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Valli, Linda; Croninger, Robert G.; Chambliss, Marilyn J.;
Graeber, Anna O.; Buese, Daria (2008). Test Driven:
High-Stakes Accountability in Elementary Schools. NY:
Teachers College Press
Pp. ix + 198 ISBN 9780807748947 Reviewed by Seung-Hwan Ham December 24, 2008 Over the last few decades, accountability has been at the
center of national debates on education policy. The Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, which first
authorized federal funds to be used for public schooling
throughout the nation, was one of the major historical events
signaling the departure from strong local governance in education
toward a new era of increased federal intervention. Recently, the
2001 reauthorization of ESEA, usually referred to as No Child
Left Behind, has further galvanized the nationwide debate on
education reform under the common theme of high-stakes
accountability. In Test Driven: High-Stakes Accountability in
Elementary Schools, Professor Linda Valli of the University
of Maryland and her colleagues added to this debate by providing
some vivid pictures of three high-poverty elementary schools in
the district of “Stevenson.” By showing how
“the current emphasis on high-stakes testing . . . creates
a test-driven culture that narrows the curriculum, weakens
student-teacher relationships, and undermines professional
standards for teaching and learning” (p. 3) in the three
schools studied, the authors seriously “question the wisdom
of high-stakes accountability policies” (p.
157). As a qualitative case study, the book is organized into five
thematic chapters in addition to an opening overview and a
closing chapter. The opening chapter provides general contextual
information about the three schools studied and the larger policy
environment in which the schools were located. From chapter two
to chapter five, the book shows illustrative vignettes about: how
the three schools adapted to the external policy environment by
creating a “test-taking culture” (p. 25, chapter
two); how such a culture “turn[ed] classroom teachers . . .
into test managers” rather than instructional professionals
(p, 71, chapter three); why school administrators and classroom
teachers decided to “subordinat[e] the official
curriculum” despite “its intended benefits” (p.
97, chapter four); how professional development turned into
“narrow skill training” (p. 124, chapter five); and
how teachers in the three schools thought about “what it
means to be a good teacher” in the context of high-stakes
accountability (p. 155, chapter six). Finally, in the closing
chapter, the authors summarize key findings from the study and
present a series of recommendations to schools and districts as
well as to state and federal policy makers. This book, however, is not entirely pessimistic with regard to
the impact of high-stakes accountability policies. Throughout the
book, the authors emphasize that the three schools responded to
the challenges of high-stakes testing in somewhat different ways.
The authors explain this difference in terms of different school
capacity profiles among the three schools. By using the concepts
of “organizational” and “relational”
types of school capacity, the book suggests the possibility that
schools with strong organizational and relational capacity
will be better able to cope with high-stakes accountability.
Organizational capacity, according to the book’s
definition, denotes “the human and material resources a
school has at its disposal and the productive use of those
resources,” and relational capacity refers to both
“formal and informal relationships among staff that develop
not just shared understandings but collective commitments and
high levels of motivation for achieving organizational
goals” (p. 13). Among the three schools studied, one
school, “Brookfield” was the case that had strong
capacity of both types. With a sense of professional community,
this school “clearly weathered the storm of high-stakes
testing” (p. 166); although there were also some signs of
conflicts among teachers with regard to sustaining rigorous
pedagogical practices versus giving more priority to raising test
scores, such “disagreements . . . were voiced openly, in a
respectable atmosphere” (p. 18) in this school.
Without hesitation, I think this book is a useful piece of
research that provides valuable implications to a wide range of
audiences in the field of education. However, there are some
weaknesses in the book. First of all, although it is widely
acknowledged in the literature that school capacity matters for
many reasons as reviewed in the book (pp. 13-15), it is rash to
assume that the differences the authors found between the schools
were really due to capacity. Believing that the differences they
found stemmed from different school capacity profiles, the
authors stress in the first chapter that the three schools they
studied were very “similar” in many ways other than
their capacity profiles: they describe the three schools as
serving “similar student populations” and having
“similar organizational structures” (p. 10).
Abruptly, however, the authors acknowledge in the closing chapter
that “Brookfield was the smallest of the three
schools” and “had a lower student mobility rate and
less teacher turnover” (p. 169), thus introducing the
possibility that this difference, rather than the difference in
capacity, was most relevant to its success. Different school sizes, different student mobility rates, and
different teacher turnover rates all could have contributed to
the different school responses to high-stakes testing. Readers of
the book may plausibly raise questions about why the authors
mentioned these important differences just briefly, and only at
the end of the book, only when they have already concluded that
school capacity was the contributing factor. Even assuming
that the three schools were reasonably similar enough, the
book’s assumption is rather naïve. That is, it is also
plausible that capacity profiles were a consequence of the three
schools’ different responses to external policy
environments. The authors attempt to look at “the complex
local enactments of high-stakes accountability” (p. 21)
through their “in-depth case studies” (p. 5), but
ironically, they themselves simplify complexities, by assuming
only a one-way causal relationship model in their investigation.
The closing chapter, titled as “Weathering High-Stakes
Accountability,” contains the authors’
recommendations to schools and districts. The authors suggest
that schools and districts should develop “strong
leadership,” create “favorable context[s] for
capacity building,” provide “comprehensive
professional development,” develop “effective
assessment practices,” and sustain “coherent policy
environment[s]” (pp. 169-172). Of course, these
recommendations reflect the authors’ comprehensive insight
on a broader picture of education policy and practice at multiple
levels. However, serious readers might be rather disappointed
with these recommendations; precisely because the preceding
chapters have illustrated why such things are difficult to
achieve in the context of high-stakes accountability. In this
sense, these recommendations in the last chapter are a fine
summary of what are the problems rather than what are the ways to
solve the problems. Though the book offers these recommendations, its tone tends
to overemphasize the dark side of high-stakes accountability
policies. Considering that the schools included in this study
were ones “with greater-than-expected achievement
gains” (p. 5), the authors could have had a more balanced
view on the impact of the policies. All the three schools did, in
fact, raise their students’ test scores, and they all
satisfied their adequate yearly progress (AYP) requirements. In
other words, these schools successfully conformed to the norms of
high-stakes accountability. If seen from an open-systems
perspective (Scott & Davis, 2006), they were provided with
chances to get feedback on their outputs while they were adapting
their structural elements to the external policy environment.
