DEVELOPING STUDENTS AS CHANGE AGENTS: 
Urban Education and Reform

 Dorothy L. Hurley
Eastern University-Campolo School for Social Change
Philadelphia, U. S. A.

Developing Students as Change Agents:
A Model for Social Transformation
EMME Special Edition:
Urban Education and Reform Articles
References

In our rush to reform education, we have forgotten a simple truth: reform will never be achieved by renewing appropriations, restructuring schools, rewriting curricula, and revising texts if we continue to demean and dishearten the human resource called the teacher on whom so much depends. (Palmer, 1998, p.3) [paragraph 1]

Teachers, as Palmer (1998) contends, are the cornerstone of all educational reform efforts.  In this capacity, they must operate essentially as change agents.  Teacher preparation programs, therefore, whether traditional or nontraditional in design, must seek ways to develop teachers-in-training as change agents.  Developing students as change agents is both a daunting and a humbling process; yet, it has been one of the historic and contemporary purposes of education.  Education by its very nature exists to preserve society.  Indeed, as Plato argued in the Republic, in order for human beings to arrive at and to choose the “good” (for the benefit of the citizenry) one must receive the appropriate education to make such choices (Gutek, 2001, p.22).   Therefore, the teacher, instructor, trainer, or counselor, or whatever title the facilitator of the educational process bears, is in essence a developer of change agents.  It is my view, somewhat in contradiction to Gutek’s (2001) interpretation of Plato’s view of social change,  that in order to preserve society’s capacity to choose the “good” one must be committed to a continuous process of change – first, change or transformation of oneself and secondly, or more accurately concomitantly, transformation of society itself.  The teacher, beginning in our teacher preparation programs, ought to be inspired, encouraged, supported, and taught in such a manner that the potential of this critical human resource is maximized and not “demean[ed]” and “dishearten[ed]” (Palmer, 1998, p. 3). [paragraph 2]

For more than thirty years, I have served in various educational roles that necessitated my coming face to face with the demons that accompany undertaking the commitment of personal transformation and the responsibility of facilitating the development of others as change agents for social transformation.  My titles have included teacher, counselor, trainer, facilitator, and professor.  In all these roles, regardless of the diversity of the responsibilities, the process itself has had remarkably similar aspects – some pleasant, some painful, all of them humbling.  The lessons I have learned along the way are the basis of the strategies I now use in discharging my responsibility to develop students as change agents who in turn will be committed to developing students as change agents and so on.  This article serves as an introduction to the Article Section of this special edition on Urban Education and Reform, which contains articles that all provide messages and direction for teacher preparation programs.  This article also shares an instructional strategy that I use in urban teacher preparation, which has evolved and is still evolving out of my work in the field of urban education.  Several researchers have noted that there is a growing disconnect between the backgrounds of the certified teachers available to serve in urban schools and the students who attend them in relation to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Banks, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Murrell, 2001; Nieto, 1999; Yeo, 1997).  Given this reality, as teacher educators, we must ask ourselves, how do we prepare students to seek out and listen to the voices of the students and communities they will serve?  How do we prepare students to be open to listen to the voices of their colleagues, especially colleagues that are not from the dominant power culture?  And how do we prepare students who are from cultures that are and have been historically marginalized in our society to have the courage to let their voices be heard, even when there may be subtle and not so subtle attempts to silence them?  [paragraph 3]

One of the most pressing issues in urban education is the number of vacancies that go unfilled each year, and the number of teachers assigned to teach in areas where they lack certification.  For example, at a recent presentation on No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Updates for 2003 by the Bureau of Teacher Certification and Preparation, Division of Teacher Education, Pennsylvania Department of Education, it was reported that there continues to be a shortage of “highly qualified” teachers in urban districts and, to a lesser extent, in remote areas.  In school year 2001-02, 5,200 teachers were teaching on emergency certificates and 70% of these teachers were in large urban school districts.  Last year, in the Philadelphia School District, one of the largest in the country, there was a shortage of 1,792 elementary educators.  State Departments of Education throughout the nation are partnering with teacher preparation programs to produce a cadre of certified teachers to meet the demand and satisfy the requirements of No Child Left Behind legislation.  Much has been written about the strengths of traditional teacher education programs, especially those that serve traditional in-service teachers (Darling-Hammond, 2003; Darling-Hammond and Youngs, 2002).  Research in this field clearly indicates that urban and rural areas suffer the most from teacher shortage, teacher under-preparation, limited resources, state takeovers, high teacher turnover, and the list goes on (Anyon, 1997; Kozol, 1991; Yeo, 1997).  It is clear, however, that producing more certified teachers will not necessarily address the issue of teacher shortage in urban school districts.  [paragraph 4]

