Narrowing the Achievement Gap: Strategies for Educating Latino, Black, and Asian Students (Issues in Children's and Families' Lives) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0387446095 ISBN 13: 9780387446097

Publisher: Springer, 2007

Synopsis

This book provides effective strategies that can be used to improve academic achievement and well-being of minority students. It examines, collectively, three cultural groups on themes related to diverse families, immigration issues, and teaching and learning. The book conceptualizes opportunities and challenges in working with minority children in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It is a must-have reference for anyone who works with children.

About this title

Review:

From the reviews:

"This volume is an important and impressive collection of scholarship that addresses one of the more intractable education problems of our times--ensuring that ALL children receive a quality education."
-- Gloria Ladson-Billings, Kellner Family Professor in Urban Education, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and 2005-2006 President of AERA

"A major contribution to the field, the book provides important insights into the schooling experiences of Latino, Black, and Asian Americans and offers implications for improving educational outcomes and well-being for ethnic minority groups. The in-depth analyses provided by the chapter authors should be of substantial appeal to a wide audience because of its interdisciplinary approach and orientation to theory, research, and practice."
--Stanley Sue, Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Asian American Studies, University of California at Davis

"In considering the broad problems and in recommending solutions, the book provides breadth, concision, and unique organization... The ideas and recommendations in this book will certainly contribute to the national debate concerning how we face the challenge to help all our children learn well."
--Edmund W. Gordon, John M. Musser Professor of Psychology at Yale University, Richard March Hoe Professor of Education and Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University

"This volume addresses the most important issue in contemporary education: understanding diversity while making it a pedagogical asset. Written by prominent scholars, the chapters feature incisive, interdisciplinary analyses of the social and historical situation of the groups and draw implications for schools, homes, and neighborhoods as environments for learning and development. The book is not only a wonderful read, but also a superb addition to the literature and our common knowledge about these vital issues."
--Luis C. Moll, Professor and Associate Dean, College of Education, University of Arizona

"The challenge undertaken in this book is to understand the similarities and differences across ethnic and racial groups. ... For a reader unfamiliar with specific minority populations, this book will identify and explain many of the complex challenges facing minority families and students that can interfere with students’ achievement." (Jennifer B. Unger, PsycCRITIQUES, Vol. 52 (47), 2007)

"The purpose of the conference and the subsequent book was to unite interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and policy makers in understanding the achievement gap for each of the three largest minority groups in the United States from multiple perspectives and varied theoretical foundations. ... The primary target audience of the book is researchers, educators and those who influence policy who have an interest in narrowing the achievement gap for Latino, Black, and Asian minority students." (Troy E. Beckert, Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 37, 2008)

Synopsis:

Minority children and youth, particularly immigrant children are the fastest growing population in U.S. schools. It is estimated that the ratio of immigrant children in grades K-12 is 1 in 5, representing 19 per cent of school children (Fix & Passel, 2003). Although many groups migrate to the U.S., those seeking education are mostly Latinos, Asians, and Caribbean and African Blacks (Rong & Preissle, 1998). Rapidly growing in number, Latinos are currently the largest minority population in the states. Educational researchers have long been concerned with low enrollment and high dropout rates for Latino students (Fillmore, 1990; Rong & Preissle, 1998). Asian Americans are also one of the fastest growing minority populations in the U.S. (Rong & Preissle, 1998), and they comprise both high- and low-achieving groups. A particularly diverse group, Asian Americans represents all the countries in East, South, and Southeast Asia. Census projections show that the foreign-born black population will grow from 1.6 million to 2.7 million in 2010 (Rong & Preissle, 1998). Although the black immigrant population may be smaller than some immigrant groups, the U.S. born black population is the second largest minority group.

Researchers have long been concerned with the educational achievement of African Americans. The U.S. Census reports that substantial minorities, particularly African Americans live in urban areas where crime rates and unemployment are high. Inequities continue to persist in achievement, employment, and quality of life. Many researchers note a relationship between educational success and family income. In the United States, many ethnic minority students tend to be among the poorer income groups. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (2006), growing trends show that 61 per cent of black children (6.6 million), 63 per cent of Latino children (8.9 million), 30 per cent of Asian children (0.9 million) lived in low-income families in the United States during 2002. Low-income, minority children face additional challenges to succeeding in school, which widen the achievement gap throughout the school years. Some studies have shown as the number of family risk factors for a child increase (e.g., living in a single-parent household, living below the federal poverty level), that child performs less well in both reading and mathematics.

