Christine H. Rossell | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Social scientist, academic, and author |
Academic background | |
Education | B.A., International Relations M.A., Political Science Ph.D., Political Science |
Alma mater | University of California, Los Angeles California State University University of Southern California |
Academic work | |
Institutions | Boston University |
Christine H. Rossell is an American social scientist,academic,and author. She is a Professor Emerita of Political Science at Boston University. [1]
Rossell's research interests are in American politics,public policy,and education policy analysis,with a focus on school desegregation and bilingual education. She is the author or editor of five books,including School Desegregation in the 21st Century,and Bilingual Education in Massachusetts:The Emperor Has No Clothes,and The Carrot or the Stick for School Desegregation Policy:Magnet Schools or Forced Busing. [2]
Rossell received her B.A. in International Relations,with an area specialization in Latin America,from the University of California,Los Angeles in June 1967. She went on to pursue graduate studies in political science,earning her M.A. from California State University in 1969. In January 1974,she received her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Southern California. [3]
Rossell joined Pitzer College as an assistant professor in 1973. In 1975,she joined the faculty at Boston University,where she remained until her retirement. She was promoted to associate professor in 1982,and to Professor of Political Science in 1989, [4] when she held the Maxwell Chair in U.S. Citizenship and Chaired the Political Science Department from 1992 till 1995. She was conferred the title of Professor Emerita in 2018. [5]
Rossell has been on advisory boards of READ,the Center for Equal Opportunity in Washington,D.C.,and the United States Commission on Civil Rights study on school desegregation. [6]
Best known for her work on school desegregation and bilingual education policy,Rossell has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles and technical reports. She has made research contributions to the areas of public policy,public policy analysis,American politics,and education policy. [3]
In collaboration with Keith Baker,Rossell conducted an analysis of how language learning affects students' academic performance,as well as their overall development,providing recommendations for the best ways to incorporate various types of bilingual education programs in educational settings. [7] In related research,her work with Baker established that transitional bilingual education is not a superior form of instruction for limited English proficient children. [8] While reviewing the Federal Bilingual Education Program,she also emphasized that the federal government demonstrates a persistent and enthusiastic approach in advocating and endorsing this particular form of educational program,despite the lack of rigorous research evidence supporting it. [9] In particular,she argued that structured immersion is the most effective method for educating second language learners,and recommended limiting the time students spend in this type of program to one or two years. [10]
In her research on school desegregation,Rossell noted that various approaches,including busing programs,and magnet schools have been used to promote school integration. [11] Early in her career,she examined the causes and consequences of white flight from schools and the effects of school desegregation policies on it. [12] She concluded that the mandatory desegregation (also known as forced busing) plans she once supported,produced so much white flight that within a few years of implementation of a plan there was less interracial exposure than before the plan was implemented. [13] Later,she examined the efficacy of voluntary desegregation plans in schools and found that their success is largely dependent on the willingness of parents to alter their decisions about their children's school attendance,but they nevertheless produced less white flight and more interracial exposure than mandatory reassignment plans [14]
Rossell's research also analyzed the effectiveness of magnet schools in terms of integrating students from diverse backgrounds,offered guidelines for designing new magnet schools for maximum effectiveness,and highlighted factors that increase the chances of success,including support services and a positive school environment. [15] Additionally,she collaborated with David J. Armor on a 600-school district study that assessed the effectiveness of different kinds of voluntary and mandatory reassignment approaches to school desegregation,comparing their implementation in different regions of the U.S. to identify the most effective approach. [16] While acknowledging the benefits of magnet schools in enhancing school desegregation and providing access to quality education,she has also examined the evidence against them,including increased socioeconomic segregation and funding disparities. [17] Despite these challenges,she proposed additional strategies to improve the effectiveness of magnet schools,emphasizing the need for ongoing improvement in education. [18]
Rossell has contributed to public policy through multiple reports,including technical reports for court cases,government agencies,and public policy organizations. Notably,she authored a report for the U.S. National Institute of Education in Washington,D.C.,in 1978,which presented an evaluation of the unintended consequences of public policies on school desegregation and resegregation. [19] She also proposed an assessment framework for school desegregation policies,considering factors such as equity,efficiency,and effectiveness,alongside other prominent works and research. [20]
Rossell's book,The Carrot or the Stick for Desegregation Policy:Magnet Schools or Forced Busing compares the efficacy of voluntary desegregation plans with mandatory reassignment and finds that voluntary plans with incentives (magnets) result in greater interracial exposure. In his book review,David Armor praised the information regarding desegregation plans,stating that "the book is primarily intended for educators,lawyers,jurists,and social scientists who are involved in designing or evaluating school desegregation remedies." [21] Daniel J. Monti,on the other hand,criticized this book of hers for lacking a moral tone and instead functioning more as a guide for achieving financial stability through whitewashing. He added that "Although the book is intended to be read as advancing the science of desegregation...it is far more useful as a study in the politics of desegregation and,more broadly,of moral reform movements." [22]
Betty W. Nyangoni reviewed The Consequences of School Desegregation co-edited by Rossell and Willis D. Hawley,praised it for its contribution to the literature with its content,readability,and research findings,and commented that “It would be of special interest to educational researchers,policy makers,teachers,students of school desegregation…” [23] Henry Levin commended the book for its outstanding index and bibliography,describing it as “the most comprehensive work on the subject,”and described that “the volume will be an invaluable resource to those who address both research and policy issues in the area of school de- segregation.” [24]
School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools. It is the subject of fierce debate in various state legislatures across the United States.
