Bridging Multiple Worlds: Case Studies of Diverse Educational Communities

This text offers “real world” case studies involving educational staff, students, and families from diverse backgrounds in a variety of dynamic school settings.  Bridging Multiple Worldsemphasizes long-term, comprehensive solutions that promote school, home, and community partnership to meet challenges in educational settings. The text provides foundational information about diversity in the US, multicultural education, and family-school-community partnership in Part I; moves on to explore the use of cases in teacher education and how to analyze cases using a “decision making scaffold” in Part II; and delves deeply into specific cases and the issues surrounding them on a wide range of diversity topics in the seven chapters in Part III.

“I spend considerable time with the cases in Bridging Multiple Worlds. I appreciate the time the authors dedicate to explaining the importance of using cases [for education].”  ―Michaela Colombo, University of Massachusetts–Lowell

“[Taylor and Whittaker] have done a thorough job of addressing all the definitions of multicultural education and the multitude of theories around it.”  ―Dr. Joy Wiggins, University of Texas–Arlington

Informative and accessible, Bridging Multiple Worlds combines foundational chapters with real-world cases involving staff, students, and families in various school settings to promote thought and discussion about all facets of diversity―race, immigration, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, religion, and exceptionality. Employing a decision-making scaffold, Taylor and Whittaker emphasize long-term, comprehensive solutions that promote school, home, and community cooperation and guide future teachers, counselors, service providers, and administrators toward an understanding of the complexity of school and community diversity issues.

New to this Edition:

• Up-to-date research is included on immigration, white privilege, bilingual education, and family involvement and achievement.
• A brand new Instructor’s Resource Manual provides background on using the case approach in class and cites supplemental resources.
• A new chapter on sexual orientation includes a fresh case that deals with issues facing gay teachers.
• The revised gender chapter features a brand new case incorporating recent research on boys and education.
• A new case in the religion chapter addresses the extent to which changes in public school policy can or should be made to accommodate religious practice.
• The revised chapter on poverty and socioeconomic class includes a new case about homeless children and families.