What this does suggest is that as far as these three schools are
concerned, high-stakes accountability policies brought about
their intended positive effects. The authors stress the negative
aspects of the policies, but they do so by overlooking the fact
that the three schools, nevertheless, managed to be fairly
successful. Despite some weaknesses, there is no doubt that Test Driven: High-Stakes Accountability in Elementary Schools is a significant contribution to the debate on the current education policy discourse. The book draws attention to the quality of educational processes, not just outcomes. Does the outcome justify the process? Is it okay to sacrifice meaningful learning experiences for the sake of meeting AYP? What are we seeking, and at what expense? This is an important policy question to ponder with respect to numerous educational issues, both ideals and realities, which are often in conflict with/within each other (Kennedy, 2005; Tyack & Cuban, 1995). The authors’ perspective is truly valuable as they argue that we must examine “the ways in which high-stakes accountability influences not only achievement but [also] other aspects of school life. . . . Although schools that raise test scores should be celebrated for their accomplishments, they should also be held accountable for the manner in which they do so” (p. 172). References Kennedy, M. M. (2005). Inside teaching: How classroom life
undermines reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press. Scott, W. R., & Davis, G. F. (2006). Organizations and
organizing: Rational, natural, and open systems perspectives
(6th ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Tyack, D., & Cuban, L. (1995). Tinkering toward utopia:
A century of public school reform. Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press. About the Reviewer Seung-Hwan Ham is a Ph.D. student in the Educational Policy
Program at Michigan State University. His research interests
include sociological analysis of educational policy for teaching
and teacher education as well as comparative and international
perspectives on educational policy. His most recent publication
appears in The Handbook of Educational Linguistics
(Blackwell Publishing, 2008). |
Monday, June 30, 2025
Valli, Linda; Croninger, Robert G.; Chambliss, Marilyn J.; Graeber, Anna O.; Buese, Daria (2008). Test Driven: High-Stakes Accountability in Elementary Schools. Reviewed by Seung-Hwan Ham, Michigan State University
Elkind, David. (2007). The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally. Reviewed by Punum Bhatia, University of Colorado, Denver
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Elkind, David. (2007). The Power of Play: Learning What
Comes Naturally. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press
Pp. 256 ISBN 978-0738211107 Reviewed by Punum Bhatia December 24, 2008 The Power of Play by David Elkind provides parents with an understanding and appreciation of the role of play in healthy emotional and academic development. It shows how creative, spontaneous play fosters mental and social growth as well as setting the stage for scholastic learning. David Elkind, Professor Emeritus at Tufts University and the author of a dozen books including The Hurried Child (1981) and All Grown up and No Place to Go (1998), urges parents to add more play to their children’s lives. While parents may worry that their children will be at a disadvantage if they are not engaged in constant learning, Elkind reassures them that imaginative play goes a long way in preparing a child for academic and social success. Play is the young child’s most powerful tool for learning and yet in modern childhood, free unstructured play time is being replaced more and more by academics, electronics, competitive sports, formal lessons, and the like. Schools contribute to this with “suppression of curiosity, imagination and fantasy…elimination of recess in favor of academics…test driven curricula…learning methods preparing children for assessments” (p. xi). Parents are more concerned with their children’s successes in this fast-paced and competitive world; hence, leisurely play seems an almost unaffordable luxury. Elkind asks a poignant and pertinent question for our times: “When did life for a child get to be so hard?” (p. x). In nine chapters, Elkind takes the reader from the changing world of play to the power of play in learning and development. The underlying theme through all the chapters is that play should be plentiful, pleasurable, self-motivated, non-goal directed, and spontaneous. Elkind claims that play, love, and work are three inborn drives that power human thought and action throughout the life cycle. They are the essentials for a full, happy, and productive life and function most effectively when used together. The author defines play as “our need to adapt the world to ourselves and create new learning experiences” (p. 3). Love is described as “our disposition to express our desires, feelings and emotions” (p. 3) and work is “our disposition to adapt to the demands of the physical and social worlds” (p.3). Although it has been simple to compile a list of play activities and catalog the characteristics of play, child developmentalists have found it much harder to define play. Elkind’s definition of play is important because the emphasis is on the child, without imposing adult values, requirements, or motivations on children's activities which often change the very nature of play. Children learn best when they create their own learning experiences and Elkind mentions Frederick Froebel (2003) as the creator of “gifts" and Maria Montessori (1964) as the inventor of “auto-didactic materials” as thinkers who allowed children to create their own realities and with trial and error come to their own conclusions. The development of play, love, and work takes place in four major periods which correspond closely to Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development: Infancy and Early Childhood (0-6 years); Elementary School Years (6-12 years); Adolescence (12-19 years) and Adulthood. In these times of organized activities, academics and passive leisure pastimes such as watching television and playing computer games, Elkind wonders if we can give our children a balance between play, love, and work. The importance of play cannot be underestimated, as it is through play that children learn about cultural norms and expectations, and negotiate their way through their surroundings. “Children learn about themselves and their world through their play with toys” (p. 15). Even the toys have changed, laments Elkind: "toys once served to socialize children into social roles, vocations, and academic tool skills. Today, they are more likely to encourage brand loyalties, fashion consciousness, and group think" (p.28). Toys are mostly mass produced in plastic, available everywhere, given at all times of the year instead of just at Christmas and birthdays and now come with embedded computer chips that can recognize a child’s voice and follow directions. Speaking from personal experience with his grandchildren, Elkind says that the abundance of toys makes it hard for children to value them or to look to them for imaginative exploration. It is true that sometimes less is more and children can be overwhelmed with too many toys rather than be deeply involved with just a few. Elkind argues that the profusion of toys is not necessarily a way for parents to cover their guilt for not spending enough time with their children. He has statistics to support the assertyion that parents are in fact spending more time with their children now than they did ten years ago (p. 16). A more likely explanation, then, is that childhood has become very heavily commercialized and as a result, having the latest toys has become necessary for social acceptance. So, "in a time when toys were few and far between, they gave flight to a child’s imagination” (p.19) but now they are purchased continuously and thus “fail to engage children’s creative fantasy” (p.18). The author makes a valid statement when he points out that toy manufacturers now appeal more to parents’ fears and anxieties rather than reflect parental beliefs and values. Moving onto television and computers, the author acknowledges that technology has its place in the classroom, but advises against computer programs marketed toward babies and preschoolers whose young brains are not yet able to fully comprehend two-dimensional representations. Television and computer games can be very educational; therefore it makes little sense to prohibit them, but it is important for adults to be discriminating and to set limits. Equally important is to find a balance and ensure that children spend as much time out of doors as they do engaged in technology. Other educationists, including Maria Montessori, have mentioned the importance of outdoor play for children: “a child needs to live naturally and not simply have knowledge of nature. The most important thing to do is to free the child, if possible, from the ties which keep him isolated in the artificial life of a city” (Montessori, 1997, p. 69). The importance of play is still not accepted universally. Play is viewed by some as the opposite of work and is often trivialized in sayings like “That is mere child’s play” or “He is only playing.” Elkind shows us that nothing is further from the truth. He helps us grasp the significance of play by emphasizing that young children learn by constructing and reconstructing the world through play-generated learning experiences. He makes his point by describing how fascinating it is to watch young children: One moment the child is a naturalist busily examining a