Education In Urban Schools Research Articles

Empowering science and mathematics education in urban schools

Empowering science and mathematics education in urban schools

Culturally Relevant Physical Education in Urban Schools

Using a three-part theoretical framework, the cultural relevance cycle—which consists of (a) knowing community dynamics, (b) knowing how community dynamics influence educational processes, and (c) implementing strategies that reflect cultural knowledge of the community—we examined teachers' and students' perspectives on culturally relevant physical education in urban settings. We observed and interviewed 53 physical education teachers and 183 students in urban districts over 4 years. We identified themes of care, respect, language and communication, and curricular content that explained how these teachers enacted the cultural relevance cycle. Within these themes, teachers and students specified global and discipline-specific components of care, the rflattening of social hierarchies among students and between students and teachers, accommodation of English as a second language and urban communication, and relevant curricular content as necessary for achieving cultural relevance. Enacting the cycle of cultural relevance resulted in respectful learning environments in which students were highly engaged; however, very few teachers enacted all three steps of the cycle.

Culturally Relevant Physical Education in Urban Schools: Reflecting Cultural Knowledge

Culturally Relevant Physical Education in Urban Schools: Reflecting Cultural Knowledge

Health promotion and education policy and practice in urban schools in Liaoning province, China

This paper reviews the status of health education in urban schools in three cities in Liaoning province, China. The cities represent the upper, middle and lower levels of city economy based on the GDP per person within the province. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to 500 primary and secondary schools and 436 questionnaires (87.2%) were returned completed. The questionnaire assessed health education offerings in the schools, permitting the comparison of similarities and differences in school practices, and the identification of obstacles that prevent schools becoming health promoting. The analysis revealed that 0.7% of schools fulfilled criteria for good status of health education. The negative attitudes of school management, teachers and pupils towards health education, as well as the lack of in-service training for staff, were perceived as key obstacles to school health education. Few provincial and school-based policies mentioned pupil involvement in health policy development and only a small number of schools acknowledged the need to improve community and parental involvement. In this paper we discuss the challenges facing provincial education and health authorities, and make recommendations about how to assist Chinese schools to develop and implement high quality health education initiatives.

Relations of perceived motivational climate and feelings of belonging in physical education in urban schools.

The current pilot study examined the relationship between feelings of belonging and perceptions of motivational climate in physical education classes among 87 African-American, inner-city high school students (41 boys, 46 girls). Motivational climate was assessed by the Perceived Motivational Climate Questionnaire and feelings of belonging were assessed by the Belonging Scale. Contrary to the hypothesis, scores for both the task- and ego-involved subscales of the Perceived Motivational Climate Questionnaire had moderate positive correlations with scores on the Belonging Scale, indicating the relationship between these specific motivational climates and social-emotional outcomes in physical education is not clear and direct. Further research is warranted to assess these findings and to identify what experiences and instructional strategies are most effective in promoting social-emotional outcomes in physical education in urban schools.

Teaching Physical Education in Urban Schools

Teaching Physical Education in Urban Schools

Preservice Teachers’ Perceptions of Mathematics Education in Urban Schools

This article reports findings from a study of preservice mathematics teacher education students and their beliefs about and experiences with students in an urban high school. The preservice teacher education students participated as mentors to a group of peer tutors in a mathematics tutoring program. Data collected from questionnaires and interviews reveal that the mentors had varied perceptions of tutoring program participants’ motivation, interest, and knowledge of mathematics. Mentors held varied perceptions of urban schools and what teaching mathematics in urban settings entails. Further, mentors reported that their work in the tutoring program had an impact on their strategies and plans for future mathematics teaching.

Teachers' Perspectives on the Challenges of Teaching Physical Education in Urban Schools

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the challenges of urban schools influence physical education teachers' emotional understanding and connections with their students and the implications on their teaching. Sixty-one elementary physical educators from an urban school district in the midwestern U.S. were interviewed multiple times (N = 136) over 3 years using interpretive methodology. Teachers reported five unique challenges that significantly shaped their thinking about students and their careers, along with strategies they used to overcome or manage those challenges. The challenges were: (a) insufficient instructional resources, (b) implementing culturally relevant pedagogy, (c) dealing with community violence, (d) integrating more games in curricula, and (e) teaching in a culture of basketball. Implications centered on the guilt-inducing nature of urban teaching, developing an informed and realistic vision of urban physical education, and the role of teacher preparation and professional development.

