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by Jennifer Beers (Contribution by), Lacie Butler (Contribution by), Cristobal Carambo (Contribution by)
Many would argue that the state of urban science education has been static for the past several decades and that there is little to learn from it. Rather than accepting this deficit perspective, Improving Urban Science Education strives to recognize and understand the successes that exist there by systematically documenting seven years of research into issues salient to teaching and learning in urban high school science classes. Grounded in the post structuralism of William Sewell-and brought to life through the experiences of different students, teachers, and school settings in Philadelphia-this book shows how teachers and students can work together to enact meaningful science education when social and cultural differences as well as inappropriate curricula often make the challenges seem insurmountable.
Chapters contain rich images of urban youth and each strives to offer insights into problems and suggestions for resolving them. Most significant, in spite of the challenges, the research offers hope and shows that fresh approaches to teaching and learning can lead students-some who have already been pronounced academic, even societal, failures-to becoming avid and deep learners of science.Author Biography
Kenneth Tobin is Presidential Professor in The Graduate Center at The City University of New York. Rowhea Elmesky is associate professor at Washington University. Gale Seiler is associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