grasshopper, the next an artist putting impressions on paper, the next a writer describing an experience in highly original language, and always the sociologist exploring the potential of social interaction. These many roles are fulfilled with joyous excitement…Why intrude on a time when children are so primed to learn what they need to learn with joy and enthusiasm? (p. 117) Not only does play nourish and support the child’s maturing mental abilities, but children also learn mutual respect and cooperation through role-playing and the negotiation of rules. Jean Piaget (1962) wrote that it was during games that children came to understand the social rules which make cooperation with others possible (p.149). Mildred Parten (1932), too, believed that children developed through different stages of play: from onlooker play to cooperative play. She described the last stage as one in which children organize themselves into roles with specific goals in mind (for example, assigning the roles of doctor, nurse, and patient and play hospital). Elkind also mentions George Herbert Mead who wrote that when playing games “children learn social responsibility, to relate to others and to integrate themselves within the social collective” (p. 149). Elkind concludes by observing that when we allow time for, and encourage, children’s self-initiated play, we insure the full development of their curiosity, imagination, and creativity. He takes the example of John Dewey’s (1938) project method, which combines creativity, self-motivation, and practical learning to explain play, love, and work (p. 196). This type of education is effective, because it addresses the child’s heart, mind and body: Combining play, love and work is a means of successful academic achievement. It is when all three are brought together that children have the best chance of learning in the context of their unique personal circumstances. (p. 210) In other words, play, love, and work are the three basic drives that power human thought and action and together allow individuals to lead full, productive lives. The Power of Play inspires its readers to become believers in the importance of play. The book is an easy read and the anecdotes involving Elkind’s children and grandchildren keep it real and amusing. One of the major strengths of the book is that it has appeal for a wide audience. Parents will find the book useful for tips on raising children, as will educators because it is strongly backed with research. Citing the "grandmasters" of early childhood education, from philosophers like Jean Jacques Rousseau and John Dewey to practitioners like Frederick Froebel, Maria Montessori, and Rudolf Steiner, to theorists like Sigmund Freud and Jean Piaget, Elkind urges parents and teachers to allow children to grow at their own pace. A child’s world is filled with the magic of exploration, discovery, make-believe, and play: all vehicles for development. He makes it quite clear that we are all guilty of silencing children’s spontaneous play and taking childhood indoors. As a passionate Montessorian, I found the references to the Montessori Method particularly interesting and illustrative of the author’s true understanding of the philosophy. For example, when talking about children learning best through “self-created experiences,” Elkind validates his statement by mentioning the Montessori apparatus “that children could master through trial and error, insight, and hypothesis testing” (p. 7). Indeed this is true as children in a Montessori preschool are shown how to work with the materials and then allowed to experiment on their own, often surprising the teacher with their discoveries. Elkind compliments the Montessori materials again when he uses them as examples to validate his theory that “we should not underestimate the comforting and stress-reducing qualities of natural materials” as opposed to the plastic toys available so freely (but not inexpensively) in the market. Speaking of the Montessori philosophy behind the materials, he writes that Maria Montessori “realized that young children take comfort and pleasure in the feel of wood, cotton or wool, and metal. She employed cotton yarns dyed with basic colors to stimulate children’s visual sense.” (p. 20) It was sad, however, to see that a book had to be written to draw the attention of society to the importance of play and ways to restore it in children’s lives. It was also sad to see the author work so hard to make a point that should be quite obvious: children need more free time! However, the tone of the book is very positive and the author makes his point with conviction. The Power of Play makes an important contribution with research and real-life examples to the literature on how children learn. It surveys modern toys and educational products, and makes a strong case that nothing beats unstructured, spontaneous play where children can come up with their own agenda. The book challenges the current hype about television programs and computer games that supposedly make children smarter. Perusing this volume will certainly make one think about the rich complexities and subtleties offered through play as the basis for ongoing development. References Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and Education. New York: Collier Froebel, F. (2003). Frederich Froebel’s Pedagogics of the Kindergarten; On His Ideas of Play and Playthings of the Child. California: University Press of the Pacific. Montessori, M. (1997). The Discovery of the Child. Oxford, England: Clio Press Montessori, M. (1964). The Montessori Method. New York: Schocken. Parten, M. (1932). Social participation among preschool children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 27, 243-269. Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York: W.W. Norton & Co. Piaget, J. (1950). The Moral Judgement of the Child. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. About the Reviewer Punum Bhatia, Director and Teacher Educator at Montessori
Centre International Denver. Ms. Bhatia is working towards her
PhD in Educational Leadership and Innovation with an emphasis in
Early Childhood Education at the University of Colorado
Denver. |
González, Josué, M. (Ed.) (2008) Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education. Reviewed by Cynthia Crosser, University of Maine
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González, Josué, M. (Ed.) (2008) Encyclopedia of
Bilingual Education. Los Angeles, CA: SAGE
Pp. 1008 + xxvii ISBN 9781412937207 Reviewed by Cynthia Crosser December 24, 2008 The Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education is a compendium of information on bilingual education in the United States. Bilingual education in this context is defined as the use of two languages in the teaching of curriculum content in K-12 schools. Other definitions are used in education outside the U.S. Readers interested in examining bilingual education from an international perspective should see the Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education (1998), which complements the current work. The goal is of bilingual education in the United States education is to integrate and assimilate children into the use of English. American schools did not always provide bilingual education; it was traditionally considered the family’s responsibility to prepare children to be taught in English. However, this view began to change when the Civil Rights Act (1964) eliminated intent as a criterion for proof of discrimination. The Bilingual Education Act (1968) created a mechanism for providing grant money to help meet the needs of students between the ages of 3 and 18 with limited English-speaking ability. However, participation in this program was voluntary. The Supreme Court ruling on Lau v. Nichols (1974) and the subsequent passing of the Equal Educational Opportunity Act (1974) were more influential in increasing bilingual education in the United States. Plyler v. Doe (1982) expanded educational expectations by mandating the education of undocumented/illegal immigrants. The No Child Left Behind Act (2002) combined bilingual and immigrant education grants and established accountability for short and effective training programs by requiring students with limited English proficiency to be tested in reading and language arts in English after they have attended school in the United States for three years. This two-volume Encyclopedia work is edited by Josué González, Professor of Education and Director of the Southwest Center for Education Equity and Language Diversity at Arizona State University. González, who has published extensively on the subject of bilingual education, limits the scope of the encyclopedia to informational pieces without editorial comment. The exceptions to this are topics that González believes cannot be covered without acknowledging the controversies that drive the field. Essay entries that combine information with expert opinion are labeled as such and begin with an identifying note. Entries are signed and listed alphabetically. Contributors’ names and affiliations precede González’s introduction in the first volume. A reader’s guide organizes the entries into the following categories: Family, Communities, and Society; History; Instructional Designs; Languages and Linguistics; People and Organizations; Policy Evolution; Related Social Sciences; Teaching and Learning. While the organization into categories is useful, an asterisk next to entries in the reader’s guide specifying controversial topics would have been beneficial. A comprehensive index in the second volume provides allows users to search for narrow topics. Readers looking for background information will find the