. J., & Weikart, D. P. (1998). Why curriculum matters in early childhood education. Educational Leadership, 55(6), 57–60.Google Scholar
  44. Sizemore, B. (1985). Pitfalls and promises of effective schools research. The Journal of Negro Education, 54(3), 269–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Slavin, R. E., & Madden, N. A. (2001). Reducing the gap: Success for all and the achievement of African American and Hispanic students. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Education Research Association, Seattle, WA.Google Scholar
  46. Slavin, R., Madden, N., Dolan, L., Wasik, B., Ross, S., Smith, L., & Dianda, M. (1996). Success for all: A summary of research. Journal of education for students placed at risk, 1(1), 41–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Success for All Foundation. (2005). Welcome to the Success for All foundation website. Retrieved September 26, 2007 from http://www.successforall.net/
  48. Sparks, L. D., & A. B. C. Task Force. (1989). Anti-bias curriculum: Tools for empowering young children. Washington D.C.: National Association for the Education of Young Children.Google Scholar
  49. The Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center. (2005). CSRQ center report on elementary school comprehensive school reform models. Washington D.C.: American Institute of Research.Google Scholar
  50. Trawick-Smith, J. (2000). Early childhood development: A multicultural perspective (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.Google Scholar
  51. Truscott, S., & Truscott, D. (2005). Challenges in urban, rural education. In C. Frisby & C. Reynolds (Eds.), Comprehensive handbook of multicultural school psychology (pp. 357–393). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Son.Google Scholar
  52. Truscott, D., & Watts-Taffe, S. (2003). English as a second language, literacy development in mainstream classrooms: Application of a model for effective practice. In A. I. Willis, G. E. Garcia, R. Barrera, & V. Harris (Eds.), Multicultural issues in literacy research and practice (pp. 185–202). Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
  53. Tushnet, N., Flaherty, J., & Smith, A. (2004). Longitudinal assessment of comprehensive school reform program implementation and outcomes. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education Office of the Deputy Secretary.Google Scholar
  54. Umbach, B. T., Darch, D., & Halpin, G. (1987). Teaching reading to low performing first graders: A comparison of two instructional approaches. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Mid-South Educational Research Association, Moblie, AL.Google Scholar
  55. United States Department of Education. (2004, September). Part F: Comprehensive school reform. Retrieved April 11, 2006 from http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg13.html
  56. United State Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2006). The condition of Education 2007 (NCES, 2006-064). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
  57. United State Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2007). The condition of Education 2007 (NCES, 2007-064). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
  58. Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. New York, NY: Stat University of New York Press.Google Scholar
  59. Yu, L., & Rachor, R. (2000). The two-year evaluation of the three-year Direct Instruction program in an urban public school system. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED 441831).Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2008

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Early Childhood EducationGeorgia State UniversityAtlantaUSA

Personalised recommendations