Citation

Henze RC. J. Educ. Stud. Placed Risk 2001; 6(1-2): 133-155.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1207/S15327671ESPR0601-2_8

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Children who feel unsafe in school because of threats of violence or verbal abuse based on race, ethnicity, or language cannot focus on the learning and achievement goals that the U.S. educational system has placed before us in the form of national standards. A primary need for some schools is to create a safe and secure environment and to ensure that children and adults of different backgrounds feel respected. Yet this raises an interesting question: Can schools be vehicles for improving race relations? In this article, I draw on a case study of 1 elementary school, Cornell,1 to examine this question in depth. Many would answer that, given historical inequities such as segregation and tracking, schools are unlikely places for improvements in race or ethnic relations to take place. On the other hand, schools do create cultures and norms of their own that may deviate in some ways from the national culture, and in this sense they represent a potential site for change in race relations, at least locally.