appendices especially useful. They include an annotated list of relevant legislation and court cases, full text for the Bilingual Education Act (1968) and Lau v. Nichols (1974), two opinion pieces, and statistics on Title VII funding from 1969 to 1995. One of the opinion pieces argues against English as an official language. This complements one of the entries that argues for English as an official language. Part of the decision to list one view as an entry and the other in the appendix was González’s assessment that the entry favoring English as an official language was more realistic in explaining the history and current status of bilingual education in the United States. Topics covered in Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education range from “Critical Period Hypothesis” to “Proposition 227 (California)” to “Southeast Asian Refugees.” Relevant individuals are also covered, including: Nancy Hornberger, Stephen Krashen, and Bernard Spolsky. All entries are followed by a See Also section with related topics and Further Readings with references. While all of the entries are informative and well-written, the most interesting ones are the special essays combining information with expert opinion. González, the editor of the current work, contributed the essay “Spanish, the Second National Language;” and Colin Baker, co-editor of Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, penned the essay “U.S. Bilingual Education Viewed from Abroad.” González points out the difference between a national language and an official language. His essay provides important background information on the role of Spanish in the United States. Colin points out that while the bilingual research conducted in the United States has had a tremendous impact internationally, it has been less effective in influencing educational practices within the United States. Baker believes that the role of the United States as a superpower and the role of English as a unifying national force within the United States are responsible for this difference. The Encyclopedia of Bilingual Education is an important resource. It is comprehensive in coverage and accessible to general readers. The inclusion of controversial topics is handled with care and demonstrates a clear understanding of the current and historic policies towards bilingual education in the United States. All academic and public libraries should consider this a necessary purchase. References Baker, C., & Prys Jones, S. (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Philadelphia, PA: Multilingual Matters. Bilingual Education Act, Pub. L. No. 95-561 (1968). Civil Rights Act, Pub. L. No. 88-352 (1964) Equal Education Opportunity Act, Pub. L. No. 93-380 (1974) Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974) No Child Left Behind Act Pub. L. No. 107–110 (2002). Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982) About the ReviewerCynthia Crosser is a Social Science and Humanities Reference Librarian/Education and Psychology Subject Specialist at the University of Maine. In addition to her M.S. in Library Studies from Florida State University, she has an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Florida with a specialization in language acquisition and an extensive background in developmental psychology |
Hinchey, Patricia, H. (2008). Action Research Primer. Reviewed by Jennifer Mahon, University of Nevada, Reno
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Hinchey, Patricia, H. (2008). Action Research Primer.
New York: Peter Lang
Pp. 144 ISBN 978-0-8204-9527-9 Reviewed by Jennifer Mahon December 24, 2008 Action Research Primer, by Patricia H. Hinchey, is a rare combination of complexity and brevity. Through the lens of critical theory, the book is designed to introduce action research to the uninitiated, the teacher, whom Hinchey describes as “responsible for the minute-by-minute decisions” that make or break student learning. Yet each of these decisions is tailored to the specifics of a particular classroom and community, to particular facilities, technologies, and pedagogical strengths of the teacher. Many teachers, therefore, have lamented the reams of research in education as “one size fits all” solutions to classroom problems. Notes Bartolome (2002), “…many of my teachers seek generic teaching methods that will work with a variety of minority students populations, and they grow anxious and impatient when reminded that instruction for any group of students needs to be tailored or individualized to some extent” (p. 407, emphasis in original). Action research, the author argues, is a tool that provides customized answers to questions of teaching and learning. Seemingly to ensure the content is accessible, its 129 pages of text are organized into just five chapters, each ending with a glossary of terms. The first two chapters begin with a basic overview of action research, especially as it relates to major research paradigms. Unlike other short introductory texts that might ignore the foundational aspects for fear of alienating the practitioner with seemingly useless details of history, the author has clearly taken pains to provide a succinct yet purposed introduction to action research history. Included are key figures such as Kurt Lewin, Lawrence Stenhouse, and Paolo Freire. The author explains that these individuals are included to show the variety of disciplinary ancestry that grounds action research. This is fitting with the author’s argument that action research is a method that can be tailored to numerous educational problems. Additionally by locating action research within the major research paradigms, the author has again used a thoughtful organizational technique. Many graduate students must learn to differentiate studies that fall into either the positivist or interpretive paradigms. Some will be told that action research is not “real research”, however, by being able to situate their work within the major investigative frameworks, they may be able to refute such criticism. In fact it is hard to understand why anyone would look disdainfully upon action research for, as Stenhouse (1975) argued, teachers must have a “capacity for autonomous self-development through systematic self-study, through the work of other teachers and through the testing of ideas by classroom teachers” (p. 144). Through such systematic and critical review of their own work, Stenhouse believed, teaching and learning would be improved. I believe the strongest aspect of this book is the critical lens it adopts. Readers familiar with the work of Freire (1970), one of the key figures cited by the author, will recognize the importance of action to true transformation in learning. Hinchey’s efforts maintain this perspective in each chapter, taking a spiral approach, rather than simply relegating a discussion of critical topics to one chapter. In chapter three, the author introduces the necessary concepts or steps that action practitioners must perform to carry out sound research, all the while, maintaining the critical perspective. For example, the author urges readers not to blindly adopt any one approach to action research, even those suggested in this book, but rather, to make methodical choices based on the questions to be answered. The author seems to recognize that the changes in practice action research necessitates can be daunting as Shor and Freire (2002) explain that teachers “fear the awkwardness of relearning their profession in front of their students. Teachers want to feel expert, so the need to recreate ourselves on the job is intimidating to many” (p. 479). The remainder of the book moves into the practicalities of doing action research – formulating the research question and plan, collecting and analyzing data, and producing and sharing findings. Chapter three assists the reader in deciphering the focus of the research study. The author addresses some of the topics which may be more daunting to novice researchers such as the literature review, informed consent and research ethics. The reader is introduced to the technique of limiting questions. Personally, I have found that novice researchers often attempt to investigate far too large of an issue – attempting to describe every desk in the classroom, rather than one individual seat – so to speak. The inclusion of limiting questions, I believe, at the very least reminds the student to narrow his or her focus to make it not only a stronger investigation, but also a project they can manage given their responsibilities in the school. Having regularly required new graduate students to complete action research, I recognize the substance of chapter 4, data collection and analysis, as the Mount Vesuvius of action research. One minor criticism of this chapter is the treatment of note taking. Even if dutiful professors require the text to be read prior to engaging in any study, there will always be the student who skims the book, paying most attention to those chapters which introduce the formation of the study. Only too late do students realize the necessity of keeping accurate field notes. The student would be better served by emphasizing the necessity of this step in the process in the same chapter that discusses the research plan. By formulating the habit of reflecting on the research process early, the skill may be more likely to become a rote part of the data collection and analysis stages. The final chapter combines writing the report, recording the study and publishing. The chapter gives extensive attention to publication, and for good reason. Because action research is a singular research effort, it is often criticized for lack of generalizability. However, in my