Urban Teaching in America

Urban Teaching in America: Theory, Research, and Practice in K-12 Classrooms is a brief yet comprehensive overview of urban teaching. Undergraduate and graduate students who are new to the urban context will develop a deeper understanding of the urban teaching environment and the challenges and opportunities they can expect to face while teaching in it. The authors have combined the work of urban education theorists, researchers, and practitioners to demonstrate that urban students bring many resources to their learning environment and can often serve as educators to the teachers themselves. Readers will feel prepared to challenge, rather than maintain, the status quo after reading this book.

Andrea J. Stairs is Assistant Professor and Program Coordinator of Literacy Education at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham, Maine. A former middle and high school English teacher and literacy coach, she earned her Ph.D. in Education specializing in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College. Her research interests include urban teacher learning, teacher education in professional development schools, and teacher research in literacy. She is co-editor, with Kelly A. Donnell, of Research on Urban Teacher Learning: Examining Contextual Factors Over Time (2010). Kelly A. Donnell is Associate Professor of Education at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island. A former elementary school teacher, she earned her Ph.D. in Education specializing in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College. Her research interests include the process of learning to teach in urban settings, social justice in teacher education, practitioner inquiry, and induction for beginning teachers. She is co-editor, with Andrea J. Stairs, of Research on Urban Teacher Learning: Examining Contextual Factors Over Time (2010). Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of teacher education at Michigan State University. A former high school English teacher, she received her Ph.D. in Educational Studies from Emory University and previously worked as an assistant professor at Georgia State University. Her research and teaching interests include urban teacher education and support and the sociocultural and political contexts of urban schools. In addition to multiple journal articles, Dr. Dunn is the author of two books: Teachers Without Borders?: The Hidden Consequences of International Teachers in U.S. Schools (2013, Teachers College Press) and Urban Teaching in America: Theory, Research, and Practice in K-12 Classrooms (2011, Sage Publications, with Stairs and Donnell).