"I think this is the most important work I have read in over a decade on the sociology and politics of school dropouts. Fine combines a narrative structure with a rigorous theoretical discourse that allows the reader to both hear the voices of those involved in the dropout situation as well as to have the opportunity to reflect critically on the ideological and material forces that structure the dropout issue as a social problem. I am convinced that it will be a major influence in the field and will establish a new theoretical standard for inquiry into the area of school dropouts." -- Henry A. Giroux, Professor and Renown Scholar in Residence, Department of Educational Leadership, Miami University "As a critical ethnography, this manuscript is thoughtful, compassionate, and compelling. Fine is able to document the 'braiding' of race, class, gender in sophisticated ways and this is one of the text's greatest strengths. The link between those who 'drop out' and the restriction of critique is powerfully achieved. Fine has successfully re-presented the complexities of urban education. She should be applauded for her integration of black and feminist theorists. I believe this text is pioneering. It opens the literature on adolescents placed at risk to include contexts previously ignored. This should be required reading for all school personnel, future teachers, and those associated with educational contexts." -- Deborah P. Britzman, Department of Education, State University of New York, Binghamton "What Fine does is show us in depth the reality of the situation we often wish would just go away. We are forced to confront what pain is engendered by our public institutions and consider how we might take up the challenge to do something about it." -- Roger I. Simon, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

A state-of-the-art reference on educational ethnography edited by leading journal editors This book brings an international group of writers together to offer an authoritative state-of-the-art review of, and critical reflection on, educational ethnography as it is being theorized and practiced today—from rural and remote settings to virtual and visual posts. It provides a definitive reference point and academic resource for those wishing to learn more about ethnographic research in education and the ways in which it might inform their research as well as their practice. Engaging in equal measure with the history of ethnography, its current state-of play as well as its prospects, The Wiley Handbook of Ethnography of Education covers a range of traditional and contemporary subjects—foundational aims and principles; what constitutes ‘good’ ethnographic practice; the role of theory; global and multi-sited ethnographic methods in education research; ethnography’s many forms (visual, virtual, auto-, and online); networked ethnography and internet resources; and virtual and place-based ethnographic fieldwork. Makes a return to fundamental principles of ethnographic inquiry, and describes and analyzes the many modalities of ethnography existing today Edited by highly-regarded authorities of the subject with contributions from well-known experts in ethnography Reviews both classic ideas in the ethnography of education, such as “grounded theory”, “triangulation”, and “thick description” along with new developments and challenges An ideal source for scholars in libraries as well as researchers out in the field The Wiley Handbook of Ethnography of Education is a definitive reference that is indispensable for anyone involved in educational ethnography and questions of methodology.

Juvenile Delinquency in a Diverse Society presents a fresh, critical examination of juvenile delinquency in the context of real communities and social policies— addressing many social factors that shape juvenile delinquency and its control, including race, ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality. Authors Kristin A. Bates and Richelle S. Swan use true stories and contemporary examples to link theories of delinquency to current public policies and to existing community programs, encouraging readers to consider how theories of delinquency can be used to create new policies and programs in their own communities. The Third Edition includes a new chapter on policing and juveniles, updated scholarship that strengthens the integration of both classic and cutting-edge research, and updates to the book’s supportive pedagogical features to reflect current events and the experiences of diverse populations of youth. Included with this title: The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as SAGE Edge) offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides.

The authors persuasively argue that the present cascade of reforms to public education is a consequence of a larger intention to shrink government. The startling result is that more of public education's assets and resources are moving to the private sector and to the prison industrial complex. Drawing on various forms of evidence-structural, economic, narrative, and youth-generated participatory research-the authors reveal new structures and circuits of dispossession and privilege that amount to a clear failure of present policy. Policymaking is at war with the interests of the vast majority of citizens, and especially with urban youth of color. In the final chapter the authors explore democratic principles and offer examples essential to mobilizing, in solidarity with educators, youth, communities, labor, and allied social movements, the kind of power necessary to contest the present direction of public education reform.

In this inaugural volume, we solicited chapters from leading scholars in a variety of fields related to education. Our aim was to provide a broad overview of several of the most pressing concerns regarding the education of adolescent students. The volume begins with an historical perspective from Barbara Finklestein, who provides background regarding America’s changing perceptions of adolescence as a developmental period and how American society has approached the task of educating this age group over time. This is followed by chapters from Carol Midgley and from Sanford Dornbusch and Jeanne Kaufman regarding the organization, purpose, and function of schools designed to serve early and late adolescents. Midgley uses an achievement goal theory lens to analyze middle level schools; Dornbusch and Kaufman consider senior high schools, adopting a more sociological perspective.

Curriculum Windows: What Curriculum Theorists of the 1990s Can Teach Us about Schools and Society Today is an effort by students of curriculum studies, along with their professor, to interpret and understand curriculum texts and theorists of the 1990s in contemporary terms. The authors explore how key books/authors from the curriculum field of the 1990s illuminate new possibilities forward for us as scholar educators today: How might the theories, practices, and ideas wrapped up in curriculum texts of the 1990s still resonate with us, allow us to see backward in time and forward in time – all at the same time? How might these figurative windows of insight, thought, ideas, fantasy, and fancy make us think differently about curriculum, teaching, learning, students, education, leadership, and schools? Further, how might they help us see more clearly, even perhaps put us on a path to correct the mistakes and missteps of intervening decades and of today? The chapter authors and editor revisit and interpret several of the most important works in the curriculum field of the 1990s. The book's Foreword is by renowned curriculum theorist William H. Schubert.

The official school drop-out figure in the US in recent years has been 25 per cent of the cohort. Estimates from large cities are often double these rates, and in some areas 60 per cent or worse. This text focuses on this problem in US schools, but from an unusual perspective. It is a study gained from in-depth interviews of 100 "stop-outs" - that is, those who dropped out but then decided to return to school. Four basic questions are posed by this text: who drops out?; why did they drop out?; what caused them to return?; and what intervention policies can be formulated to prevent students dropping out in the first place? The answers provided by this text for the last question are intended to make it of particular interest to school administrators.