experience, through careful publication, researchers can enable others to consider how either the research process or the focus of the study may be applicable to their own context. Given the demands on their time due to structured teaching schedules, students are understandably discouraged by the thought that they have to submit their work to a journal, or make a conference presentation. They often do not realize that “publishing” refers not only to printed matter, but to simply making their work public, and they are encouraged to learn that a presentation to colleagues at a faculty meeting can be considered publication. Hinchey’s addresses these forms of publication as well as the more traditional conference proposals and journal submissions. In the end, the reader should not be misled by the simple title chosen by the author. Action Research is far more than a perfunctory treatment of action research. True it is a brief treatment of a complex topic, but it is one that treats its readers, practicing classroom teachers, as intelligent adults. It does not assume for them, that they will find the discussion of key figures, history, and critical questions as the stuff of the ivory tower. Further, with its emphasis on the adaptation of action research to the teacher’s individual interests and context, it seems to echo the recommendations of Maxine Greene (2002): I would like to think of teachers moving the young into their own interpretations of their lives and their lived worlds, opening wider and wider perspectives as they do so. ..I would like to see teachers tapping the spectrum of intelligences, encouraging multiple readings of written texts and readings of the world. In “the shadow of silent majorities,” then, as teachers learning along with those we try to provoke to learn, we may be able to inspire hitherto unheard voices. (p. 111) Hinchey’s work endeavors to introduce some of the beautiful complexities of action research while still enabling the new researcher to learn the essence of the process so that she may pursue answers to those problems she believes will best meet the needs of her students – this day, this week, this year, and beyond. References Bartolome, L.I. (2002). Beyond the methods fetish: Toward a humanizing pedagogy. In A. Darder, R.D. Torres & M. Baltodano (Eds.). Critical pedagogy: A reader (pp. 408-429). New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Continuum. Greene, M. (2002). In search of a critical pedagogy. In A. Darder, R.D. Torres & M. Baltodano (Eds.). Critical pedagogy: A reader (pp. 97-112). New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Shor, I. and Freire, P. (2002). What are the fears and risks of transformation? In A. Darder, R.D. Torres & M. Baltodano (Eds.). Critical pedagogy: A reader (pp. 479-496). New York: RoutledgeFalmer. Stenhouse, L. (1975). An introduction to curriculum research and development. New York: Heinemann Educational Publishers. About the Reviewer Jennifer Mahon, PhD |
Spack, Ruth & Zamel, Vivian (Eds) (2008) Language Lessons: Stories for Teaching and Learning English. Reviewed by Mary Power, University of California, Davis
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Spack, Ruth & Zamel, Vivian (Eds) (2008) Language
Lessons: Stories for Teaching and Learning English. Ann
Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press
Pp. 222 ISBN 978-0-472-03115-3 Reviewed by Mary Power December 18, 2008 Language Lessons: Stories for Teaching and Learning
English is an edited collection of eighteen fiction short
stories that chronicles the linguistic experiences of a
culturally dislocated group of people. Many of theses narratives
have been written by award-winning authors who have drawn on
their own personal biographies as language students and teachers
to render the experiences of their characters in an authentic and
touching manner. In the preface to this book the editors point
out that unlike traditional textbooks which explicate the process
of language teaching and learning from an abstract and
hypothetical point of view, Language Lessons is an
original endeavor as it spotlights the “aesthetic”
issues that come into play in the complicated process that is
language acquisition. Like Zamel’s and Spack’s previous book,
Crossing the Curriculum (2004), in which the perspectives
of researchers, students, and teachers in the multilingual
college classroom are explored, the fictional stories in
Language Lessons continue this exploration of the language
experience from a multiplicity of perspectives. Resonating with
many of the narratives in Mike Rose’s Lives on the
Boundary (1989), these finely crafted, multifaceted
stories lay bare the private thoughts and feelings of their
characters as they wrestle with the vagaries of a new language
and culture. Privy to the private musings of both students and
their teachers, these stories allow the reader into the personal
worlds of the primary participants in the language acquisition
process thereby promoting a better understanding between all
involved. Language Lessons is made up of four sections, each of
which serves to highlight a specific theme. A brief synopsis of
the author’s biography heads each story with information
that can help contextualize the narrative that follows. A
Questions for Reflection and Analysis section follows every story
providing the reader with an opportunity to reflect on language
teaching and other issues raised in the story. The editors
emphasize that though the stories have been thematically
organized into specific sections, they encourage the reader to
compare and contrast stories from different sections as this can
generate additional interpretations. The preface to the book ends
with a discussion of how Language Lessons can be
used in a variety of scholastic settings. The editors
specifically identify graduate and undergraduate courses in
TESOL, Literacy Studies or Language Arts, as well as programs
that prepare teachers or tutors who work with multilingual
learners in smaller or private settings as potential milieux in
which Language Lessons can be used. As teachers of
graduate and undergraduate English courses, Spack and Zamel
assign their students literary readings whose focus is on the
author’s personal experience with language learning. In
their judgment these literary readings, of which Language
Lessons is a part, affectively engages the students putting a
human face on the theoretical approach. The editors feel that the
juxtaposition of literary and theoretical readings allows for
practical connections to be made between theory and practice
giving students a more realistic understanding of the issues
involved in language teaching. Spack and Zamel end the
introduction to this anthology with samples of their
students’ written responses to a variety of language
learning and teaching issues generated by their reading of
Language Lessons. Finally, the preface concludes with a
list of suggestions for writing responses to these
stories. The first section of the anthology entitled Colonial
Encounters comprises four stories. Narrated from the
child’s point of view, these stories describe the painful
experiences of indigenous children in English-language schools
from the late 19thth century to the early
1950’s. Stripped of their linguistic and cultural
identities, they encounter classroom and living environments that
presuppose cultural superiority to the students’ native
languages and customs. In Zitakala-Sa’s poignant story,
“The School Days of an Indian Girl,” a Native
American child is taken from her home on a Western Reservation
and sent to an English-only boarding school run by missionaries.
The narrator vividly relates the indignities she suffered,
sometimes due to cultural misunderstandings, but more often
because of the conflict generated by the denigration of her
native Indian traditions and the enforced colonial assimilation
policies of the school. Chinua Achebe’s
“Chike’s School Days,” is set in Nigeria and
considers how colonial power assigned significant positive status
and prestige to those Africans who would eschew their traditional
Igbo cultural values in favor of the Christian and scholastic
values of a European paradigm. Patricia Grace’s
“Kura” is a heartbreaking story about the linguistic
experiences of Maori children in an English-only school in New
Zealand. Finally, Marie Hara’s “Fourth Grade
Ukus” speaks to the struggles of a child, a Hawaii Creole
speaker, as she negotiates her way through a Standard English
classroom. Each of the four stories in Childhood Transformations,
Part II, focuses on children with limited or non-existent English
literacy skills who are placed in mainstream classes in North
American schools. The stories show how relationships with
teachers, parents, peers, and the general learning environment
can influence the language acquisition skills of these children
transforming all involved. In Rudy Wiebe’s “Speaking
Saskatchewan” the teacher gently engages the
Low-German-speaking Mennonite child explaining that learning to
read in English would open up a new world that would
“speak” to him. Francisco Jimenez’s
“Inside Out” chronicles the story of a young Mexican
boy who neither spoke nor understood English and how his
teacher’s and school peers’ responses impact his
scholastic experience. Andrew Lam’s “Show and
Tell” tells the story of a recently-arrived Vietnamese
refugee in the United States and how he negotiates his way in his
new eight grade American junior high school with the help of
another student in his class. Finally, Lan Samanth Chang’s
“The Unforgetting” tells the story of a
Chinese-American family who forfeit their Chinese identity,
language and culture, in order to assume an American one.