This reflective article does not in any way wish to diminish the reality of these injustices.  It is my contention, however, that reform efforts in relation to urban education must be engaged on several fronts.  The novice teacher, particularly the one who has been placed in the classroom with no experience (NCLB is not going to change this reality), must face the class s/he is entrusted to teach everyday, while s/he is in fact learning concurrently in graduate and sometimes undergraduate classes to be a more effective teacher.  Similarly, educators must continue to advocate for the traditional teacher preparation programs while seeking ways to maximize the effectiveness of the nontraditional teacher preparation programs in which we teach.  It is unlikely that the demand for accelerated and alternative teacher certification programs is going to lessen.  Yet, just as the teacher is the most important lynchpin in educational reform, so too is the university professor of education the lynchpin in teacher preparation.  We must ask ourselves the question: How can we maximize the somewhat limited opportunity that is becoming increasingly more limited, given the accelerated climate, created to a large extent by NCLB, which typically exists in our teacher preparation courses?  [paragraph 5]

This article seeks to provide a reflective response to this question from a variety of perspectives.  First, I intend to share a relevant instructional strategy that I use in one of our core graduate courses for the M. Ed. in Multicultural Education for the Urban Transformation track at Eastern University.  Secondly, I will provide linkages between this strategy and its underlying philosophy, including linkages to the mission of the Campolo School for Social Change and to the three other articles that comprise this special edition of EMME on Urban Education and Reform.  And finally, I offer some recommendations in the hope of stimulating  more discussion on how traditional teacher preparation educators might enhance our ability to produce “highly qualified” teachers for urban schools that are likely to “stay at the table” (Palmer, 2000).  [paragraph 6]

Developing Students as Change Agents: A Model for Social Transformation

The course in question is conducted at the Campolo School for Social Change at Eastern University, PA, which has as its mission:

...preparing Christian change-agents, as compassionate professionals and activist scholars, to work for justice by assisting and empowering urban communities, locally, nationally and globally, to engage in their own holistic transformation. 

Implicit in the mission of the Campolo School for Social Change is the idea of developing students as change agents.  The challenge is not in convincing students that they ought to serve as change agents, but in providing the tools and strategies that give students the confidence to serve in this capacity.  Therefore, the mission of the Campolo School, the federal and state definition of “highly qualified teacher,” the empirical research on teacher effectiveness, as well as spiritual principles for personal transformation must all operate synergistically in developing students as change agents, committed to social transformation in general and to the transformation of urban schools in particular.  Therefore, a critical question that emerges to provide direction for the educator who desires to embrace this philosophy is: What pedagogical strategies will ensure that every class or staff development session is an opportunity to promote and facilitate personal transformation?  [paragraph 7]

Most of the students in this course are nontraditional career changers who have felt called to change careers and teach in the city.  They are for the most part fairly new to teaching (first three years); some are on “emergency teacher permits” (for teachers who have undergraduate degrees, but are not certified in the area of their instruction and in most cases have not taken the state-required examinations) and others are on “teacher intern permits” (many have no teacher experience, but have passed the state examination in the content area of their teaching and must complete certification requirements through a state-approved program within a three-year period).  Many of the students initially pursue teacher certification and then complete the requirements for the Master’s Education in Multicultural Education or pursue certification and the Master’s degree concurrently.   The classes are diverse in relation to age, culture, ethnicity, religion, gender, and socioeconomic status, including suburban and urban teachers as well as international students. [paragraph 8]

