Teaching for Educational Equity

Martin and Beese have written a very much needed volume to help school leaders develop critical thinking skills in grappling with seemingly intractable social and educational problems. Calls for social justice abound because many critics over the years have highlighted significant social, political, economic, and educational inequities in schools. Martin and Beese fully understand that educational exclusionary attitudes and practices have significant pedagogical, curricular, leadership and moral implications for the work of progressive and idealistic educators as well as concerned community members. Their use of case studies to sharpen school leaders’ skills in problem solving is both novel and effective. Highly recommended. -- Dr. Jeffrey Glanz, EdD. professor of education, Azrieli Graduate School, Yeshiva University, Jerusalem, Israel
This book is for the reader who is beyond just being “interested” in social justice, and also beyond simply reiterating social justice concerns or principles. This is a book about being “on the ground”, looking the obstacles and opponents in the eye,” and then getting down to the hard work of making social justice actually become a reality in our schools. So if you want to fully understand what is involved with implementing social justice in our classrooms, this is the one book that will give you that “up front and personal perspective.” It takes you into the maw of the beast and reveals the complexities like no other. -- Fenwick W. English, R. Wendell Eaves Sr. Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Social justice issues crop up every day in every school. One child is bullied because he’s black and another is ridiculed because she’s gay. A child has a chronic attendance problem because he or she is being asked to take on adult responsibilities at home. But what should teachers and school administrators do when these things happen? How can we help all educators see these incidents and respond to them in a sensitive and effective way? As they did in the first volume of Teaching for Educational Equity: Case Studies for Professional Development and Principal Preparation, Jennifer L. Martin and Jane Beese offer a set of readable and engaging case studies for educators to ponder. The cases are sensitively written, and each is accompanied not only by a concise and helpful literature review, but discussion questions and suggestions for additional exploratory activities. Each case is a conversation-starter for school administrators and school faculties who want to start talking about these things, just as they are for professors and students in teacher education or administrator preparation courses. Martin and Beese don’t pretend to offer easy answers to these overwhelming problems, but they have found a great way for educators to start facing them head-on. -- Steven P. Jones, Professor, Missouri State University; Executive Director, Academy for Educational Studies