However, their son Charles challenges his parents to
“unforget” as he desires to know more about his
Chinese heritage. The third section of the anthology, Adult Education,
comprises five stories. Theses narratives chronicle the stories
of political refugees, expatriates, and immigrants, and examine
the multiple reasons that bring these people to the United States
and ultimately to Adult Education classes to learn English. Leo
Rosten’s “The Rather Baffling case of
H*Y*M*A*N*K*A*P*L*A*N” is a humorous account of the
irrepressible Mr. Kaplan, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, who
tries the patience of his English language instructor, Mr.
Parkhill, with his penchant for using linguistic anomalies and
malapropisms. Nicholasa Mohr’s “The English
Lesson” focuses on the hopes and aspirations of a diverse
group of students who have come to the United States seeking a
better life and who understand that to be successful in their new
country, they must learn to speak English. Lucy Honig’s
“English as a Second Language” tells the moving story
of a refugee from Guatemala who is nominated for an award by her
English-language teacher and her humiliating experience as she
accepts this award at the hands of the city’s insensitive
and obtuse mayor. “Nothing in Our Hands but Age” is a
poignant story about an elderly Cuban couple who despite great
obstacles are determined to rebuild their lives in America.
Finally, Lily Brett’s “What Do You Know about
Friends?” details the disappointing experience of Mrs.
Bensky, a Polish refugee, when she takes a physics class in an
Australian university. The final section in this anthology, Private Lessons,
examines the pros and cons of the private language-learning
environment and how it can both foster and impede learning.
Bernard Malamud’s “The German Refugee” tells
the story of the relationship between an English tutor and his
student, Oskar Gassner, an accomplished journalist who has fled
to America in order to escape Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
Desperate in his struggle to improve his American English so that
he can survive in his newly-adopted country, he eventually
commits suicide as the torments of his past and the news of his
wife’s death become too much to bear. Lindsley
Cameron’s “Private Lesson” tells the story of
the inexperienced and frustrated Mrs. Longo who flounders in her
attempts to tutor a Japanese student. “English
Lessons” and “Albert and Esene” written
respectively by Shauna Singh Baldwin and Frances Khirallah Noble
both focus on women who realize the personal value of literacy
and how such empowerment can intimidate their families. Finally,
Linh Dinh’s “Prisoner with a Dictionary” tells
the story of a man who learns a new language without
understanding its meaning. In this lonely and isolated process,
however, though he believes he is forging a new self that will
help him forget his past, he loses an important part of who he
really is. I would use this book as both a conversation and writing
resource in an advanced ESL classroom. As Rajini Srikanth’s
essay in Crossing the Curriculum (2004) points out
“…literature - with its indeterminacies and
ambiguities - provides a wonderful environment in which to
encourage ESOL learners to release their voices from inhibitions
and hesitations” (p.182). These finely crafted stories in
Language Lessons will do just that. References Rose, Mike. (1989). Lives on the Boundary. New York: Penguin Group. Zamel, Vivian & Spack, Ruth (Eds.). (2004). Crossing the Curriculum: Multilingual Learners in College Classrooms. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. About the Reviewer Mary Power is a second-year M.A. TESOL student at UC Davis. As
a veteran teacher, she began her career in a rural high school in
the south of Ireland where she taught music and French for ten
years. Having spent a year teaching ESL at the primary and junior
high school levels in Brittany, France, she came to the United
States in 1999. Before entering the UC Davis M.A. TESOL program
in 2007, Mary Power taught language arts at a junior high school
level as well as fourth grade from 2003 – 2007 in a local
Catholic elementary school. |
Lepionka, Mary Ellen. (2008). Writing and Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Textbook Authorship and Higher Education Publishing (2nd ed.). Reviewed by David C. Young, St. Francis Xavier University
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Lepionka, Mary Ellen. (2008). Writing and
Developing Your College Textbook: A Comprehensive Guide to
Textbook Authorship and Higher Education Publishing
(2nd ed.). Gloucester, MA: Atlantic Path
Publishing
Pp. xiv + 305 ISBN 978-0-9728164-7-2 Reviewed by David C. Young December 18, 2008 As someone who teaches in a school of education, my responsibilities are far-reaching, but generally, they fall within the three broad areas of teaching, service and research. In regards to teaching, the typical expectations are that I offer undergraduate and graduate classes in my areas of expertise, and supervise student teachers during their field experience. In terms of service, it is assumed that I will sit on faculty and university committees, and remain an active participant in the affairs of the broader education community. And finally, it is a requirement that I maintain an active research agenda. Thus, writing journal articles, books, book chapters and reports becomes part of the natural routine that most academics, including myself, engage in during the course of their career. As a junior university faculty member, one of the many tasks that I find myself engaged in is reading countless texts in an effort to find the most appropriate book to use for the courses I am teaching. This is no easy undertaking, as ideally, the source one selects should be reputable, readable, provide sound curricular content, and be cost efficient for the students who ultimately purchase this resource. Too often, I find myself lamenting the fact that I am unable to find one book that meets all of my expectations, and as a result, I am often left to cobble together a set of assigned readings by various authors. I find this to be a less than ideal compromise for myself as the instructor, and more importantly, for the students in my classes. Recently, I have found myself toying with the idea of writing my own text—one that would meet my unique requirements. My initial assumption was that this would be a straight-forward endeavor, but, I quickly realized that there were numerous issues involved in writing a textbook that I had not previously considered or even envisioned. What I was ultimately left with was an idea of what the book should be, coupled with a massive array of questions, the answers to which I was unable to uncover. In the interim, and quite fortuitously for me, I had been asked to write this review of Mary Ellen Lepionka’s 2008 work Writing and developing your college textbook: A comprehensive guide to textbook authorship and higher education publishing. This comprehensively revised second edition book was well received, and served as a most valuable resource in terms of providing cogent answers to the many queries I had assembled. In sixteen succinct chapters, Lepionka, drawing on her thirty years of experience in educational publishing, provides the reader with a thorough account of the publishing process from beginning to end. As she states at the outset, academics are experts in their particular field, but they are not experts in textbook publishing, and this book is a cogent and practical account of how one goes about writing as well as publishing their material. This work has several strengths which are particularly noteworthy. First, and perhaps most importantly, the book is very readable. That is, the writing is clear and unambiguous, and even someone such as myself, with little or no familiarity in textbook writing and publishing, could benefit from this read. This overall readability is fostered by the inclusion of a glossary of publishing terms. This may seem but a minor point, but, for a lay audience, the ability to locate definitions for terms such as “seeding adoptions” or “crossover trade” was most appreciated. An additional strength of this book is that it offers the reader extremely useful tips and strategies in terms of the actual writing style one should employ in their textbook. As the author of various journal articles and book chapters, I must admit that I felt as though I had a firm grasp of what academic writing entailed, but, in retrospect, after having read Lepionka’s work, I find myself re-evaluating my position. The material dealing with the writing process, particularly as contained in chapters six and seven, is very useful, and all writers could benefit from embracing the guidelines she outlines. In addition to this, the material in chapter sixteen dealing with enhancing a text’s value visually is an absolute must-read for any prospective book author. As Lepionka points out, the