Amy Stuart Wells – författare

Education: Culture, Economy, and Society is a book for everyone concerned with the social study of education: students studying the sociology of education, foundations of education, educational policy, and other related courses. It aims to establish the social study of education at the centre stage of political and sociological debate about post-industrial societies. In examining major changes which have taken place in the late twentieth century, it gives students a comprehensive introduction to both the nature of these changes and to their interpretation in relation to long-standing debates within education, sociology, and cultural studies. The extensive editorial introduction outlines the major theoretical approaches within the sociology of education, assesses their contribution to an adequate understanding of the changing educational context, and sets out the key issues and areas for future research. The 52 papers in this wide-ranging thematic reader bring together the most powerful work in education into an international dialogue which is sure to become a classic text.

This important book takes the discussion of racial inequality in America beyond simplistic arguments of white racism and black victimization to a more complex conversation about the separate but unequal situation in many schools today. Amy Stuart Wells and Robert Crain investigate the St. Louis, Missouri, school desegregation plan, a unique agreement that since 1983 has given black inner-city students the right to choose to attend predominantly white suburban schools. After five years of research and hundreds of interviews with policymakers, administrators, teachers, students, and parents, Wells and Crain conclude that when school desegregation is examined from these many perspectives, more strengths than weaknesses emerge. They call for a reexamination of now-popular school choice policies across the country so that these policies may help to bring about more racial and social-class integration.Stepping over the Color Line intertwines data on student achievement and racial isolation with stories of the people who participated in the St. Louis program. The authors set these individuals within a broad historical and social context and demonstrate how important linkages between the past and present help explain why efforts to overcome racial inequality—in St. Louis and in the larger society—are so difficult. "The authors do a superb job of explaining how this innovative program came about, placing it in a broad context that takes it beyond its immediate and local implications. The book is at times heartbreaking and at times uplifting."—Richard Zweigenhaft, co-author of Blacks in the White Establishment? A Study of Race and Class in America

This timely and much-needed volume pays tribute to the long life and intellectual legacy of Dr. Edmund W. Gordon, a prolific scholar, mentor, and icon in the fields of psychology and education. The central aim of this collection, drawn from a major conference celebrating Gordon's 100th birthday, is to highlight Gordon's scholarship and its saliency to the most critical issues in the field of education today, especially educational assessment and inequalities in learning opportunities related to class, culture, and race. With topics ranging from rethinking how we approach education for the least advantaged students, to early childhood education, to affirmative pedagogies that uplift all students, to assessment in the service of learning, the chapters of this volume explore Gordon's influence in shaping the field through collaborative thinking across generations of scholars. The transdisciplinary research in this volume reflects Gordon's complex understanding of humanistic traditions and its connections to principles of social justice. The result is an accessible and vital roadmap for supporting all human beings across their life spans while addressing pervasive inequities in educational opportunities and outcomes for minoritized and low-income students. Book Features:A comprehensive look at the life and intellectual legacy of Dr. Edmund W. Gordon.Chapter authors examine Dr. Gordon's contributions across four areas—educational measurement, learning theory and development, human development, and human rights.Research that shows the importance of race, class, and culture in the interplay of education and student outcomes. The concept of affirmative development and how it helps us understand the emancipatory potential of education as a field.This book is made available as an open-access electronic publication that can be downloaded from the TC Press website.