Inclusive knowledge production at an elementary school through family-school-university partnerships: A formative intervention study

Students from racially minoritized backgrounds have been disproportionately subject to exclusionary school discipline in the United States. Utilizing cultural-historical activity theory and the formative intervention methodology, we conducted a yearlong formative intervention, Learning Lab, in an elementary school with significant racial disproportionality in school discipline. Teachers, family members, administrators, support staff, and community members with diverse and often opposing histories and goals worked together to critically examine their existing behavioral support system and racial disparities in practices, assumptions, processes, and outcomes from multiple perspectives. We utilized the method of expansive learning actions to analyze qualitative data from ten subsequent sessions. Our findings showed that local stakeholders successfully formed and sustained a diverse working group that represented families, educators, researchers, and community members. Learning Lab members worked collaboratively to question their existing school practices and to examine the root causes of racial disproportionality through historical and empirical analyses. We discuss both possibilities and challenges regarding inclusive knowledge production and the systemic transformation process at local schools

Alteridade espacial: A análise de áreas residencias, regiões escolares, e disciplina escolar em um distrito escolar em processo de urbanização

oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/4676Drawn from interdisciplinary perspectives of special education, critical geography, and education policy, in this study, we examined the spatial patterns of residential areas, school attendance zones, and school discipline rates of an urbanizing school district in Wisconsin to understand the construction of spatial “Other.” We measured the city’s dissimilarity index to examine racial and economic segregation between neighborhoods and elementary schools. We also measured the school district suspension rates to examine racial disproportionality in school discipline. We then analyzed to what extent the redrawing of elementary school attendance zones in the 2007-2008 school year was able to reduce the spatial concentration of racially and economically minoritized students in one elementary public school. We found that despite the well-intentioned efforts of the rezoning committee to lower the percentage of students from low-income families, spatial othering at the neighborhood level continued to funnel students from racially and minoritized backgrounds into the school, due to the concentration of low-income housing in the neighborhood of the school. Basándose en perspectivas interdisciplinarias de la educación espacial, la geografía crítica, y la política educativa, en este estudio examinamos configuraciones espaciles de zonas residenciales, las zonas de asistencia a la escuela, y tazas de disciplina en las escuelas de un distrito escolar en el proceso de urbanización en Wisconsin para entender la construcción del “Otro” espacial. Medimos el índice de desemejanza de la ciudad para examinar la segregación racial y económica entre barrios y escuelas primarias. También medimos tazas de suspensión para examinar desproporciones en la disciplina de la escuela. Luego analizamos hasta qué punto la redistribución de zonas de asistencia de la escuela primaria en el año escolar 2007-8 era capaz de reducir la concentración especial de estudiantes marginalizados racialmente o económicamente en una escuela primaria pública. Encontramos que a pesar de los bien intencionados esfuerzos por parte del comité de recalicación para reducir el porcentaje de estudiantes de familias de bajos ingresos, ‘otrando’ espacialmente al nivel del barrio continuaba enviandoles a estudiantes de entornos racialmente marginalizados a la escuela, debido a la densidad de viviendas para personas de bajos recursos.A partir de uma perspectiva interdisciplinar da educação especial, geografia crítica e política da educação, este estudo investigou arranjos espaciais de áreas residencias, regiões escolares, e índices de disciplina escolar de uma cidade de Wisconsin em processo de urbanização para compreender a produção de alteridade espacial. O índice de dissimilaridade da cidade foi mensurado para examinar segregação racial e econômica entre bairros e escolas de ensino fundamental. Analisamos desproporcionalidade racial em suspensões escolares no distrito escolar da cidade. Em seguida, analisamos até que ponto a redemarcação das regiões escolares de ensino fundamental no ano escolar de 2007-2008 foi capaz de reduzir a concentração espacial de alunos das minorias raciais e econômicas em uma escola pública de ensino fundamental. Nossa análise revela que apesar de esforços do comitê de redemarcação em reduzir a porcentagem de alunos de baixa-renda, produção de alteridade espacial no bairro continuou a afluir alunos das minorias para uma escola devido a concentração de moradias populares nos arredores desta