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Empowering settings are important places for people to develop leadership skills in order to enact social change. Yet, due to socio-cultural constructions of childhood in the US, especially constructions around working class and working poor children of Color, they are often not seen as capable or competent change agents, or in need of being in empowering settings. Based on a 9-month participant observation study of a first grade public charter school classroom in central California, this paper examines how one teacher used an alternative, artist-focused curriculum to take steps to facilitate a more empowering setting for her working class and working poor students, most of whom were Latina/o. We illustrate how this teacher worked to implement the components of an empowering setting within her classroom space: community building, peer-based support, meaningful roles, and shared leadership among her students. Student and teacher interviews are also used to triangulate findings. Implications include providing ways to assist young children as they become social change agents.

This article examines how teachers can develop a sense of social activism in students through critical multiculturalism. Drawing upon data from a nine-month participant observation study of a first-grade public charter school classroom in central California, this article highlights how teachers can integrate critical multiculturalism within an elementary classroom by connecting artists' lives to social issues to raise awareness of social injustices, promote critical reflection and consciousness, and develop a sense of social activism. Particular attention is paid to how teachers can incorporate this curriculum into their own classrooms.

Using 8,265 positive behavior cards and 544 conduct reports for 244 students, regressions of how race and gender influence the allocation of punishments or rewards for students at a New England elementary school with an Effective Behavioral Support (EBS) program were examined. Girls were most likely to receive a positive behavior card for respectful actions and white students were most likely to receive a positive card for safe behavior. Boys and Black students were more likely to receive a conduct report for "bad" behavior than girls and white students. Implications regarding race and gender bias in behavior-based programs are discussed.

Since the 1960s, women's centers on college campuses have provided a wide variety of resources. Unfortunately, not all colleges and universities house women's centers, despite the need for such spaces for their students. In this article, Janelle M. Silva describes a senior seminar grounded in feminist pedagogy and community psychology principles to develop a space where students could learn to work as a collaborative group to facilitate social change on their campus. Eighteen community psychology undergraduate students investigated the need for a women's center through student surveys and faculty interviews. This paper presents a collective illustration of this class project. Silva concludes that this project can be used as an example for teachers who are interested in wanting to explore a student-run, collaborative research project on their campus.

This article uses data from a 9-month ethnography in California to illustrate how elementary teacher's decision to reenact Jane Elliott's "A Class Divided" experiment, in conjunction with an artist-centered multicultural curriculum, shifted classroom conversations to a more critical dialogue of social groups, power, and privilege. Data illustrate how this approach to learning about diversity and difference can facilitate development of students' critical consciousness at the elementary school level. Student interviews and an interview with the classroom teacher are also used to triangulate findings. The article concludes with suggestions as to how teachers can create critical spaces in their own classrooms. (Contains 1 figure and 2 notes.)

This ethnographic study examines how one first grade teacher uses an alternative, artist-focused curriculum to develop a critical consciousness in her students to work toward social change. A framework incorporating critical multicultural education and Lewin's theory of small groups is applied to assess how the use of a multicultural curriculum facilitates critical consciousness where students develop a sense of community, agency, and commitment to social action. Student interviews and an interview with the classroom teacher also illustrate how this teacher integrates a critical perspective into her classroom, resulting in discussions of power, privilege, and students becoming agents of social change within their community. (Contains 3 notes.)

Multicultural education emerged from the political struggles of the 1960s and 1970s and advocated the inclusion of women and ethnic and racial groups in school curricula and children's media. Recently multiculturalism has evolved to include a critical perspective by focusing on stigmatized social identities such as race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and disability. "Little Bill," a children's animated television series, is an example of applied critical multiculturalism. In this chapter, we present a case study of one episode, "A Ramp for Monty," to illustrate the merits of this approach, which may increase the number of social identities children relate to and increase the degree of understanding they may bring to the differences inherent in social identities.

In recent years, the field of psychology has turned to decoloniality as a potential epistemological standpoint and framework to understand how systems of power reproduce oppression (Fanon, 1963; Fernández, 2018; Maldonado‐Torres, 2016; Quijano, 2000). In classroom and community‐engaged research settings, critical community psychologists, specifically those grounded in a decolonial feminist epistemology (Bell, 2018; Dutta, 2018; Fernandez, 2018; Silva & the Students for Diversity Now, 2018), use this standpoint to analyze how they can co‐create opportunities for decolonial justice. Using testimonios as decolonial method, we reflect on how we resist colonialism within our work, specifically our teaching, research, and practice. Drawing on our lived experiences, which have been rendered unwanted subjects within the field, our testimonios are an example of how we individually and relationally engage decoloniality and decolonization as both praxis and pedagogy. Combined, we illustrate how relational reflective narratives through testimonio can illuminate the field's commitment to decolonial liberation and the dismantling of oppressive systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: An example of decolonial pedagogy connected to community psychology values.Illustrates the potential outcome of praxis assignments connected to social justice.An example of how class projects can raise student awareness and activism. This article explores how decolonial pedagogy can develop a sense of student activism (Portillo, 2013; Tejada & Espinoza, 2003; Villanueva, 2013). Decolonality in the classroom requires decentering dominant groups to make space for marginalized voices and experiences (Cruz & Sonn, 2011). Aligned with community psychology values (Amer, Mohammed, & Ganzon, 2013), this paper argues for the importance of employing decolonial pedagogy in undergraduate learning through praxis projects. Centering the analysis on one college course in United States, the author showcases how a large‐scale class project can engage students in decolonial thinking and foster an interest in social action. The Practical Activism Project, a 45 student collaborative project, explores how class projects can work to decolonize the classroom environment and further push students toward social action and activism. Co‐authored with some undergraduate students from this course, this article will examine how decolonizing‐informed class projects can lead to campus activism that has spearheaded institutional change for marginalized students. Integrating both perspectives, the authors conclude with lessons learned from this project and advice for future educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using 8,265 positive behavior cards and 544 conduct reports for 244 students, regressions of how race and gender influence the allocation of punishments or rewards for students at a New England elementary school with an Effective Behavioral Support (EBS) program were examined. Girls were most likely to receive a positive behavior card for respectful actions and white students were most likely to receive a positive card for safe behavior. Boys and Black students were more likely to receive a conduct report for “bad” behavior than girls and white students. Implications regarding race and gender bias in behavior-based programs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article uses data from a 9-month ethnography in California to illustrate how elementary teacher’s decision to reenact Jane Elliott’s “A Class Divided” experiment, in conjunction with an artist-centered multicultural curriculum, shifted classroom conversations to a more critical dialogue of social groups, power, and privilege. Data illustrate how this approach to learning about diversity and difference can facilitate development of students’ critical consciousness at the elementary school level. Student interviews and an interview with the classroom teacher are also used to triangulate findings. The article concludes with suggestions as to how teachers can create critical spaces in their own classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multicultural education emerged from the political struggles of the 1960s and 1970s and advocated the inclusion of women and ethnic and racial groups in school curricula and children's media. Recently multiculturalism has evolved to include a critical perspective by focusing on stigmatized social identities such as race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, and disability. Little Bill, a children's animated television series, is an example of applied critical multiculturalism. In this chapter, we present a case study of one episode, “A Ramp for Monty,” to illustrate the merits of this approach, which may increase the number of social identities children relate to and increase the degree of understanding they may bring to the differences inherent in social identities. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]