In a nation of more than 3 million kindergarteners, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study of the Kindergarten class of 1998 - 1999 (ECLS-K) follows a nationally representative sample of 22,782 kindergarteners through 5th grade, revealing important challenges facing minority children in the United States. Among the sample, it was found that 45 per cent live in low-income families, which includes all groups. The study also found on average that black and Latino third-graders had lower proficiency in advanced reading skills and mathematics. Ongoing research from the ECLS-K demonstrates that achievement gaps between disadvantaged and more advantaged children identified at the beginning of school grew wider over the first four years of school attendance. Although the research on Latino and black populations is well cited regarding the achievement gap, there is also a growing concern for Asian populations who don't achieve as well. Typically, East Asians have done considerably well, but recent research shows that some groups from South or Southeast Asian groups do not perform as highly.

As the diverse Asian groups are growing, there is concern to disaggregate the data and understand the needs given little existing research (Pang, Lee, Zhou, chapter publications in this text). In addition to the complexities, many students also come from non-English speaking countries, such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. More than 2.6 million limited English proficient (LEP) students are in grades K-12 (Fix and Passel, 1994). Disadvantages in language, economic hardships, and cultural barriers may be obstacles to academic success in school and life. Many believe without better opportunities, foreign-born and U.S.-born Asian, Black, and Latino students will continue to be marginalized in the United States. As a result of these trends, school psychologists, educators from various disciplines, and other allied professionals must work hard to improve the academic and life prospects of minority children and youth. This book will appeal to those working with these populations, as they seek to meet the practical and policy demands in raising achievement and positive outcomes among minority children and youth in the United States.

The purpose of this book is to promote understanding of the challenges and strengths of minority children in U.S. schools and to recommend effective practices, interventions, and policies to improve their achievement in school and their success in life. This book analyzes educational and social policy and provides recommendations for educators, psychologists, researchers, policymakers, and others. Accordingly, this book has several distinctive features: This book concerns Asian, black, and Latino students in the U.S: although NCLB names other groups, Asian, black, and Latino ethnic minority groups are the most visible groups in the United States and are rapidly growing; the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has emphasized these groups as a concern especially in urban areas. It is estimated that 94 per cent to 95 per cent of immigrant children live in urban areas (Fix & Passel, 2003). These minority families tend to be poorer; less educated, and have lower proficiency levels in English than those living the suburbs (Rong & Preissle, 1998); and the achievement gap continues to persist for minority and non-minority groups in the U.S.

How can we diminish the achievement gap especially with the growing number of minority students? For purposes of accountability, NCLB has mandated that separate achievement scores be analyzed for each of the minority groups, including LEP students in math, reading, and science. An in-depth understanding of socio-cultural issues regarding the home, school, and community will shed light on their schooling experiences. As specified in the working table of contents, some chapters will focus on issues of immigration. This book will provide an overview of the research base on the practices in the home and school amongst minority children that may help in understanding resilience, academic performance, and pro-social behavior. From the outset, many young people experience adverse conditions, but minority children may undergo specific environmental adversities in regards to their culture, language, and other contextual pressures. For decades, research has shown that the home, school, and community contexts play a role in fostering development for children and youth, but little research has integrated the context effects on human development especially for minority children.

In the past, research on these populations has been from sociological perspectives, but it is important to understand how the school and family play a role from diverse dimensions. This book will examine factors of various contexts (e.g., family environment, schooling, neighborhoods) to understand the motivation, resources, and other influences as it relates to their schooling experiences. Understanding families from which students come from is essential to provide resources that may develop their skills. From any standpoint, there is no disagreement that family life plays a critical role in development as it is the basic institution through which children learn who they are and how they fit into society. It is important to understand the role of culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0387446095
• ISBN 13: 9780387446097
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 220
• Editor: Paik Susan J., Walberg Herbert J.