Culture or Chaos in the Village

Dr. Ursula Thomas is assistant professor of early childhood education and Birth through Age Five program coordinator at the University of West Georgia. Her research agenda includes issues of cultural mediation and its effects on instructional choices, the power of teacher educator research on diversity in the classroom, views of social justice in the early childhood classroom, and preservice teachers' disposition on professionalism and diversity in teacher preparation programs.

Culture or Chaos has the uncanny ability to speak passionately and directly to those who study the teaching of children and those who actually teach children. From the first, to the last chapter the text bridges the often-gaping chasm between educational theory and teacher practice in an eloquent way that leads the reader to ask both researchers and teachers hard questions about establishing more socially just schools. The mix of the straightforward commentary, thorough engagement of relevant pedagogical literature and meaningful activities at the conclusion of each chapter makes this an excellent text for aspiring teacher leaders, educational researchers and administrators.

• Chapter 1: Racial Identity Development: You are Here!Chapter 2: Mediation framework and teacher education dynamicsChapter 3: Brown Girl in the RingChapter 4: The Three R's: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic or Race, Relationship, and ReflectionChapter 5: But They Don't Speak English: Mapping Out How We Teach Culturally and Linguistically Diverse LearnersChapter 6: The State of School-Based Speech-Language Pathology in Teacher Education:Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?Chapter 7: Lead, Follow of Get out of the Way: Cultural Mediation, Social Justice and Educational LeadershipChapter 8: Are We There Yet? Culture, Communication and Relationship: Making it to the VillageChapter 9: The Family Reunion: Community and the JourneyChapter 10: Pardon the Policy: Unpacking the Standards