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Transformative Perspectives and Practices in Urban Education brings together a rich collection of research, reflections, and innovative practices aimed at advancing equity, leadership, pedagogy, and community engagement in urban educational contexts. Drawing on diverse geographic, cultural, and theoretical perspectives, the chapters offer a hopeful yet realistic vision for urban education across Canada, the United States, South Africa, and beyond. Grounded in themes of care, cultural responsiveness, and social justice, the volume opens with foundational insights into cultivating equitable classrooms through intentional pedagogies and relational teaching. It then moves into deeper explorations of visionary and culturally relevant leadership that supports systemic improvement in resource‑constrained and marginalized communities.
Across the volume, contributors engage frameworks such as Appreciative Inquiry, Critical Race Theory, Ecological Systems Theory, and Systems Psychodynamics to illuminate the social, cultural, and psychological forces shaping urban schools. Collectively, the chapters shift the narrative from deficit-based views to perspectives that affirm life, hope, and possibility, even amid challenging conditions. They call for justice‑centered, collaborative, and community‑engaged approaches that position transformative urban education as culturally attuned and contextually responsive. This volume serves as a vital resource for scholars, educators, policymakers, and practitioners committed to reimagining and strengthening urban education. It offers insights and practical strategies that empower students, support educators, and help build more equitable and hopeful school communities.
William Sarfo Ankomah: Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University.
Denise E. Armstrong: Professor Emerita, Faculty of Education, Brock University.
Section I. Foundations for Care, Equity, and Community in Urban Classrooms
Chapter 1. Cultivating Equity in Urban Classrooms through Care, Growth, and Possibility; William Sarfo Ankomah
Chapter 2. Bridging Cultures in Urban Education: Reflection of a Teacher’s Cross-Continental Experience; Olayinka Bolaji
Chapter 3. Fostering School Relationships in Urban Schools to Cultivate Risk-Taking and Rigour in Learning; Sunaina Sharma and Wendy Lang
Chapter 4. Building Transformative Partnerships among Schools, Families, and Communities: An Asset-Based Approach to Family Engagement in Urban Education; Laura K. Handler
Section II. Leadership for Equity, Decolonization, and School Improvement
Chapter 5. Decolonizing Leadership in Saskatchewan Inner-City Schools; Mickey Jutras
Chapter 6. Building Culturally Relevant Leadership: Integrating Multicultural Self-Efficacy, Distributed Leadership, and Improvement Science; Maria Lawson-Davenport
Chapter 7. Critical Conversations with School Leaders on Restorative Justice Practices; Cierra Presberry and Dikea Taylor-Santiago
Chapter 8. The Power of Visionary, Culturally Responsive School Leaders to Drive Holistic Improvement of Urban Schools Situated in Multiple-Deprived Areas; Regan Berry and Rica Viljoen
Section III. Preparing and Supporting Teachers for Transformative Practice
Chapter 9. Rooted in Resilience: Teacher Preparation for the Realities of Urban Education; Brittini S. Piercy
Chapter 10. Teaching for Justice: Scaffolding Equity Education, Emotional Labour, and Teacher Preparation; Leanne Taylor, Hyacinth Campbell, and Jamil Kalim
Section IV. Subject-Specific Pedagogies for Belonging, Rigour, and Engagement
Chapter 11. Empowering Urban Mathematics Educators through Culturally Responsive and Innovative Strategies; Lynne M. Pachnowski and Jenny Walls
Chapter 12. Fostering Student Success in Urban Secondary School Science Education; Kristina Salciccioli and Erminia Pedretti
Chapter 13. Transformative Innovations in the Teaching of Literature-in-English in Ghanaian High Schools: A Teacher’s Experiential Narrative; Gideon Brobbey