Guest blogger Ellen Wexler contributed this post:
African American Students in Urban Schools: Critical Issues and Solutions for Achievement, edited by James L. Moore III and Chance W. Lewis (Peter Lang Publishing Inc., 2012). This book examines factors that affect how African-American students in urban school systems perform and offers strategies for improving their educational experiences.
Creating Solidarity Across Diverse Communities: International Perspectives in Education, edited by Christine E. Sleeter and Encarnacion Soriano (Teachers College Press, 2012). Bringing together experts and research from multiple countries, this book analyzes multicultural school communities around the world and studies effective means of bridging differences. It is a guide for educators who are trying to promote a sense of connectivity and eliminate animosity among diverse student bodies.
Defending Childhood: Keeping the Promise of Early Education, edited by Beverly Falk, foreword by Linda Darling-Hammond (Teachers College Press, 2012). This book uses new research in neuroscience and psychology to examine the effects of diversity, poverty, and community on childhood development.
Dignity for All: Safeguarding LGBT Students, by Peter DeWitt (Corwin, 2012). This volume encourages schools to promote tolerance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students by making sure staff members are informed about common issues these students face, developing guidelines for problematic situations involving discrimination or bullying, and addressing the issues in school policy.
Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, by James A. Banks (Sage Publications Inc., 2012). Containing approximately 700 entries in four volumes, this encyclopedia combines research, case studies, and policy focused on diversity. It focuses mainly on diversity within the United States and addresses issues of race, class, gender, religion, language, and exceptionality.
Enhancing Minority Student Retention and Academic Performance: What We Can Learn from Program Evaluations, by Jacqueline Fleming (Jossey-Bass, 2012). This book focuses on the goal of improving minority academic performance and graduation rates. It examines what causes minority students to succeed or fail in schools and how administrators, counselors, and teachers can best use evaluations to improve these students’ educational experiences.
Innovative Voices in Education: Engaging Diverse Communities, by Eileen Gale Kugler (Rowman & Littlefield Education, 2012). A compilation of passages from 17 educators and community leaders, this book analyzes diversity in public education. It argues that diversity provides powerful benefits for schools, offers ideas for engaging and connecting with students and their families, and includes first-person accounts of the writers’ challenges and success stories from multicultural communities across the globe.
LGBT Youth in America’s Schools, by Jason Cianciotto and Sean Cahill (University of Michigan Press, 2012). A combination of policy analysis and students’ personal accounts, this book pulls together information on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students across multiple areas of education and offers suggestions on writing school policy and providing these students with effective support.