The Social Reproduction of Education Inequality: Still Separate Still Unequal

Graduation Date

Fall 2005

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Document Form

Print

Degree Name

Master of Science

Program Name

Education

Program Director

Madalienne F. Peters, EdD

Abstract

Citing Brown v. The Board of Education and Lewis Terman's The Measurement of Intelligence as theoretical rationale, this critical observation examines my experience as a teacher within a classroom setting. By comparing reflective teacher anecdotes and current literature, the success of European American teachers when they teach poor minority students is explored. What Milner (2003) calls "racial and cultural mismatch" is scrutinized, and an attempt is made to connect this "mismatch" to teacher effectiveness in managing behavior of those students who do not mirror his or her cultural experience. The focus of this work relates to how behavior of students affects their achievement. In schools where there are African American students and European American teachers, teachers sometimes rely heavily on paraprofessionals, who often are more culturally similar to the students than they are to the teachers, for the maintenance of discipline. If the students view this reliance as an abdication of authority, this may be an important factor in student achievement.

Only available in print

Scan Your Thesis

Share

COinS