Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the remnants of desegregation curricular reforms in a small urban district. This study documents the affects of various policies that were implemented to create equity and equality in urban, multi-racial and socio-economically diverse classrooms. These reforms were created due to a court desegregation order that demanded the district take multiple steps to raise the academic achievement levels of students of color in the district. Using the lens of Critical Race Theory to examine issues of interest-convergence and the effects of court-ordered desegregation initiatives, the researcher documents how teachers have come to terms with two major curricular changes that work in conjunction with other curricular reforms. Research that considers the affects of large-scale policy initiatives on classroom practices is necessary to further current conversations on successful reform implementation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
The names of peoples and places have been given pseudonyms.
References
Apple, M. (1987). Teachers and texts: A political economy of class and gender relations in education. New York: Routledge.
Banks, J. A. (2004). Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and practice. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (Vol. 2, pp. 3–29). San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
Bell, D. A. (Ed.). (1980). New perspectives on school desegregation. New York: Teachers College Press.
Bell, D. A. (1995). Serving two masters: Integration ideals and client interests in school desegregation litigation. In K. Crenshaw, N. Gotanda, G. Peller, & K. Thomas (Eds.), Critical race theory: The key writings that formed a movement (pp. 5–19). New York: The New Press.
Bell, D. A. (2004). Silent covenants: Brown v. Board of Education and the unfulilled hopes for racial reform. New York: Oxford.
Chapman, T. K. (2005). Peddling backwards: Reflections of “Plessy” and “Brown” in the Rockford Public Schools “de jure” desegregation efforts. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 29–44.
Cuban, L., & Usdan, M. (2003). Introduction: Learning from the past. In L. Cuban & M. Usdan (Eds.), Powerful reforms with shallow roots. New York: Teachers College Press.
Edwards, P. A. (1993). Before and after school desegregation: African American parents’ involvement in schools. Educational Policy, 7(3), 340–369.
Fine, M. (1987). Silencing in public schools. Language Arts, 64(2), 157–174.
Foley, D., & Valenzuela, A. (2005). Critical ethnography: The politics of collaboration. In N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (Vol. 2, pp. 217–234). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Foley, D. E. (1990). Learning capitalist culture: Deep in the heart of Tejas. Pennsylvania: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Fossey, R. (2003). School desegregation is over in the urban cities: What do we do now? In E. P. St.John (Ed.), Reinterpreting urban school reform: Have urban schools failed, or has the reform movement failed urban schools? (pp. 15–32). New York: New York University.
Gay, G. (2004). Beyond Brown: Promoting equality through multicultural education. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 19(3), 193–216.
Gillborn, D. (2005). Education policy as an act of white supremacy: Whiteness, critical race theory and education reform. Journal of Education Policy, 20(4), 485–505.
Giroux, H. A. (1985). Critical pedagogy, cultural politics, and the discourse of experience. Journal of Education, 167(2), 22–41.
Grant, C. A. (1995). Reflections on the promise of Brown and multicultural education. Teachers College Record, 96(4), 707–721.
Grant, C. A., Elsbree, A. R., & Fondrie, S. (2004). A decade of research on the changing terrain of multicultural education research. In J. A. Banks & C. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 184–207). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Grant, C. A., & Sleeter, C. (1997). Turning on learning (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Merill/Prentice Hall.
Gutierrez, K. D., Asato, J., Santos, M., & Gotanda, N. (2002). Backlash pedagogy: Language and culture and the politics of reform. Review of Education, Pedagogy, & Cultural Studies, 24(4), 335–351.
Haberman, M., & Post, L. (1998). Teachers for multicultural schools: The power of selection. Theory into Practice, 37(2), 96–104.
Hess, F. M. (Ed.). (2005). Urban school reform: Lessons from San Diego. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
Holland, H., & Mazzoli, K. (2001). The heart of a high school. Portsmouth: Heinnman.
Irons, P. (2002). Jim Crow’s children. New York: Penguin.