As stated above, developing students as change agents requires both humility and courage.  Palmer (1993), in To know as we are known, alludes to this change process in the following manner:

Above all, we want to avoid a knowledge that calls for our own conversion.  We want to know in ways that allow us to convert the world---but we do not want to be known in ways that require us to change as well. (pp. 39-40)  [paragraph 9]

The implication here is that as teachers we cannot develop students as change agents, asking them to be committed to personal transformation, without being willing to engage in the ongoing process of personal transformation ourselves.  It is clear that the process needed for students to develop as change agents who in turn transform society is a spiritual one, and humility is both a requirement and a by-product of engaging in this process.  The starting point for the educator is the necessity of recognizing that no human being, no matter how talented, well-trained, or skillful, has the power to change another human being, not even oneself, at the level that is required for social transformation.  Such power can come only from a divine source.  Thus, while the educator can do many things to stimulate a desire for transformation in the student, the reality is that the change itself is spiritual in nature.  The most important reality for the educator to embrace is the notion that in order to develop others as change agents, or, more accurately, in order to facilitate the process of others’ becoming change agents, one must recognize and be committed to the process of transformation in self.  [paragraph 10]

Keeping these reservations in mind, at the start of each semester I introduce students to three principles: first, that in order to be engaged in social transformation, one must first be committed to personal transformation; second, that two conditions are essential for successful transformation, whether at the personal or the societal level: a) the belief that it is possible, and b) the real desire to do it.  Therefore, at the outset, it is established that we are going to discuss the power of the self-fulfilling prophecy and examine through qualitative research the pervasiveness of negative perceptions about urban education; and third, the importance of synergy.  It is stressed that the course is designed for all participants, including the instructor, to benefit from the collective professional and life experience of everyone in the class.  [paragraph 11]

Some of the required class readings suggest to students that reform in education has, more often than not, focused on changes that are imposed on teachers or changes that teachers must impose on students, or both.  Students learn, however, that a growing body of research clearly indicates that the greatest difference in the outcomes for students is closely tied to the effectiveness of individual teachers and the quality of their teacher preparation (Darling–Hammond, 2003).   Clearly, this research supports what veteran and novice teachers (my students) already know: teachers count.  Yet, it would be an injustice not to acknowledge that while teachers in fact do make the greatest difference, all teachers, by virtue of their circumstances, are not on level playing fields to make a difference, especially in light of the reality of inequity in education, particularly in urban education.   Students are encouraged to reflect critically on this reality by first studying the historical framework of urban education in such texts as David Tyack’s (1974) One Best System and Jean Anyon’s (1997) Ghetto Schooling.  Next, we establish a theoretical framework for the evolution of urban education and for the importance of education as a vehicle of liberation through Paulo Freire’s (1993) classic text, Pedagogy of the Oppressed.  The focal question that students are asked to consider throughout the course is “How can I make a difference?”  [paragraph 12]

During the first few weeks of the semester, many students report that they feel hopeless and depressed by the truth about urban education.  However, by the time we read texts that demonstrate Freire’s problem-posing methodology in practice, such as Corbett, Wilson, and Williams' (2002) Effort and Excellence in Urban Education or Ladson-Billings' (1994) Dreamkeepers, students become excited as they begin to recognize ways of applying theory or linking it with practice. This approach validates the emerging awareness of the students, that the reality of urban education is one of the greatest injustices existing in our society today, but they are not weighed down by a belief or perception that nothing will make a difference.  [paragraph 13]

By exposing graduate students to research that documents the injustices in urban education, as well as to theory that postulates the motivation for the practice of injustice, and by establishing the potential of a high quality education that promotes critical thinking, it is hoped that teachers will be given the currency that is needed to stay in urban schools and become the kind of veteran teachers that Nieto (2003) documents in her latest book, What keeps teachers going?.  [paragraph 14]    

A vital component of the instructional strategy is the cooperative group project, in which student teams are assigned a research project that investigates perceptions about urban education. The project requires them to:

• examine their perceptions about urban education (in other words, their preconceived notions as well as their experience)

• research the issues, problems, solutions, etc., in relation to urban education as described in the popular print media (i.e. newspapers, magazines, news magazines, etc.)

