Transformative Perspectives and Practices in Urban Education
Care, Equity, and Community for Meaningful Change
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- Description
- Contents
- About
Transformative Perspectives and Practices in Urban Education brings together a rich collection of research, reflections, and innovative practices aimed at advancing equity, leadership, pedagogy, and community engagement in urban educational contexts. Drawing on diverse geographic, cultural, and theoretical perspectives, the chapters offer a hopeful yet realistic vision for urban education across Canada, the United States, South Africa, and beyond. Grounded in themes of care, cultural responsiveness, and social justice, the volume opens with foundational insights into cultivating equitable classrooms through intentional pedagogies and relational teaching. It then moves into deeper explorations of visionary and culturally relevant leadership that supports systemic improvement in resource‑constrained and marginalized communities.
Across the volume, contributors engage frameworks such as Appreciative Inquiry, Critical Race Theory, Ecological Systems Theory, and Systems Psychodynamics to illuminate the social, cultural, and psychological forces shaping urban schools. Collectively, the chapters shift the narrative from deficit-based views to perspectives that affirm life, hope, and possibility, even amid challenging conditions. They call for justice‑centered, collaborative, and community‑engaged approaches that position transformative urban education as culturally attuned and contextually responsive. This volume serves as a vital resource for scholars, educators, policymakers, and practitioners committed to reimagining and strengthening urban education. It offers insights and practical strategies that empower students, support educators, and help build more equitable and hopeful school communities.
Section I. Foundations for Care, Equity, and Community in Urban Classrooms
- Chapter 1. Cultivating Equity in Urban Classrooms through Care, Growth, and Possibility; William Sarfo Ankomah
- Chapter 2. Bridging Cultures in Urban Education: Reflection of a Teacher’s Cross-Continental Experience; Olayinka Bolaji
- Chapter 3. Fostering School Relationships in Urban Schools to Cultivate Risk-Taking and Rigour in Learning; Sunaina Sharma and Wendy Lang
- Chapter 4. Building Transformative Partnerships among Schools, Families, and Communities: An Asset-Based Approach to Family Engagement in Urban Education; Laura K. Handler
- Section II. Leadership for Equity, Decolonization, and School Improvement
- Chapter 5. Decolonizing Leadership in Saskatchewan Inner-City Schools; Mickey Jutras
- Chapter 6. Building Culturally Relevant Leadership: Integrating Multicultural Self-Efficacy, Distributed Leadership, and Improvement Science; Maria Lawson-Davenport
- Chapter 7. Critical Conversations with School Leaders on Restorative Justice Practices; Cierra Presberry and Dikea Taylor-Santiago
- Chapter 8. The Power of Visionary, Culturally Responsive School Leaders to Drive Holistic Improvement of Urban Schools Situated in Multiple-Deprived Areas; Regan Berry and Rica Viljoen
- Section III. Preparing and Supporting Teachers for Transformative Practice
- Chapter 9. Rooted in Resilience: Teacher Preparation for the Realities of Urban Education; Brittini S. Piercy
- Chapter 10. Teaching for Justice: Scaffolding Equity Education, Emotional Labour, and Teacher Preparation; Leanne Taylor, Hyacinth Campbell, and Jamil Kalim
- Section IV. Subject-Specific Pedagogies for Belonging, Rigour, and Engagement
- Chapter 11. Empowering Urban Mathematics Educators through Culturally Responsive and Innovative Strategies; Lynne M. Pachnowski and Jenny Walls
- Chapter 12. Fostering Student Success in Urban Secondary School Science Education; Kristina Salciccioli and Erminia Pedretti
- Chapter 13. Transformative Innovations in the Teaching of Literature-in-English in Ghanaian High Schools: A Teacher’s Experiential Narrative; Gideon Brobbey
William Sarfo Ankomah: Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University.
Denise E. Armstrong: Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, Brock University.