In bilingual education,students are taught in two languages. It is distinct from learning a second language as a subject because both languages are used for instruction in different content areas like math,science,and history. The time spent in each language depends on the model. For example,some models focus on providing education in both languages throughout a student's entire education while others gradually transition to education in only one language. The ultimate goal of bilingual education is fluency and literacy in both languages through a variety of strategies such as translanguaging and recasting.
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education,402 U.S. 1 (1971),was a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with the busing of students to promote integration in public schools. The Court held that busing was an appropriate remedy for the problem of racial imbalance in schools,even when the imbalance resulted from the selection of students based on geographic proximity to the school rather than from deliberate assignment based on race. This was done to ensure the schools would be "properly" integrated and that all students would receive equal educational opportunities regardless of their race.
Desegregation busing was a failed attempt to diversify the racial make-up of schools in the United States by sending students to school districts other than their own. While the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional,many American schools continued to remain largely racially homogeneous. In an effort to address the ongoing de facto segregation in schools,the 1971 Supreme Court decision,Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education,ruled that the federal courts could use busing as a further integration tool to achieve racial balance.
In the U.S. education system,magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. Normally,a student will attend an elementary school,and this also determines the middle school and high school they attend unless they move. "Magnet" refers to how magnet schools accept students from different areas,pulling students out of the normal progression of schools. Attending them is voluntary.
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11,1965. Part of Johnson's "War on Poverty",the act has been one of the most far-reaching pieces of federal legislation affecting education ever passed by the United States Congress,and was further emphasized by the revised No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Ellen Goldring is a professor of Educational Policy and Leadership at Vanderbilt University.
Gary Orfield is an American professor of education,law,political science and urban planning at the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He worked previously at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A native Minnesotan,Orfield received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and travels annually to Latin America.
Inter-American Magnet School is a K-8 magnet school in Lake View,Chicago,Illinois. The oldest two-way bilingual school in the Midwestern United States,it is a part of Chicago Public Schools (CPS).
As an academic discipline the study of politics in education has two main roots:The first root is based on theories from political science while the second root is footed in organizational theory. Political science attempts to explain how societies and social organizations use power to establish regulations and allocate resources. Organizational theory uses scientific theories of management to develop deeper understandings regarding the function of organizations.
Intercultural bilingual education(Educación bilingüe intercultural) is a language-planning model employed throughout Latin America in public education,and it arose as a political movement asserting space for indigenous languages and culture in the education system. IBE is designed to address the educational needs of indigenous communities,and consists of various bilingual curriculum designs.
Racial diversity in United States schools is the representation of different racial or ethnic groups in American schools. The institutional practice of slavery,and later segregation,in the United States prevented certain racial groups from entering the school system until midway through the 20th century,when Brown v. Board of Education forbade racially segregated education. Globalization and migrations of peoples to the United States have increasingly led to a multicultural American population,which has in turn increased classroom diversity. Nevertheless,racial separation in schools still exists today,presenting challenges for racial diversification of public education in the United States.
School segregation in the United States was the segregation of students based on their ethnicity. While not prohibited from having schools,various minorities were barred from most schools,schools for whites. Segregation was enforced by formal legal systems in U.S. states primarily in the Southern United States,although elsewhere segregation could be informal or customary. Segregation laws were dismantled in 1954 by the U.S. Supreme Court because of the successes being attained during the Civil Rights Movement. Segregation continued longstanding exclusionary policies in much of the Southern United States after the Civil War. Jim Crow laws codified segregation. These laws were influenced by the history of slavery and discrimination in the US. Secondary schools for African Americans in the South were called training schools instead of high schools in order to appease racist whites and focused on vocational education. School integration in the United States took place at different times in different areas and often met resistance. After the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education,which banned segregated school laws,school segregation took de facto form. School segregation declined rapidly during the late 1960s and early 1970s as the government became strict on schools' plans to combat segregation more effectively as a result of Green v. County School Board of New Kent County. Voluntary segregation by income appears to have increased since 1990. Racial segregation has either increased or stayed constant since 1990,depending on which definition of segregation is used. In general,definitions based on the amount of interaction between black and white students show increased racial segregation,while definitions based on the proportion of black and white students in different schools show racial segregation remaining approximately constant.
In the United States,school integration is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and remains an issue in contemporary education. During the Civil Rights Movement school integration became a priority,but since then de facto segregation has again become prevalent.
The Citywide Educational Coalition (CWEC) is a tax-exempt,non-profit educational reform organization whose goal is to provide reliable and objective information on the Boston Public Schools to parents and citizens,enabling citizens to participate in policy making directly and through their school committee and increasing support for public education in Boston,Massachusetts.
Jean McGuire is an American educator and civil rights leader. She was the first African American woman to be elected to a seat on the Boston School Committee in 1981,during the Boston busing desegregation era. She helped found the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity (METCO) in 1966 and served as its executive director from 1973 to 2016.
Brown,Not White:School Integration and the Chicano Movement in Houston is a 2005 book by Guadalupe San Miguel,Jr.,published by the Texas A&M University Press. Brown,Not White discusses Chicano activism in Houston,Texas during the 20th century.
Bridget Terry Long is the 12th Dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education,and the Saris Professor of Education and Economics. She is an economist whose research focuses on college access and success. Long is a Faculty Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and a member of the National Academy of Education.
Natalia Yael Mehlman Petrzela is an American historian,specializing in the politics and culture of the modern United States. She is a professor of history at The New School. Petrzela is also a history communicator who frequently writes pieces about American history in popular media outlets,co-hosts the Past Present podcast,and has created or been featured in educational videos for The History Channel and C-SPAN.
David J. Armor is a social scientist,academic,and author. He is the Professor Emeritus of Public Policy in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.