• research urban education as depicted in the popular media of film

• research issues by examining and critiquing at least one form of creative writing dealing with urban education (poetry, play, fiction, rap lyrics, etc.)

• research demographic information about recipients of urban education (test scores, graduation rates, percentages of students going to college, income/employment outcomes, etc.) and compare these data to data on suburban student populations

• interview representatives of various stakeholder groups: students, parents, teachers, administrators, community members, politicians, and clergy to ascertain their perceptions of and attitudes to the problems, issues, and possible solutions in relation to urban education; and

• visit an urban school.  

As a group, they summarize, analyze, and interpret their findings, and address the question: “How do your findings and original perceptions compare with the views and research conclusions of the urban education scholars covered in class?”  [paragraph 15]

Students are asked to share with the other groups their initial perceptions about urban education and what they have learned from participating in the project.  Insights reported by students during final group oral and/or written presentations include:  

[The problems are] not going to be solved easily.

The most impactful experience of this entire course was observing a class in [the city].  It was so depressing – how can you motivate these kids in these settings?

[What I learned is that I] must first make a commitment to make a contribution, don’t give up, and then stay to make social change.  

Some parents feel there is no hope, but many feel that the most important aspect is having good qualified teachers.  

[Through our research] we learned that urban life is multidimensional: different cultures, races, and languages all intersecting. This makes urban life extraordinarily complex.  But the potential harvest of talents, skills, [and] ideas is also extraordinary. 

We believe that urban schools are as good as those who run them and the resources available to them.  As a result of many conditions, urban school students suffer inequality and injustice.  It is sad that many students do not reach their true potential.  

 I didn’t know this kind of thing happened in the US.  I know now that I must stay in the city, teaching. [paragraph 16]

Most of the students report their heightened awareness of the reality of inequity and injustice in most urban schools.  Newton Poling (1991) states that “the principle of justice demands that all persons be treated fairly and have adequate resources for quality life” (p.91).  Marilyn Gittell (1998) attributes the injustice in urban schools to the belief held by many in our society that “we are spending too much money to educate the wrong students" (p.viii)--students that society views as unworthy or undeserving of the expenditure.   Moreover, we cannot escape or avoid considering racism and classism when we examine injustice in urban education, since, as Kozol’s (1991) Savage Inequalities indicates, inequities in urban education are rooted in racism and classism of our society.  [paragraph 17]

Another important aspect of the instructional strategy is establishing communities of caring in the classroom and working with school partners to establish these communities outside.  In our relatively small graduate courses (rarely more than twenty students) we establish small cooperative learning teams and engage in large group processing and reflection.  The major cooperative learning team project, mentioned above, is designed to give students an opportunity to participate in the process of “dialogue” as described by Freire (1993, p.80).  Since students are expected to record and share personal reflections and discoveries, it is critical to create a safe space where they feel that can do this without penalty or judgment.  All of the students are assigned to teams at the start of the semester.  Throughout the semester, they are given opportunities to meet with their teams during three structured class times, and they are also encouraged to meet with their teams outside of class times.  [paragraph 18]

The overt cognitive purpose of this project is to give students an opportunity to engage in qualitative research on the formulation and influence of the perceptions of urban education.  The project also has an undisclosed affective objective to create a community of caring that provides support for individual graduate students, most of whom are novice teachers.  It is essentially a new teacher’s support group without the identifying label.  The effectiveness of this project in creating a community of caring that can motivate a novice teacher is illustrated in the following case-study that involves a graduate student I will call Mary.  [paragraph 19]