Teachers' Perspectives on the Challenges of Teaching Physical Education in Urban Schools: The Student Emotional Filter

Teachers' Perspectives on the Challenges of Teaching Physical Education in Urban Schools: The Student Emotional Filter

Improving Outcomes for Urban African American Students

Almost 50 years after the Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) decision there are still inequalities in the education system. African American children, particularly those living in impoverished communities, are at increased risk for special education referral. This paper examines causes for the disproportionate representation of African American students in mild mental retardation (MMR) and serious emotional disturbances (SED) special education categories. It also provides recommendations to promote positive academic and social behavior for African American students that may prevent the students' need for specialized education services. The landmark case of Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas (1954) was the catalyst for dramatic changes in America's education system. This Supreme Court decision struck down the long held belief of separate but equal for Whites and Blacks and had a profound effect on where and how children are educated in America. The Brown decision was not only a pivotal case in the fight against racial discrimination but it also served as the vehicle for improving access to education for children with disabilities. Court cases were won and laws, such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA], were enacted to protect the right of children with disabilities to a free and appropriate education. Initially, the Brown decision created anger in many parts of the country. Southern states responded with violence against African Americans who attempted to integrate schools. Some states (e.g., Virginia and Arkansas) temporarily closed public schools rather than integrate them (Vecchione, 1987). Northern cities also experienced unrest as the practice of de facto segregation was challenged. Court-ordered busing and White flight to suburban neighborhoods became household terms. Nevertheless, the violent resentment fostered by the Brown decision has not prevented African Americans from making significant progress in the education system. More African Americans are graduating from high schools and entering colleges than ever before. The result is greater numbers of African Americans entering the various professions. Despite the real progress and enormous promise of these two events-Brown decision and IDEA-the struggle for education equality has not been realized, particularly for minorities living in poor urban communities (Gardner & Talbert-Johnson, 2001). The truth is inequality in the United States educational system still exists (Kozol, 1991). Children from poor families still are more likely to attend schools that have fewer resources and less experienced teachers (Darling-Hammond, 1996). Children who attend these less affluent urban schools are more likely to be from minority families. In many poor inner-city areas, African Americans constitute a significant percentage of the resident population, if not an overwhelming majority. Students in urban schools tend to perform less well than their peers from more affluent schools on academic measures, such as statewide achievement tests, ACT, and SAT. The poor performances by urban students on academic measures cause some to raise questions about the quality of education in urban schools while others blame the quality of the students. Advocates for improving the quality of urban schools have promoted solutions such as increased school funding, vouchers or tax breaks for private school tuition, better teacher preparation programs, and school competition between inter-district schools and charter schools. While each solution has its merit, none has been fully implemented nationally and all remain controversial. For example, in Ohio, the unequal funding of affluent (usually suburban) school districts and poor (urban and rural) school districts has been ruled unconstitutional, yet the Ohio legislature has been unsuccessful in finding a solution to this 11-year-old legal battle (Candisky & Leonard, 2002). …

Rebuilding Arts Education in Urban Schools: Issues and Challenges

(2000). Rebuilding Arts Education in Urban Schools: Issues and Challenges. Arts Education Policy Review: Vol. 101, No. 4, pp. 20-24.

With Numeracy for all

The reform of mathematics education in urban schools cannot and will not succeed without a social transformation that liberates young people from the hunger, poverty, and violence that trap so many in the ghetto of despair. This liberation is both an economic necessity and an ethical imperative. It requires developing new strategies for the delivery of services that heal and protect America's youth. The most successful reform initiatives will focus on the whole chil" the whole family, the whole community-the whole socioeconomic matrix. For this reason, we face a compelling need to accelerate the still-nascent movement toward comprehensive, coordinated, school-based services. This need is closely linked to a second: We must no longer tolerate the covert racism and ethnocentrism that subject traditionally underserved students to material that-because it fails to challenge them-clears a pathway to boredom and disillusionment. The tyranny of low expectations must end.