Transforming Education for Social Justice

"At a time when diversity, equity, and inclusion are under political attack and public education is being systematically undermined, Transforming Education for Social Justice emerges as an urgent, visionary, and necessary intervention. Grounded in an Ethnic Studies framework and enriched by interdisciplinary, empirical scholarship, this powerful volume equips educators and leaders with the critical tools to resist ahistorical narratives and disrupt systems of inequality. Each chapter offers bold insights and actionable strategies to reimagine schools as transformative spaces where justice, liberation, and community thrive. This collection is more than academic—it’s a call to action."

Nancy Acevedo, Professor of Educational Leadership Doctoral Studies, California State University, San Bernardino

"Equity. Action. Inclusion. These are themes explored in the brilliant anthology of equity-centered research in Transforming Education for Social Justice edited by Conchas, Suleiman, and DeAlba. Grounded in rigorous research and culturally relevant frameworks, the editors have amassed a collection that interrogates transformative educational leadership to better understand who and how educators serve. Collectively, the chapter authors and editors reimagine how educational leaders can best support students’ social, educational, and economic health and well-being in systems and structures designed for exclusion. A must read for anyone committed to educational justice in the US!"

Angela M. Locks, Professor and Department Chair, Educational Leadership, California State University, Long Beach

"Transforming Education for Social Justice is a powerful, timely, and unapologetic call to action. With compelling scholarship and courageous storytelling, this anthology amplifies the voices of educators, scholars, students, and community leaders who are reimagining education as a vehicle for equity, belonging, and liberation. Each chapter challenges entrenched systems of teaching and learning, while offering transformative frameworks, strategies, and hope for transforming Education. This is not just a book—it is a roadmap for those who dare to lead differently and believe that justice in education is not optional, but essential."

Nicholas D. Hartlep, Robert Charles Billings Endowed Chair in Education, Chair of the Education Studies Department at Berea College, and Lead Editor of

"Transforming Education for Social Justice is a superb collection of scholarly works that illustrate how research is at its most impactful when it is grounded in praxis. While the contributors to this book elegantly describe the social, political and economic forces that impact structurally vulnerable communities, where the book shines are in its examples of how young people and adult practitioners work to transform their schools, their neighborhoods, and society. Furthermore, Conchas, Suleiman and DeAlba offer us a reminder that social justice and equity are still values that must be defended, especially in a time when progressive educators, programs and institutions are under siege."

Miguel N. Abad, Youth Worker and Assistant Professor, San Francisco State University

"The more that research investigates the impact of Ethnic Studies pedagogies on U.S. youth, the more compelling the case becomes for investment and development in this paradigm for K-12 schools. For the last several decades, the field of education has expended tremendous energy and resources to solve a seemingly intractable “achievement gap.” Meanwhile, right under our noses has been the persistently impactful practice of educators employing an Ethnic Studies framework in their classrooms. Transforming Education for Social Justice adds to a growing base of research that reveals the path to the promise of an education system that meets youth where they are and gives them the knowledge and the tools to transform their lives, their communities, and our society for the better."

Jeff Duncan-Andrade, Professor & Department Chair of Latina/o Studies and Race and Resistance Studies, San Francisco State University

"This timely and compelling text speaks to the transformative potential of education. Each chapter is grounded in equity and social justice. Transforming Education for Social Justice offers a thorough exploration of the issues and structures that perpetuate educational inequities while also advocating for schools to be liberatory and decolonial spaces. This anthology is a must read for anyone interested in breaking down barriers and disrupting social inequities. Moreover, this powerful collection is a valuable resource for school administrators, scholars, students, and teachers across the PK-20 educational spectrum."

Dr. Patricia Lane, California State University, Fresno

Series Foreword
Mahmoud Suleiman and Gilberto Q. Conchas

Introduction
Transforming Education for Social Justice: Empirical Insights from Leadership, Equity, and Research in Action
Victor DeAlba, Gilberto Q. Conchas, and Mahmoud Suleiman

Chapter 1
Advancing Equity to Improve Academic Achievement of Students Living in Poverty Using Transformative Practices
Kitty Fortner and Jose Lalas

Chapter 2
Transforming Education: Integrating the Wise Compassionate Framework, Health, and Community for Holistic Student Development
Felipe Mercado

Chapter 3
From Vision to Practice: Staff Leaders Enacting Servingness in Mentoring Programs
Rebecca Covarrubias, Giselle Laiduc, Katherine Quinteros, and Joseline Arreaga

Chapter 4
The Differential Attainment Rate Among First-Generation Students: A Comparative Analysis of Recent Trends in Educational Achievements
Enrique S. Pumar

Chapter 5
Is Structural Change “Practical”? Latino Boys & Imagining Otherwise
Omar Davila Jr.