Mary is a new graduate student and a novice teacher on an “emergency certificate” to teach.  She is mother of three grown college graduates and grandmother of several school-age children.   Mary had returned to graduate school after twenty years in response to one of the calls for “teachers needed urgently” in the city in which Mary had grown up, but which she had left when she was raising her children.  Mary started teaching and graduate school a few weeks apart and was immediately, in her own words, “thrown into culture shock” in both situations.  Nothing had prepared Mary for the demands placed on her or the difference between the culture in schools today and that of her memories.  Juggling the demands of teaching and graduate school was more than Mary thought she could take.  The stress began to manifest itself physically and Mary went to her family physician who suggested that she either “quit her job or quit school, one or the other.”  When Mary reported this to me, I encouraged her to think about it, pray about it, and make the decision that she thought was in her best interest.  Mary missed the following class and I reported to her team members that she was not necessarily going to return to class.  The following week, however, Mary returned with missed work in hand and informed me that she had decided to stay, both in class and in her job.  At the end of the semester, Mary shook my hand, gave me a hug, and said that if it had not been for my graduate course in urban education she would have quit her job and graduate school.  What made the difference for Mary?  It was, as far as I can ascertain, the synergistic effect of the community of caring, personal reflection and goal setting, and mission-driven, research-based pedagogy created through the design of the course.  Mary felt “wanted, needed, and loved,” and above all safe enough with her classmates and with me to expose her vulnerabilities and “stay at the table.”  [paragraph 20]

EMME Special Edition: Urban Education and Reform Articles

The three articles in this special edition of EMME devoted to urban education and reform are all related to the three aspects of the instructional strategy I have discussed: establishing communities of caring, promoting personal reflection and goal setting, and applying mission-driven pedagogy in the design of teacher education programs.  Fallahi’s “Teach America with Care” reflects on her two years as a consultant in an urban high school.  She speaks of effective teachers as those who essentially establish communities of caring in their classrooms by treating students with respect, being sensitive and responsive to racial, cultural, and gender differences, and being concerned about social injustice.  Fallahi’s description of ineffective teachers can provide teacher educators, like myself, with information that can be used to develop our curriculum to meet the needs of this population, some of whom will most assuredly end up in our graduate and certification programs.  Fallahi identifies several of the teachers in her assigned high schools as making “no attempt to incorporate multicultural awareness in the curriculum.”    This raises the question of the extent to which these teachers have been informed of the rationale for taking this step, have been convinced of the need for it, and have been taught how to do it.  [paragraph 21]

At a recent professional conference I was surprised and dismayed to learn that a university located less than two hours away from the 5th largest city in the United States does not have one required course on multicultural education or urban education (or related area) in their teacher preparation program.  A number of the students at this university, however, opt to student teach in the city and are ill-prepared for the experience both culturally and in terms of appropriate pedagogy.  Closer to home, in my own university, undergraduate students are required to take a semester-long course in multicultural education before they student teach.  Many of the students are predominantly white, middle class, and female, and have had little or no experience with cultural diversity before attending a university whose main campus is located in the suburbs.  Most of their ideas about urban education and groups culturally different from themselves have been formulated through no direct experience.  Some of these students will teach, at least for a time, in urban schools.  Fallahi’s teachers can be divided into those teachers who have hope and those who do not.  A key challenge that arises from Fallahi’s reflection is how to maintain the hope of the new teachers and move to the faith that characterizes the “experienced teachers” who have both faith and hope.  Fallahi’s conclusion urges us to educate our pre-service (and I believe all) teachers so that they are prepared to teach all students  effectively, regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or socioeconomic class.  Fallahi’s assertion that good teachers share common characteristics echoes that of Palmer (1998): “The connections made by good teachers are held not in their methods but in their hearts – meaning heart in its ancient sense, as a place where intellect and emotion and spirit and will converge in the human self” (p.11).  As teachers of teachers, we must seek to create learning environments that provide the space and the substance to serve as catalysts for this convergence to take place.  [paragraph 22]

