McNeil blames the poor quality of high school instruction for the tensions between the social control purposes of schooling and the schools' educational goals.

Based primarily on ethnographic data, Working Class without Work examines the identity formation process among white working-class youth in the context of the de-industrialization of the American economy. The elimination of many basic production jobs and the expansion of the service sector have changed the expectations and opportunities of the white working class. Weis documents the way in which these young people respond to such changes, and the way they help to create the conditions of their future lives. In the process, she explores issues of race, class, gender and considers the roles of...

The work of Raymond Williams has inspired radical intellectuals engaged in cultural politics and influenced many academic disciplines across the social sciences and humanities. Views Beyond the Border Country examines the assumptions and limitations of Williams's political vision and commitments.

First published in 1991. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Ethnographic methods are becoming increasingly prevalent in contemporary educational research. Critical Ethnography in Educational Research provides both a technical, theoretical guide to advanced ethnography--focusing on such concepts as primary data collection and system relationships--and a very practical guide for researchers interested in conducting actual studies.

Power and Method demonstrates that political activism can and should be infused into the research process. Contesting the traditional assumptions that have dominated thinking about the nature and meaning of research--validity, objectivity and the researcher/"subject" relationship--the volume showcases alternative methods, enabling scholars to make a difference in the lives of classed, gendered and raced "subjects" and grapple honestly and openly with the way power is woven into the research process.
Committed to the notion that the challenge to...

In dialogues with 11 key thinkers in the area of critical education, this book documents how a tradition of study grew in the United States. Through in-depth interviews, the author asks each of these thinkers to talk about the relationship between their personal experiences and their academic work. The reader will learn, through listening to these intellectual, political and personal biographies, how and why these individual scholars have struggled for more than three decades to expand the borders of critical education studies. Interviews are held with Henry Giroux, Henry Levin, Herbert...

In dialogues with key thinkers in the area of critical education, this book documents how a tradition of study grew in the United States. Through in-depth interviews, the author asks each of these thinkers to talk about the relationship between their personal experiences and their academic work. The reader will learn, through listening to these intellectual, political and personal biographies, how and why these individual scholars have struggled for more than three decades to expand the borders of critical education studies. Interviews are held with Henry Giroux, Henry Levin, Herbert Gintis,...

First Published in 1998. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Parents and others in communities around the country complain that the education system is failing our children. They point to students' failure to master basic skills, and in many cases, see lack of teacher accountability as the cause. To reverse this trend, many communities have looked to standardized testing as a solution. This text takes a look into the reality for students and teachers of standardized testing. Methods and strategies adopted by teachers to comply with standardized tests are analyzed to discover how this change in teaching practice changes both HOW and WHAT students learn....