Johnson, A. (2003). Multicultural policy as social activism: Redefining who “counts” in multicultural education. Race, Ethnicity, and Education, 6(2), 101–117.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1998). Just what is critical race theory and what’s it doing in a nice field like education? Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7–24.
Ladson-Billings, G. (2004). New directions in multicultural education: Complexities, boundaries, Critical Race Theory. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (Vol. 2, pp. 50–68). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ladson-Billings, G., & Tate, W. F. (1995). Toward a critical race theory of education. Teachers College Record, 97(1), 47–68.
LeCompte, M. D. (2000). Analyzing qualitative data. Theory into Practice, 39(3), 146.
Lipman, P. (1997). Restructuring in context: A case study of teacher participation and the dynamics of ideology, race, and power. American Educational Research Journal, 34(1), 3–37.
Lipman, P. (2004). High stakes education: Inequality, globalization, and urban school reform. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
Lynn, M. (2004). Inserting the race into critical pedagogy: An analysis of race-based epistemologies. Educational Philosophy & Theory, 36(2), 153–165.
McAdams, D. R. (2000). Fighting to save our urban schools... and winning! Lessons from Houston. New York: Teachers College.
McLaren, P. (1994). Life in schools: An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundation of education. New York: Longman Press.
McLaren, P. (1998). Life in schools. An introduction to critical pedagogy in the foundations of education. New York: Longman Press.
Montoya, M. (2000). Silence and silencing: Their centripetal and centrifugal forces in legal communication, pedagogy, and discourse. Michigan Journal of Race and Law, 5, 847–911.
Oakes, J. (1986). Keeping track: Part 1: The policy and practice of curriculum inequality. Phi Delta Kappan, 68(1), 12–17.
Orfield, G., & Lee, C. (2004). Brown at 50: King’s dream or Plessy’s nightmare? Cambridge: The Civil Rights Project, Harvard.
Portz, J., Stein, L., & Jones, R. R. (1999). City schools & city politics: Insitutions and leadership in Pittsburgh, Boston, and St. Louis. Laurence: University of Kansas.
Sleeter, C. E. (2000). Creating an empowering multicultural curriculum. Race, Gender, and Class, 7(3), 178.
Sleeter, C. E., & Bernal, D. D. (2004). Critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and antiracist education: Implications for multicultural education. In J. A. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (Vol. 2, pp. 240–260). San Fransisco: Jossey-Bass.
Sleeter, C. E., & DelgadoBernal, D. (2004). Critical pedagogy, critical race theory, antiracist education: Implication for multicultural education. In C. A. M. Banks (Ed.), Handbook of research on multicultural education (Vol. 2, pp. 240–260). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Solorzano, D., & Yosso, T. (2001). From racial stereotyping and deficit discourse toward a critical race theory. Multicultural Education, 9(1), 2–8.
Solorzano, D. G., & Ornelas, A. (2004). A critical race analysis of Latina/o and African American advanced placement enrollment in public high schools. High School Journal, 87, 15–26. University of North Carolina Press.
St.John, E. P., & Miron, L. (2003). A critical-empirical perspective on urban school reform. In L. F. Miron & E. P. St.John (Eds.), Reinterpreting urban school reform: Have urban schools failed, or has the reform movement failed urban schools? (pp. 279–298). New York: New York University.
Valenzuela, A. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. New York: State University of New York Press.
Walker, V. S. (2000). Valued segregated schools for African American children in the South. Review of Educational Research, 70, 253–286.
Willis, P. (1977). Learning to labor: How working class kids get working class jobs. New York: Columbia University Press.
Wills, J. S., Lintz, A., & Mehan, H. (2004). Ethnographic studies of multicultural education in U.S. classrooms, schools. In J. A. Banks & C. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 1163–1183). Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Yosso, T. J. (2002). Toward a critical race curriculum. Equity and Excellence in Education, 35(2), 93–107.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chapman, T.K. Desegregation and Multicultural Education: Teachers Embracing and Manipulating Reforms. Urban Rev 40, 42–63 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-007-0076-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-007-0076-4