The article by Blanc, Pickron-Davis, and Mordecai-Phillips, “Teacher Beliefs about Equity in a Mathematics and Science Reform Program,” equates teachers’ commitment to equity with their feeling connected to their students, believing that students can achieve, setting high standards, and at the same time acknowledging that greater equity in resources in urban communities and schools is needed.  The teachers described by Blanc et al. not only want every child to succeed, but also believe that every child can succeed and that children of color can be successful in math and science.  Despite this optimism, Blanc et al. in their concluding section, “Balancing pessimism and hope,” invite the reflection that what is lacking is faith that a historical system of inequity will be rectified.  Both Anyon (1997) and Stone (1998) assert the need for systemic approaches to address the needs of urban education.  Anyon argues that we need a “fuller, more comprehensive vision of social change” (p. 164) to address the issue of what she refers to as Ghetto Schooling.  To bring about urban renewal and ultimately urban school renewal, Anyon urges us as educational reformers to combine our efforts with community development organizations, programs to train city residents for entry level as well as more sophisticated positions, legal services groups, housing and tenants associations, health care providers, coalitions for the homeless, and voter registration organizations (pp. 168-169). The purpose of adopting such a comprehensive approach, according to Anyon, is to “ameliorate the worst effects of poverty, and replace despair with hope and a sense of possibility” (p. 170).  In a similar vein, Stone (1998) promotes the notion of civic capacity, defined as “the mobilization of varied stakeholders in support of a communitywide cause” (p.15), as a strategy to address the issues of urban education.  Unless there is systemic change, establishing and maintaining faith in the future of urban education will be difficult.  [paragraph 23]

Bauer, Castañeda-Emenaker, Williams, and Phillips in their article, “Developing the Soil for Diversity,” point out that there is a disconnect between students and teachers from “marginalized cultures” and those of the dominant culture.  This is a critical issue in teacher education programs since, as indicated earlier, there continues to be a dramatic gap in the percentage of children of color in urban areas and that of teachers in K-12 schools (Banks, 2002; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Murrell, 2001; Nieto, 1999; and Yeo, 1997).  This reality underscores the need for teacher education programs to provide opportunities for students to cross borders and enter into dialogue with members of the communities they are likely to serve.  Palmer (1993) addresses the spiritual imperative of listening to the other and its relationship to truth:

In a pluralistic society, the way to truth is to listen attentively to diverse voices and views for the claims they make on us.  The bond of listening holds the cosmic community together—careful, vulnerable listening for how things look from this standpoint...a listening that allows us not only to know the other but to be known from the other’s point of view. (p.67)  [paragraph 24]

Murrell’s (2001) recent text, The Community Teacher, provides a model for consideration in teacher education programs to achieve the objective of having pre-service and novice teachers learn about the culture and community of their prospective students. Northeastern University’s “Border Crossings” program is a successful teacher education model in practice.   The research of Bauer et al. also attests to the importance of recruiting a diverse teaching faculty as well as a diverse group of students in our teacher education programs.  If, for example, the team of researchers had not been diverse, it would have been unlikely that the researcher from the “dominant power culture” could have received feedback that resulted in her concluding that “I found myself falling into imperialistic patterns.”  [paragraph 25]

Conclusion and Recommendations

The articles in this edition of EMME and a recent edition of Educational Leadership (May, 2003) that focuses on “Keeping Good Teachers” have stimulated thought on activities or components that can be introduced (and in some cases continued) in teacher preparation programs to make a difference in relation to urban education:

• We can partner with K-12 school districts in urban areas and train teachers/administrators in establishing mentoring support groups for new teachers: one-on-one mentoring is simply not an option for many schools, and small support groups could be very effective.

• We can establish support groups in our graduate programs for new and transitional career changers to teaching, perhaps facilitated by graduate advisors.

• We can conduct research to ascertain what new teachers say they need most from their schools and provide reports to K-12 school administrators.

• We can begin to utilize creatively what Stone (1998) calls “civic capacity,” in what we advocate for our students in their roles as teacher, administrators, and community leaders.

• We can use our classrooms to help promote the notion of civic capacity, helping students to identify stakeholders who are committed to working to bring about systemic reform in urban education.

• We can invite stakeholders into our schools, and sometimes into our classrooms.

