Why Race and Culture Matter in Schools

Tyrone C. Howard is a professor of education at the School of Education and Information Studies at UCLA and director of the UCLA Black Male Institute and the UCLA Pritzker Center for Strengthening Children and Families. His books include Black Male(d): Peril and Promise in the Education of African American Males and Expanding College Access for Urban Youth: What Schools and Colleges Can Do. He received the 2022 AERA Social Justice in Education Award. In 2024, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

• Series Foreword James A. BanksForeword Geneva GayAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSocioeconomic Status and School PerformanceOutline of the BookMoving Away from the Black–White Dichotomy1. Educational outcome disparities: Contextualizing the ProblemDocumenting the ducational outcome disparitiesDocumenting the DiscrepanciesRetention, Suspensions, and ExpulsionsSchool Drop-Out and Graduation RatesAccess to Gifted and AP CoursesSAT ScoresExplaining the GapsFuture Considerations2. Changing DemographicsA Changing NationDemographic Shifts by Geographic Region and AgeU.S. Schools and Changing DemographicsAre Teachers Being Prepared to Teach in Diverse Settings?Multicultural Education for School ReformThe Role of Social Class3. CultureCulture, Race, and EthnicityThe Complexity of CultureSociocultural TheoryCultural ModelingCultural Repertoires of PracticeNormalizing Culture in Everyday Practice4. Culturally Responsive PedagogySeeking Clarity in Culture and PedagogyEmpirical and Conceptual Work on Culturally Responsive PedagogyThe Importance of PedagogyPrograms with Culturally Responsive Teaching5. The Role of Race in LearningInterrogating RaceRace and Education in the United StatesCritical Race Theory: A Framework for Examining Race and AchievementEmpirical Works Examining RaceGranting Voice to Those Who Rarely Are HeardInternalized Racism: Educators of Color and Acts of ExclusionRacial Frames of Reference6.  Developing Cultural Competence and Racial Awareness in Classroom TeachersCultural CompetenceCritical Self-Reflection on Race and CultureRace, Culture, and the Adaptive UnconsciousnessRacial AwarenessA Case Study of Critical Reflecting: Teaching Teachers to Reflect on RaceFinal Considerations7. Examples of School Success for Culturally Diverse StudentsStories of School SuccessVisionary LeadershipEffective Instructional PracticesIntensive Academic InterventionExplicit Acknowledgment of RaceParental and Community EngagementFinal ThoughtsReferencesIndexAbout the Author

“Howard’s text helps readers, particularly those relatively new to the study of race and education, make sense of the genesis and doggedness of these racial disparities as well as the necessity of understanding these trends. He also offers solutions in the form of steps educators can take toward becoming racially aware and culturally competent. While Howard envisions teachers as his audience, we suggest that Why Race holds value for readers beyond the classroom and even beyond education. A general audience may find the text helpful in identifying how other seemingly race-neutral events inequitably affect people of color, how a presumably colorblind global pandemic, for instance, can nonetheless affect communities of color in decidedly unequal ways.”—Teachers College Record