visual presentation of a book is important in marketing and selling it to potential customers. The suggestions offered in this chapter are wonderful, and I would also recommend that readers devote specific attention to the appendix dealing with visualizing information. A final strength of Writing and developing your college textbook: A comprehensive guide to textbook authorship and higher education publishing (2nd ed.) is the inclusion of references, charts, diagrams, a sample prospectus letter, a list of publishers, and web links. Each of these is strategically and appropriately interspersed throughout the book, and provides the reader with relevant and additional information that they might draw on as they engage in producing their own text. After having read Writing and developing your college textbook: A comprehensive guide to textbook authorship and higher education publishing (2nd ed.), I find myself better prepared and better educated about the expectations associated with writing a “good” and “successful” textbook. Although the thoughts of actually embarking on this process are still somewhat daunting, I do feel “empowered” about the prospect of writing my own text. For those who may have trepidations about producing a book, rest easy, as Lepionka’s writing may be the solution to your problem. It certainly worked for me! About the Reviewer David C. Young, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia (Canada). His current teaching includes courses in educational administration and policy, educational research and inclusive education. His research is focused on the areas of educational foundations, school law and special education policy. |
Sunday, June 29, 2025
Goldstone, Dwonna (2006). Integrating the 40 Acres: The Fifty-Year Struggle for Racial Equality at the University of Texas. Reviewed by Casey E. George-Jackson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Goldstone, Dwonna (2006). Integrating the 40 Acres: The
Fifty-Year Struggle for Racial Equality at the University of
Texas. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press
Pp. x + 213 ISBN 978-0-8203-2828-7 Reviewed by Casey E. George-Jackson December 18, 2008 Integrating the 40 Acres: The Fifty-Year Struggle for Racial Equality at the University of Texas offers a historical account of the desegregation of the University of Texas, beginning with the United States Supreme Court decision of Sweatt v. Painter (1950). The book spans fifty years of legal, legislative, political, and social struggles surrounding the issue of access to the State’s flagship university for African Americans. The book centers on the fact African Americans were systematically barred from participating in many aspects of campus life despite a Supreme Court order to desegregate the University of Texas. Goldstone portrays desegregation of the University as piecemeal and slow to progress, with the remnants of segregation remaining for decades following formal desegregation. The author uses archival information obtained from official state and university records, newspaper articles, and letters that reflect the sentiments of members of the public, legislators, students, faculty, and University officials. Her approach incorporates a number of perspectives, including African Americans, Whites, pro-segregationists, and anti-segregationists. Goldstone’s interpretation of the historical documents included in her research demonstrates how deeply ingrained racism was for many white Texans, including politicians, administrators, faculty, and students at the University. Through the use of these documents, the author creates a compelling narrative by inserting specific examples of racism and overt discrimination into the retelling of the history of the University over the last half-century. In African Americans at the School of Law (Chapter 1), Goldstone provides the background of the history of the University of Texas leading to Sweatt, the development and progress of the case, and the eventual Supreme Court decision. In 1946, an African American named Heman Sweatt and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) filed a lawsuit against the University of Texas’s School of Law following denial of admission based on his race. The University and the State of Texas attempted to circumvent and counteract the lawsuit by establishing a law school specifically for African Americans, the Texas State University for Negroes (TSUN). TSUN, although inferior in every way to University of Texas’ School of Law, became a symbol of the extreme measures the University and the State were willing to undertake in order to uphold segregation. According to the archives, Goldstone found a wide variety of reactions to the case and the overarching issue of segregation, both from across the State and within the University community. In 1950, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans be admitted to the University’s law school and other graduate-level programs. Although Sweatt finally attended the University, he eventually left without completing his law degree citing health reasons and the amount of time spent waiting for the Supreme Court’s decision. Yet his case and the subsequent ruling allowed for other African Americans to gain entrance into the University. Goldstone uses the remaining chapters of the book to inform readers that their admission was confined to the classroom, resulting in the continuation of a segregated college experience for African Americans. In the second chapter, Desegregation of Educational Facilities, the author connects Sweatt to the larger context of national desegregation efforts, particularly Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). As Sweatt granted African Americans access to the law and graduate programs at the University, Brown granted access to the undergraduate programs. Although the University officially stated that it was ready to integrate, Goldstone notes that its actions and policies as dictated by politicians, the Board of Regents, and University administrators stated otherwise. Admissions policies were purposefully altered to restrict the number of African Americans admitted to the University, and the goal of maintain segregation through legal means was largely achieved. The few African Americans who were able to gain admission had mixed experiences as college students, from support to hostility and even isolation. Additional policies limited African Americans’ participation in social organizations and activities, and the maintenance of separate facilities such as testing centers and restrooms perpetuated Jim Crow practices, despite the University’s insistence that it was desegregating. Throughout this chapter, Goldstone offers examples of the reactions of pro-segregationists who threatened legal action to prevent the desegregation of the undergraduate programs, and anti-segregationists who called for further integration of African Americans into the University. The next three chapters focus on three aspects of campus life which remained segregated years after Sweatt: Desegregation On and Off Campus (Chapter 3), Dormitory Integration (Chapter 4), and Black Integration of the Athletic Program (Chapter 5). Throughout these chapters, Goldstone provides examples of how the University used race-based policies to limit interracial interactions on campus, and to perpetuate racism toward African American students. A narrow notion of what constituted a desegregated University was applied by those in power, particularly as the “regents generally emphasized total integration in the academic process while disavowing any major responsibility for African American’s students’ social and extracurricular integration, which the board claimed did not constitute part of the academic process” (p. 11). Off campus, many Austin businesses that served students remained segregated, denying African Americans a similar college experience as their white peers. In 1963, following years of protest, an ordinance was passed that prevented Austin businesses from discriminating on the basis of race. In assessing its larger impact, Goldstone notes that Sweatt not only contributed to the desegregation of the University of Texas, but also to the desegregation of Austin. Desegregating the dormitories was another necessary step towards fully desegregating the University, particularly as “many civil rights activists saw integration of the classroom as only half the fight” (p. 91). The University’s policies separated on-campus housing by race, while privately managed dorms on- and off-campus allowed whites and Blacks to live together. Goldstone notes that the University permitted white students to request to and live with Black students, which created a loophole for the University to claim that their dorms were not formally segregated. However, Blacks could not request to live with white students, and strict visitation policies were enacted to prevent African Americans from even entering white dorms, particularly across