This practical volume provides school administrators and teachers with the information needed to convert ordinary schools into high performing schools. It offers practices for teachers and school principals to foster academic success, and strategies for involving parents in their child's education.

Latino (or Hispanic) children are one of the fastest-growing groups in U.S. schools today. On average, these students perform worse than Anglo students on measures of academic achievement and other measures of academic success, and their drop-out rate is high. There are schools of excellence among those serving Latino children, but the majority of these children are placed "at risk" by schools and community institutions unable to build on the cultural, personal, and linguistic strengths these children are likely to bring with them to school. Schools serving Latino students need programs based on high-quality research, capable of being replicated and adapted to local circumstances and needs. The purpose of this book is to present the current state of the art with respect to research on effective instructional programs for Latino students in elementary and secondary grades. Surprisingly, this has not been done before; there are many books on the situation of Latino students in U.S. schools, but none so far have reviewed research on the outcomes of programs designed to enhance the academic achievement of these students. The chapters represent a broad range of methodologies, from experimental to correlational to descriptive, and the solutions they propose are extremely diverse. Each examines, in its own way, programs and practices that are showing success. Together, they present a rich array of research-based effective programs that are practical, widely available, and likely to make a profound difference. What binds the chapters together is a shared belief that Latino students can succeed at the highest levels if they receive the quality of instruction they deserve, and a shared belief that reform of schools serving many Latino students is both possible and essential. This is a book filled with statistics, description, and reviews of research--but even more, it is filled with optimism about what schools for Latino students can be, and what these students will achieve. It is a highly relevant and useful resource for educators, policymakers, and researchers who want to use research to inform the decisions they make about how to help Latino students succeed in elementary and secondary schools, and beyond.

Publisher description

Multicultural Education of Children and Adolescents explores the foundations of diversity through cultural portraits of young people from a variety of backgrounds, and provides practical strategies for shaping and implementing a multicultural curriculum. In Part I, the authors introduce multicultural education as a concept and document the increasing cultural diversity of the United States. The text describes, in Part II, various cultural groups—including African, American Indian, and Hispanic cultures—to help pre-service teachers better understand the backgrounds of diverse learners. Part III focuses on topics that educators should consider when planning and implementing programs that teach acceptance and respect for cultural diversity. Through this series of applied chapters, teacher candidates will learn to use the most effective instructional practices with diverse learners, and to work successfully with families, school personnel, and administrators to implement a multicultural program. Content and features new to the sixth edition include the following: Every chapter opens with a real-life story that introduces the subject matter by showing the ideas in action. Points to Ponder boxes urge readers to reflect more deeply on information they have just read. Additional Case Studies with accompanying Questions for Discussion in all chapters enable nuanced consideration of the crucial differences between culturally specific learning styles. Increased emphasis on Social Justice and White Privilege, including its effects on all people. Chapter 13 has been significantly revised to include increased and updated information on sexual orientation, including transgender students. Chapters in Part II now feature further expanded sections on socioeconomic status and conditions of each ethnic group.

This unique guidebook is specifically designed with useful multicultural applications aimed at practice-based school psychology. The text compiles an informational and instructional array of helpful "hands-on" checklists, reviews of some of the most current cultural literature applicable to best practices, and provides guided steps to take in various practice-based situations. Multicultural School Psychology Competencies: A Practical Guide is practice-based, culture-sensitive, and intended for the multicultural competency preparation of psychologists-in-training and in practice as well as other professionals working with diverse children and youth in schools and other educational settings.

A few years ago, resiliency theory was relatively new to the fields of prevention and education. Today, it is at the heart of hundreds of school and community programs that recognize in all young people the capacity to lead healthy, successful lives. The key, as Benard reports in this synthesis of a decade and more of resiliency research, is the role that families, schools, and communities play in supporting, and not undermining, this biological drive for normal human development. Of special interest is the evidence that resiliency prevails in most cases by far -- even in extreme situations, such as those caused by poverty, troubled families, and violent neighborhoods. An understanding of this developmental wisdom and the supporting research, Benard argues, must be integrated into adults' vision for the youth they work with and communicated to young people themselves. Benard's analysis of how best to incorporate research findings to support young people is both realistic and inspirational. It is an easy-to-read discussion of what the research has found along with descriptions of what application of the research looks like in our most successful efforts to support young people.