Contemporary Issues in Equity, Democracy, and Public Education

Felicity Crawford is Clinical Associate Professor at Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University, USA.Fadie T. Coleman is Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at Harvard School of Dental Medicine, USA.Elsa Wiehe is Program Manager for the African Studies Center K-16 Education Program, Boston University, USA.

• 1. Introduction: The Case for Emphasizing Equity in Public Education as a Means of Sustaining Democracy Part 1: Origins and Persistence of Systemic Inequity in U.S. Classrooms 2. The Burden Our Children Bear: The Legacy of Eugenic Ideology 3. Towards Inclusive Education: Ableism and Democratizing Access 4. Whatever Happens to Any Child in Early Childhood Education, Better Be the Business of All of Us: Creating Equitable Learning Communities for Black Boys 5. Incentivizing Equity in Education 6. The Banning Years 7. Whiteness and Colonization in Higher Education: Barriers to Institutional and Societal Change Part 2: The Physiological, Psychological, and Social Consequences of Systemic Bias, and Its Incompatibility with Democracy 8. Chronic Stress-Related Disorders and the Possible Epigenetic Mechanisms 9. Inflammation in Pregnancy and its Role in Poor Gestational Health 10. Implementing a Social Justice Framework into Education Systems of Care 11. Food as a Basic Right 12. Between Hypervisibility and Invisibility: Unpacking What it Means to be an HSI on Indigenous Lands Through Critical Unearthing of Local Histories and Epistemologies of Latinx Communities Part 3: Rethinking the Curriculum to Promote Equity in Curriculum and Practice 13. Dismantling Oppression and Cultivating Resistance and Hope When Serving Immigrant Latin American Children and Families 14. U.S. History, Racial Capitalism, and Settler Colonialism 15.Decolonizing the Curriculum for Reparative Justice, Psychological Liberation, and National Healing 16. Chaos Or Community: Teaching for Democracy in an Era of Uncertainty 17. Teaching Transformative Citizenship in Schools: A Pathway to Promoting Equity and Preserving Democracy Part 4: A Closer Look at Expanding Educational Opportunities for Previously Excluded Groups in STEM 18. Ratcheting Equity 19. Democratizing STEM: Developing a Culture of Sensemaking 20. Environmental Health Literacy for Indigenous Youth: Implementing the Power of Relationality and Place-Based Knowledge to Promote Equity Through Collective Action 21. Re-examining Success in STEM: Why Equity and Sense of Belonging are Critical to Democracy 22. Leading for Equity

Our nation, among many others, is losing the democratic impulse and imagination that have made public education, at least in theory, a requisite for a flourishing democracy. The abysmal condition of U.S. public schools, especially for the most vulnerable segments of our population, is distressingly obvious. This book holds no punches when it comes to recognizing, critiquing, and addressing the problem head-on. Rather than blame students, their families, or communities for conditions over which they have little power as is often the case in our public discourse, the authors and editors of this compelling book instead suggest that an authentic equity perspective and practice are required, a perspective that recognizes the systemic and institutional nature of injustice. We need the message enshrined in this book – that equity cannot thrive without justice – now more than ever.Sonia NietoProfessor Emerita, Language, Literacy, and CultureCollege of Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USAThe editors weave together compelling chapters that illuminate key current challenges to U.S. democracy in general and education in particular. Across disciplinary perspectives, the authors astutely elucidate how neoliberal principles merge with historical discriminatory ideologies and cement educational inequalities with the end result of weakening our democracy. Finally, and most importantly, the authors blend cross-disciplinary theories with powerful examination of potentially liberatory approaches and offer educators and other citizens hopeful yet realistic optimism for safeguarding our nation’s democracy and social justice ideals.Lilia I. Bartolomé,Professor Emerita, Department of Applied LinguisticsUniversity of Massachusetts, Boston, USA