• We can design, develop, and implement more cross and interdisciplinary programs, including opportunities for students in teacher education programs to work with and interact with students in other areas such as urban studies, political science, sociology, counseling, economic development, etc. (as is modeled at the Campolo School for Social Change).  [paragraph 26]

As Anyon (1997) notes, “to believe that fundamental social change is impossible is to be overtly oppressed by the parameters of the present…Visionaries have long maintained that in order to make fundamental change we have to believe that such changes are possible” (p.165).  The idea of implementing civic capacity in curriculum and program development is particularly challenging. Yet, if we are to listen to cross-disciplinary dialogue about urban education, we must accept the notion that a systemic approach is necessary to resolve the problems in urban education.  There must be a concerted effort to engage in the challenges and a commitment to the resolution.  We must be convinced that the challenges in urban education are our responsibility to resolve for the good of our society and for the good of our world.   As educators of current and future teachers, it is not our job to convince our students of these premises.  It is our responsibility to provide opportunities for our students to be fully informed of, seek, and identify truth.  We can facilitate this process by continuing to engage in pedagogical practices that will lead to and encourage students to perceive themselves as “change agents” committed to personal transformation and as social activists committed to social transformation.  To be successful in this process, we must maintain faith that it is possible, hope that we will succeed, and enough love to “stay at the table” (Palmer, 2000) for ourselves and for our children.  [paragraph 27]

References

Anyon, J. (1997). Ghetto schooling: A political economy of urban educational reform. New York, NY: Teachers College.

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (2003).  Keeping good teachers.  Educational Leadership, 60 (8): 5-96. 

Banks, J. A. (2002). An introduction to multicultural education (3^rd Ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Corbett, Wilson B., and Williams, B. (2002). Effort and excellence in urban classrooms: Expecting and getting success with all students. New York, NY: Teachers College.               

Darling-Hammond, L. (2003). Keeping good teachers: Why it matters, what leaders can do. Educational Leadership, 60 (8), 6–13.

Darling-Hammond, L, & Youngs, P. (2002). Defining “highly qualified teachers”: What does “scientifically-based research” actually tell us?. Educational Researcher, 31 (9), 13–25.

Freire, P. (1993). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30^th anniversary Ed.). New York, NY: Continuum.

Gittell, M. J. (Ed.). (1998). Strategies for school equity: Creating productive schools in a just society. New Haven, CT: Yale University.

Gutek, G. L. (2001). A biographical introduction: Historical and philosophical foundations of education (3rd Ed.).  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Kozol, J. (1991). Savage inequalities: Children in America’s schools. New York, NY: Crown.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teachers of African American children. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Murrell, P. C. (2001). The community teacher: A new framework for effective urban teaching. New York, NY: Teachers College.

Nieto, S. (1999). The light in their eyes: Creating multicultural learning communities. New York, NY: Teachers College.

Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going?  New York, NY: Teachers College.

Palmer, P. (1993). To know as we are known: A spirituality of education. San Francisco. CA: Harper & Row.

Palmer, P. (1998). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Palmer, P. (2000).  On staying at the table: A spirituality of community. In Eastern College (Ed), The transforming vision: Living and learning in community 2001-2002 (pp.11-15).  Action, MA: Tapestry.

Pennsylvania Department of Education (April, 2003). No Child Left Behind and Testing Updates for 2003. (Provided by the Bureau of Teacher Certification and Preparation meeting at Immaculata College, PA.)

Poling, J. N. (1991). The abuse of power: A theological problem. Nashville, TN: Abingdon.

Stone, C. N. (Ed.) (1998). Changing urban education. Lawrence: University of Kansas.

Tyack, D. B. (1974). The one best system: A history of American urban education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

Yeo, F. L. (1997). Inner-city schools, multiculturalism, and teacher education: A professional journey. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.

Dorothy L. Hurley, Ed. D., is Associate Professor of Education at the Campolo School for Social Change, Eastern University, directing the Urban Transformation track of the M. Ed. in Multicultural Education program.  Her publications include articles in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and the Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. (Contact the author at dhurley@eastern.edu )

Hurley, D. L. (2003).  Developing students as change agents: Urban education and reform. Electronic Magazine of Multicultural Education [online], 5 (1), 27 paragraphs <Available: http://www.eastern.edu/publications/emme/2003spring/hurley.html> [your access year, month date]