Chapter 6
Black Girls and School Discipline: Shifting from the Narrow Zone of Zero Tolerance to a Wide Region of Restorative Practices and Culturally Proficient Partnerships
Angela Clark-Louque and Talisa A. Sullivan

Chapter 7
“I Was Pushed Out of School”: Social and Emotional Approaches to a Youth Promotion Program
Rebeca Mireles-Rios, Victor M. Rios, Trevor Auldridge-Reveles, Marilyn Monroy Castro, and Isaac Castro

Chapter 8
Administrator and Teacher Experiences Implementing Restorative Practices: A Phenomenological Study
Lervan Atticot and Brandy Kamm

Chapter 9
Accelerate Ethnic Studies with “All Deliberate Speed!”
Talisa Sullivan and Peter Flores

Chapter 10
Educational Persistence in the Face of Violence: Narrative from Resilient Latino Boys
Adrian H. Huerta and Maritza E. Salazar

Chapter 11
From Ally to Activist: Embracing Activism as an Essential Component of Social Justice Educational Leadership to Combat Injustice in American Schools
Michael L. McIntosh

Chapter 12
The Effects of School Belonging and Peer Influences on the Achievement of High School Immigrant Students
Arnold Sánchez Ordaz and Eduardo Mosqueda

Chapter 13
“It’s Like Where Do I Belong?”: Latinx Undocumented Youth Activism, Identity, and Belonging in North Carolina
Felicia Arriaga and Sophia Rodriguez

Chapter 14
Ignite The Leader Within: Virtual Latinx Youth Empowerment and Community Leadership Amid COVID-19
Pablo Montes, Monica Bourommavong, Judith Landeros, Luis Urrieta, Jr., and Courtney Robinson

Chapter 15
Perceptions of Inequality as Racial Projects: Uncovering Ethnoracial and Gendered Patterns Among First-Generation College-Going Asian American Students
Gilberto Q. Conchas, Socorro Cambero, Vanessa Delgado, Jess Lee, and Leticia Oseguera

About the Contributors

Index

NOTE: Table of Contents subject to change up until the publication date.

Gilberto Q. Conchas

Gilberto Q. Conchas is the Wayne K. and Anita Woolfolk Hoy Endowed Chair in the College of Education at Pennsylvania State University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and his B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author and coauthor of over a dozen books—including The Color of Success; Streetsmart Schoolsmart; Cracks in the Schoolyard; Educational Policy Goes to School; The Complex Web of Inequality; The Chicana/o/x Dream; Race Frames in Education; We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success; and Repertoires of Racial Resistance. Dr. Conchas has been a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the University of California at Irvine and visiting professor at the University of Southern California, San Francisco State University, University of Washington, University of Barcelona, and the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara. He was also Senior Program Officer for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Mahmoud Suleiman

Mahmoud Suleiman is a professor of teacher education at California State University, Bakersfield. He earned his Ph.D. from Arizona State University in 1993. He previously taught at the Maricopa Community College District, AZ; Arizona State University, Tempe; and Fort Hays State University, KS. He joined CSUB in 1999 and has taught a variety of credential and graduate courses in the areas of multiculturalism, reading/literacy, action research, instructional leadership, second language acquisition, equity, social justice and inclusion, cultural literacy, and international education; he also has published in extensively in these fields. During his tenure at CSUB, he served as Director of the Multiple Subject Credential Program and as Chair of the Teacher Education Department as well as Chair of the Advanced Educational Studies. He is currently serving as a Core Faculty member and an Acting Director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. He is a Fulbright Scholar (2009/2010) and completed his residency at the Bahrain Teachers College, University of Bahrain, Bahrain, as well as Fulbright Scholar (2016/2017) at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and Teachers’ Training, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.

Victor DeAlba

Victor DeAlba is a PhD Candidate and graduate research assistant at The Pennsylvania State University. He was raised in the city of Lompoc, located in the Central Coast of California. He earned his AA in sociology from Allan Hancock College. He then transferred to UCLA where he earned his BA in sociology. He worked as a Community Engagement Specialist for Social Model Recovery Systems in Boyle Heights, CA and the Skid Row community of Los Angeles before deciding to return to academia. He is the coauthor of We are Children of the Corn/Somos Hija/o/xs del Maíz: Husks of Hope, Resistance, and Latina/o/x Educational Success. His current research includes the power of critical and transformative pedagogical spaces, amplifying Latina/o/x student voice, promoting educational opportunity for Latina/o/x students, and countering inequity in urban school systems.