Education Research in the Public Interest

Gloria Ladson-Billings and William F. Tate argue that education scholars can and must undertake work that speaks to the pressing public issues related to education. In this volume, they are joined by renowned educators who have a reputation for engaging public interests and public policy in powerful and provocative ways. Together, they address such important issues as zero-tolerance policies, language-minority students, multicultural education, school reform, teaching for social justice, educational inquiry, curriculum, assessment, and much more. This compelling collection challenges policymakers and the public to take a greater hand in creating a quality education for all students.

Gloria Ladson-Billings is the Kellner Family Professor of Urban Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. William F. Tate is Chair and Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Education at the Washington University, St. Louis.

“Transforming the academic knowledge production industry is no small matter. This bold and inspirational text represents a significant step in that direction. Indeed, for those of us who live in an empire with enough bombs to destroy the world, what other choice do we have?”
Angela Valenzuela, University of Texas at Austin

“This compelling, exemplary engagement of ‘education in the public interest’ forces us to substantially reconsider education, education research, and the public interest.”
James Joseph Scheurich, Texas A&M University

“The editors have assembled an impressive array of writers whose work urgently underscores the need to inject a moral dimension into research and policy issues for equity and social justice. In this regard, they succeeded brilliantly.”
Catherine Emihovich, University of Florida

Series Foreword by James A. Banks, University of Washington, Seattle

Introduction
Gloria Ladson-Billings, University of Wisconsin–Madison

PART I: POLICY AND POLITICS

Chapter 1. What Should Count as Educational Research: Notes Toward a New Paradigm
Jean Anyon, City University of New York

Chapter 2. Interrupting the Right: On Doing Critical Educational Work in Conservative Times
Micahel W. Apple, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Chapter 3. Carry It On: Fighting for Progressive Education in Neoliberal Times
David Hursh, University of Rochester

Chapter 4. Public Intellectuals and the University
Alex Molnar, Arizona State University

Chapter 5. Trudge Toward Freedom: Educational Research in the Public Interest
William Ayers, University of Illinois, Chicago

Chapter 6: "This Is America" 2005: The Political Economy of Education Reform Against the Public Interest
Pauline Lipman, DePaul University

PART II: THE MAKING OF THE PUBLIC SUBJECT

Chapter 7. Hopes of Progress and Fears of the Dangerous: Research, Cultural Theses, and Planning Different Human Kinds
Thomas S. Popkewitz, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Chapter 8. Democracy, Diversity, and Social Justice: Educating Citizens for the Public Interest in a Global Age
James A. Banks, University of Washington, Seattle

Chapter 9. Multiculturalism, Race, and the Public Interest: Hanging on to Great-Great-Granddaddy’s Legacy
Carl A. Grant, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Chapter 10. Public Interest and the Interests of White People Are Not the Same: Assessment, Education Policy, and Racism
David Gillborn, Institute of Education, University of London

PART III: THE SCHOOL AND CURRICULUM AS SITES OF EDUCATION RESEARCH IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST

Chapter 11. Curriculum and Students: Diverting the Public Interest
Catherine Cornbleth, University of Buffalo

Chapter 12. Making Educational History: Qualitative Inquiry, Artistry, and the Public Interest
Tom Barone, Arizona State University

Chapter 13. The Art of Renewing Curriculum Research
Donald Blumenfeld-Jones, Arizona State University

Afterword: In the Public Interest
William F. Tate, Washington University

About the Editors and the Contributors

Name Index

Subject Index