Preparing Community-Oriented Teachers: Reflections from a Multicultural Service-Learning Standpoint

The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of a local, segregated school. The Benjamin Banneker School served African American youth from 1913 to 1951. Oral histories from surviving alumni as well as primary documents from the times were sought. This article focuses on ways that one group of participants, 24 preservice teachers of color. experienced and interpreted the BHP. Data are reported in response to three questions: (a) Whose community does service learning serve? (b) What meanings do preservice teachers make of culturally responsive teaching? and (c) Does a community orientation count in teacher education? The author reflects on and draws insights from these data. She considers the implications of this effort for community-orientated teacher education

The Banneker History Project: Historic Investigation of a Once Segregated School

The Banneker History Project was a service learning project in which students investigated the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, a segregated school that operated from 1915-1951 in a Midwestern college community. This article discusses the research these students conducted and the perceptions they adopted as a result of their work

Improving the Human Condition: Leadership for Justice-Oriented Service-Learning

The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, which operated as a segregated school for African Americans from 1915 to 1951. It was a project in social justice education with community service as its base. Here, the authors provide an insider perspective of group dynamics among core leaders for the BHP. Building relationships, working for social justice, and confronting racism are key themes for the group. Leaders recall moments of discomfort, particularly related to issues of race and racism, and describe ways they worked through them. Based on their wisdom of practice, authors offer suggestions for those who might do similar work

Community-Based Field Experiences in Teacher Education: Possibilities for a pedagogical third space

This is the author's final draft. The published version may be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2011.641528The present article discusses the importance of community-based field experiences as a feature of teacher education programs. Through a qualitative case study, prospective teachers’ work with homeless youth in an after-school initiative is presented. Framing community-based field experiences in teacher education through “third space” theory, the article discusses the value that such experiences have for prospective teachers’ learning. The goals of the article align with the commitment to preparing a future teaching force for the diverse educational settings that they will encounter in the twenty-first century

Meanings of Culture in Multicultural Education: A Response to Anthropological Critiques

This paper explores the meanings of culture in multicultural education, as used within discourse in the United States. The paper examines anthropological criticism of cultural usage in multicultural education, responds based on multicultural education literature, and considers implications of this exchange for multicultural education. Anthropological literature related to multicultural education over the last 20 years, is reviewed. Multicultural education literature for the same time frame is considered. Several questions, raised within anthropological literature, frame the analysis and the response. Is culture treated simplistically within multicultural education discourse? Is multiculturalism the normal human experience? Is culture ultimately located in the individual? Is support for cultural pluralism antithetical to multiculturalism? Is culture a response to social, political, and material conditions? Implications for multicultural education focus on ways anthropologists and multicultural educators can join forces to explore these questions in ways pertinent to them both