Narrowing the Achievement Gap

The subject of minority children’s learning has long been the concern of civic leaders, parents, scholars, and educators. The federal legislation, ‘No Child Left Behind’ emphasizes the concern even more. It specifically requires assessing the academic achievement of minority students, particularly in economically disadvantaged areas, and holding schools accountable for their progress. Schools that fail to attain “Adequate Yearly Progress” face the real possibility of being forced to close if they continually fail to perform. Unlike the past, these are increasingly “high stakes” consequences for educators, parents, students and the schools that serve them. This book is timely and relevant because it addresses these issues, and recommends solutions for Latino, Black, and Asian students. This book also has implications for the problems the nation faces in helping all students to learn well, particularly those that lag in academic achievement. In considering the broad problems and in recommending solutions, the book provides breadth, concision, and unique organization. As the introductory chapter makes clear, the book simultaneously considers not only the three most visible minority groups in the U. S. , but draws upon the perspectives of anthropology, education, ethnic studies, psychology, and sociology. From these several persp- tives, this book is organized within three broad sections: 1) culturally diverse families and schooling; 2) issues of immigration and schooling experiences; and 3) socio-cultural perspectives on teaching, learning, and development. Within each section, the authors marshal research literature regarding each ethnic minority group.

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 andAssociate 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)

Susan J. Paik is Associate Professor at the School of Educational Studies at Claremont Graduate University. Her research interests include urban and international studies, educational productivity, family-school partnerships, minority learning, research methods and evaluation. She has participated in education projects in Africa, Asia, Central America, Europe, and the U.S, where she founded and directed a character-development program for inner city children and youth. Dr. Paik has presented her work at the annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), Oxford University in England, University of Cape Town in South Africa, University of Bologna in Italy, University of Oviedo in Spain as well as professional meetings in South America, Australia, Germany, and the U.S. She has been awarded Young Scholar by the Stanford University Hoover Institution Koret K-12 Task Force. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, fellowships, grants, including the AERA-NSF-IES grant, NIMH fellowship for prevention, Center for Urban Educational Research and Development (CUERD) fellowship, Chancellor’s Service Award, Teaching Incentive Award, and Early Outreach Award for her dedication and service to inner city youth by the University of Illinois. Among many published articles, she is the author of a research monograph called Educational Productivity in South Korea and the United States published by the International Journal of Educational Research (IJER). She is the co-author of a booklet called Effective Educational Practices published by UNESCO and translated and disseminated to almost 150 countries. Dr. Paik is the editor of Advancing Educational Productivity: Policy Implications from National Databases. She has recently co-edited a special IJER journal issue on family-school partnerships.
Herbert J. Walberg was on the faculty of Harvard University and is now Emeritus University Scholar and Research Professor of Education and Psychology at theUniversity of Illinois at Chicago. Dr Walberg is also Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Stanford University and a Principal Investigator at the U.S Department of Education-sponsored Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement and the U.S. Institute of Education-sponsored National Research and Development Center on School Choice, Competition, and Achievement. An editor or author of more than 50 books, he has contributed more than 300 papers to peer-reviewed psychology and education journals, and he has written extensively for educators and policy makers. Dr. Walberg currently edits a series of booklets on effective education practices for the International Academy of Education that the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Educational Organization distributes in hard copy in more than 150 countries and on the Internet for down loading and re-publication. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Academy of Education, and the Royal Statistical Society. In 2004, the U.S. Senate confirmed his presidential appointment to the National Board for Education Sciences, which will provide guidance and oversight for federal research on education.