gender groups. Compared to white dorms, Black dormitories were physically inferior, remotely located, and often lacked basic amenities. Goldstone attributes the eventual desegregation of the dormitories in 1965 to efforts led by progressive faculty and students including protests, complaints filed by students, and articles featured in the student-led newspaper that drew attention to the inequities in housing. However, the author notes that while the University changed its formal housing policies, housing assignments considered the race of applicants until 1972 and the dorms remained segregated along racial lines. Integration of the Athletic Program highlights another aspect of the University that remained segregated for years following the Sweatt ruling. Until 1956, the Board of Regents mandated that University teams were only allowed to compete against all-white teams, even though many believed that desegregating athletics would help ease racial tensions across the South. Many other Southern universities prohibited African Americans from participating in intercollegiate sports, which helped legitimize the University’s own policies regarding their ineligibility for athletic participation. Following a national track and field meet hosted by the University in the late 1950s in which Blacks competed, Texas officials and coaches began to realize that the University was losing Black athletes to many of their competitors. Similar to the actions and calls for other aspects of campus to be desegregated, progressive student and faculty contributed to the 1963 decision to desegregate the University’s athletic program and other student activities. African Americans were allowed to compete in the University’s intercollegiate sports the following year, yet few Blacks were actively recruited and no athletic scholarships were awarded to African Americans until 1967. In the final chapter, Desegregation from 1964 to the Present, Goldstone provides an overview of the remaining aspects and residual effects of segregation at the University of Texas, as well as the slow progress from desegregation to integration. This chapter focuses on the desegregation of the Forty Acres Club (1962) and the Longhorn Band (1964), the hiring of the first African American faculty member (1964), and the establishment of ethnic studies programs (1969) and minority recruitment and retention programs (1968). Although Sweatt and subsequent desegregation efforts focused on African Americans, other racial and ethnic groups such as Mexican American also benefitted from the desegregation of the University of Texas. Access to the University and other high-profile institutions continue to be highly contested in the courts. Over forty years after Sweatt, The University of Texas School of Law was again the subject of interest in Hopwood v. Texas (1996), in which an white applicant who was denied admission accused the University of admitting a less-qualified minority into the law program. The Hopwood ruling prevented the University from considering race when admitting students to the law program. Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), which focused on the University of Michigan’s law school, upheld the use of race in admissions if reasons of compelling interest are demonstrated. Despite the Grutter decision, and the development of programs that aim to increase minority students’ access to and success at the University of Texas and other high-profile universities, problems of access and racism still exist and impact campus climates. Goldstone concludes by reminding readers that the evidence presented in this book demonstrates the degree to which whites, particularly those in power, “went to great lengths to maintain white privilege even as the rest of the nation, including other parts of the South, were looking for ways to remedy the injustices inflicted on the region’s blacks” (p. 155). Integrating the 40 Acres demonstrates the effects of decisions, actions, and strategies of exclusion on the educational opportunities and experiences of African Americans at the University of Texas during a contentious period. The evidence presented by Goldstone alerts readers to the fact that desegregation occurred gradually and against great resistance at the University, in Austin, and in the State of Texas. The tension between racial groups and those for and against desegregation is apparent throughout the book, and informs readers of the intense racism during this time period at the University of Texas and across the nation. In many ways, this tension continues today, although it appears in more covert ways. For younger individuals who were not proxy to the changes that occurred as a result of Sweatt and other legal cases that worked to dismantle segregation, this book fulfills an important role in retelling the stories of these struggles, the blatant racism, and resistance to racism which shaped the University and the nation. This book will be particularly useful for faculty and students interested in and studying educational equity, law and education, desegregation, higher education, and the experiences of minorities in higher education. However, because of the eloquent and compelling narrative Goldstone offers, the book is also highly accessible to and may be of interest to members of the general public. Although the author briefly mentions the desegregation of other educational entities in the South, the focus of the book—understandably—remains primarily on Texas. A potential weakness of the book is that it does not discuss the carefully coordinated and strategic efforts of the NAACP and civil rights leaders to challenge segregation through legal means at the K-12 and higher education levels as a way to desegregate society. This is particularly important given the number of court cases that made their way through the legal system during the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. While other cases are mentioned in relation to the events at the University of Texas, it is also important for readers to understand that Sweatt was just one of the many cases brought forth to systematically change the legal structure of education, and by extension, society. These cases were also a result of racial relations in the U.S. and pressure from the international community questioning the treatment of Blacks in American following World War II, which aided in the opportunity for these cases to be heard and for their success in the courts. From a sociological perspective, Goldstone draws attention to the distinction between desegregation and integration. Desegregation—the mere combination of previously segregated individuals in a particular setting—is a prerequisite for integration, yet integration works to fully incorporate individuals into the particular setting. Goldstone’s analysis demonstrates that while the Sweatt decision formally desegregated the University, other changes had to occur for integration to occur. However, some may argue that the University still may not be integrated today with the lingering effects of racism impacting the campus climate. Understanding the desegregation and integration of the University of Texas is critical as current legislators, policy makers, and administrators continue to try to improve educational equity for racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., particularly in light of current challenges of affirmative action programs and policies. Given the duration of desegregation efforts at the University of Texas and the lasting impact of de jure and de facto segregation, this book challenges the notion that affirmative action policies will not be needed in 25 years, as was stated in 2003 by Justice Sandra Day O’Connor in the Grutter ruling. In this sense, Goldstone offers important evidence that affirmative action programs and policies are still needed to recruit and retain minorities in higher education to overcome to long-term effects of segregation. References Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954). 347 U.S. 483. Grutter v. Bollinger (2003). 539 U.S. 306. Hopwood v. Texas (5th Cir. 1996), 78 F.3d932. Sweatt v. Painter (1950). 339 U.S. 629.
Campano, Gerald. (2007). Immigrant Students and Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Remembering. Reviewed by Michael D. Boatright, University of Georgia
Beach, Richard; Haertling, Thein, & Parks, Daryl. (2008). High School Students’ Competing Social Worlds: Negotiating Identities and Allegiances in Response to Multicultural Literature. Reviewed by Janie Cowan, University of Georgia
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Strong-Wilson, Teresa. (2008). <cite>Bringing Memory Forward: Storied Remembrance in Social Justice Education with Teachers. </cite> Reviewed by Patricia H. Hinchey, Pennsylvania State UniversityStrong-Wilson, Teresa. (2008). Bringing Memory Forward: Storied Remembrance in Social Justice Education with Teachers. Ne...
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