A Framework for Social Justice in Education

Political philopher Nancy Fraser has developed a theory of social justice with three dimensions: Redistribution (economic), recognition (cultural), and representation (political). This article first presents Fraser's theory. Then I describe in her terms the successes and challenges encountered in four primary schools in Australia that were trying to provide educational equity for all students, especially their Indigenous students. That evidence suggests that the dimensions of redistribution and recognition are both essential for "closing the gap" in academic achievement, and that representation is important for school and community relationships

Whose Computer is it, Anyway?: Schools Embrace Computers Without Knowing Why

Despite the questionable assumptions being made about why computers should be in schools there may well be considerable benefits to having them there. Computers can in principle be used to make educational resources more widely available (e.g., through network access to data bases and library resources), to facilitate more active student involvement in and control of learning (e.g., through the use of computer tools such as text editors and programming languages), and to partially address the needs of students who are victims of educational neglect. Unfortunately, the progressive potential of the computer is all too often unrealized. Intentionally or unintentionally, computer use is more apt to reinforce existing patterns than to change them. In many ways the introduction of computers appears to be increasing rather than reducing inequalities in education. These inequalities were not caused by computers, but they may well be reproduced and even accentuated by their use. We examine here three areas in which these problems arise: hardware, software, and classroom use. We present more examples on the third area because it is more apt to be overlooked in discussions of equity in computer use, and because the process by which inequalities are produced is more subtle.published or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe

Whose computer is it anyway?

Many students today are learning about computers. It is not clear, though, how computers should be used in school. This first paper discusses the nature of the computer as a learning tool, and suggests ways in which computer based learning activities can fit into classrooms. In fact, the paper notes, the biggest impact of computers may be in terms of the ways they contribute to the social organization of the classroom. The issue that the second paper focuses on is whether the use of computers in education will mitigate, maintain, or even increase existing inequalities Boys, and students in wealthier school districts, for example, have more opportunities to work with computers. There may also be SES related differences in the kinds of instruction that students receive through computers. The paper argues that issues of fairness and general educational value should take precedence over existing social stereotypes and political barriers. Teacher policies and practices are discussed in terms of their relationship to equality of access and opportunity.published or submitted for publicatio

A Framework for Social Justice in Education

Political philosopher Nancy Fraser has developed a theory of social justice with three dimensions: Redistribution (economic), recognition (cultural), and representation (political). This article first presents Fraser's theory. Then I describe in her terms the successes and challenges encountered in four primary schools in Australia that were trying to provide educational equity for all students, especially their Indigenous students. That evidence suggests that the dimensions of redistribution and recognition are both essential for "closing the gap" in academic achievement, and that representation is important for school and community relationships.La filósofa política Nancy Fraser ha desarrollado una teoría de la justicia social que contempla tres dimensiones: la redistribución (económica), el reconocimiento (cultural) y la representación (política). En este artículo se presenta, en primer lugar, la teoría de Fraser. A continuación se describe en sus términos los éxitos y los retos a los que se enfrentan cuatro escuelas de educación primaria en Australia, las cuales intentan proporcionar equidad educativa para todo el alumnado y especialmente para el alumnado indígena. Las evidencias sugieren que las dimensiones de la redistribución y el reconocimiento son esenciales para "cerrar la brecha" en el rendimiento académico así como que la representación es relevante para las relaciones entre la escuela y la comunidad

Language Mindority Education in the United States: Implications of the Ramirez Report

Controversy continues over the most reasonable conclusions to draw from the accumulated research evidence on the effectiveness of various program models for students who are not proficient in English. This paper examines a report prepared for the U.S. Department of Education on three program models for language minority children: structured English immersion strategy and early-exit and late-exit bilingual education.The most conservative, uncontroversial conclusion drawn from the report is that there are no differences in results among the programs studied (Ramirez, Yuen, & Ramey, 1991). The author of this paper draws additional conclusions. An obvious implication is that the amount of time spent using a second language can no longer be considered the most important influence on learning it. A number of other factors can be critically important in minority language children's second language learning and school success. Teacher qualifications and parent involvement are two such factors that receive strong research support and are rightly emphasized by Ramirez et al.Teachers in late-exit programs, for example, had more graduate education and more specialized training for working with language minority children than teachers in immersion or early-exit programs. They were also more proficient in Spanish and as proficient in English as teachers in the other programs. In addition, late-exit parents reported more participation in their children's education.Although there is other evidence of the long-term benefits of late-exit bilingual programs (see, e.g., Rosier & Holm, 1990), the author reasons that bilingual programs are not feasible for all language minority children. In instances where bilingual education is not feasible, carefully implemented immersion strategy programs are clearly better than the lack of any support that too many language minority children confront today

Functions of language in the classroom

Lvii, 394 p.; 29 cm