Urban Education

Dimensions peculiar to urban life, such as high population density, proximity to power centers, heterogeneity of residents in terms of class and ethnicity, susceptibility to political action, and tensions between rich and poor, have considerable impact on educational policies. Important studies have been conducted on urban conditions in the developed world, but few studies on education in Third World cities have appeared. This volume looks at urban problems related to education cross-nationally, beginning with a careful definition of what is distinctly urban in educational settings. Chapters on trends and issues, bureaucratic dynamics, disparities and inequities, goals, neighborhood movements, politics, and the experience of women and marginal students round out this internationally contributed volume.

American schools in urban areas have received much attention. This reference offers a comprehensive look at the issues and controversies at the heart of urban American education. The volume is divided into several parts devoted to historical, political, and social dimensions of urban schooling. The chapters in each part are authored by expert contributors, and each offers a fresh perspective on historical and contemporary concerns. The volume considers the place of schools in urban society and analyzes their mission and how they have changed, or failed to change, to meet modern needs. Much of the work is devoted to the problems of particular populations, such as minorities and special-needs students, while other chapters examine broad pedagogical issues and the societal problems that confront students of all backgrounds and abilities. Each chapter closes with a list of works for further reading, and the volume concludes with a bibliography.

We are in a race against time to save urban children from educational failure and to reform urban school systems before people give up on them. The authors examine the effectiveness of three reform approaches: systems reform, mayoral influence, and external state or federal intervention, using case studies from seven large cities, as well as state and national trends.

"This text offers a scholarly, in-depth analysis of urban education that provides insights into its current failures while suggesting policies and practices to make it more effective in the future. Payne . . . questions conventional attitudes and approaches to urban education. . . . This well-written text contains extensive footnotes, references, and an index. It compares favorably with quality studies concerned with the problems confronting urban education. Highly recommended for the general public and students at the community college and lower- and upper-division undergraduate levels." Choice "Payne's review of the literature is thoroughly documented, his research painstakingly carried out, and his theories are stated lucidly. An important book for those involved with the struggle for educational equality." Library Journal

Politics, language, and culture are three powerful forces affecting urban school reform. This book looks at their effects through the eyes of teachers and administrators living reform at the school level. It also draws on history and on recent research on literacy and leadership to offer alternative strategies for school reform.

Why is it so difficult to design and implement fundamental educational reform in large city schools in spite of broad popular support for change? How does the politics of race complicate the challenge of building and sustaining coalitions for improving urban schools? These questions have provoked a great deal of theorizing, but this is the first book to explore the issues on the basis of extensive, solid evidence. Here a group of political scientists examines education reform in Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, and Washington, D.C., where local governmental authority has passed from white to black leaders. The authors show that black administrative control of big-city school systems has not translated into broad improvements in the quality of public education within black-led cities. Race can be crucial, however, in fostering the broad civic involvement perhaps most needed for school reform. In each city examined, reform efforts often arise but collapse, partly because leaders are unable to craft effective political coalitions that would commit community resources to a concrete policy agenda. What undermines the leadership, according to the authors, is the complex role of race in each city. First, public authority does not guarantee access to private resources, usually still controlled by white economic elites. Second, local authorities must interact with external actors, at the state and national levels, who remain predominantly white. Finally, issues of race divide the African American community itself and often place limits on what leaders can and cannot do. Filled with insightful explanations together with recommendations for policy change, this book is an important component of the debate now being waged among researchers, education activists, and the community as a whole.

To understand contemporary poverty in the United States, Michael Katz looks particularly at an old attitude: because many nineteenth-century reformers traced extreme poverty to certain forms of bad behavior, they tried to use public policy and philanthropy to improve the character of poor people, rather than to attack the structural causes of their misery. Showing how this misdiagnosis has afflicted today's welfare and educational systems, Katz, a major historian of urban poverty, draws on his own experiences to introduce each of four topics the welfare state, the underclass debate, urban school reform, and the strategies of survival used by the urban poor. As a concise overview of twenty-five years of writing on poverty, welfare, and public education, this is an exceptionally valuable and important book.... It will be read widely by social scientists, policy makers, and concerned citizens. Molly Ladd-Taylor, The Journal of American History A must reading for all social workers ... interested in the current debate about the role of government in social welfare. Katz's keen historical analysis informs us what our response to need has been and poses questions that we need to ask to avoid future errors. Edward J. Gumz, Families in Society

This book examines historical approaches and current research and practice related to the education of adolescents placed at risk of school failure as a result of social and economic conditions. One major goal is to expand the intellectual exchange among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and concerned citizens on factors influencing the achievement of poor and minority youth, specifically students in middle and high schools. Another is to encourage increased dialogue about policies and practices that can make a difference in educational opportunities and outcomes for these students. Although the chapters in this volume are not exhaustive, they represent an array of theoretical and methodological approaches that provide readers with new and diverse ways to think about issues of educational equality and opportunity in the United States. A premise that runs through each chapter is that school success is possible for poor and minority adolescents if adequate support from the school, family, and community is available. *The conceptual approach (Section I) places the research and practice on students placed at risk in a historical context and sets the stage for an important reframing of current definitions, research, policies, and practices aimed at this population. *Multiple research methodologies (Sections II and III) allow for comparisons across racial and ethnic groups as well as within groups, and contribute to different and complementary insights. Section III, "Focus on African-American Students," specifically addresses gender and social class differences among African-American adolescents. *Current reform strategies presently being implemented in schools throughout the United States are presented and discussed (Part IV). These strategies or programs highlight how schools, families, and communities can apply research findings like the ones this book presents, thus bridging the often wide gap between social science research and educational practice.

The first study of public schooling in the urban South, this book presents case studies and comparisons of public school systems in six cities in the deep South. The authors examine the impact of the conditions that have shaped public education in the urban South, including racism, segregation, poverty, evangelical Protestantism, and the slow pace of industrialization. Among the issues explored are progressive school reform in curriculum and administration, the struggle for greater independence of schools and school systems, city politics, and the politics of black education.

The success of our urban schools is a critical factor in the future of British society. A dramatic statement for sure, but justified by the fact that 89% of the UK population live in urban areas. Traditionally, "inner-city" schools have presented some of the greatest challenges to educators. With ever increasing numbers of pupils, and changing demographics, many urban schools now face similar challenges too. Tough, uncompromising and inspiring, this book makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how urban and city schools need to operate and how they need to be led. Principals and Deputies, those studying for the NPQH (National Professional Qualification for Headship) and all aspirant school leaders will find the help and guidance in this book invaluable in shaping their work. The book will also help policy makers, school officials and superintendents. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with the reality of working in schools in urban settings.