In Print

Tearing Down the Gates: Confronting the Class Divide in American Education, Peter Sacks (University of California Press, 2007, $24.95 hardcover)

Peter Sacks cuts to the core of educational inequity with his analysis of how socioeconomic status is the key to opportunity in American education. Buttressing persuasive personal narrative with compelling data, Sacks brings into relief the confluence of interrelated factors (including cultural capital, family pressures, and economic affordability) that escort privileged children onto the college track while essentially shutting the doors on the working class. The scene Sacks describes is devastating but not intractable. Sacks calls readers to reform American education to bring the myth of class mobility closer to reality, beginning (as he does with this book) by breaking the silence surrounding the socioeconomic divide.

Realizing Bakke’s Legacy: Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity, and Access in Higher Education, Patricia Marin and Catherine L. Horn, Eds. (Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2008, $27.50 paperback)

Thirty years after Justice Lewis Powell established the idea that diversity has significant educational benefits in his opinion for Regents of the University of California v. Bakke, editors Marin and Horn examine Bakke’s enduring legacy. The result is a collection of essays probing Bakke’s legal, social, and educational effects and examining the viability of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s 2003 suggestion that affirmative action will be unnecessary by 2028. Responding to recent court cases that have challenged the Bakke ruling, the editors suggest multiple means of defense against attacks on progressive educational policies. Their volume, with its breadth of focus and specificity of detail, represents one such tool.

Privilege and Diversity in the Academy, Frances A. Maher and Mary Kay Thompson Tetreault (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2007, $36.95 paperback)

In this in-depth study of three major universities (Stanford University, the University of Michigan, and Rutgers University-Newark), authors Maher and Thompson explore how the terms “excellence” and “diversity” have become, to varying degrees, interdependent rather than mutually exclusive. Through historical and comparative analysis, Maher and Thompson illustrate that cultural shifts are not only possible but necessary if institutions are to become truly outstanding. Their research explores how privilege operates at a systemic level, affecting an institution’s ability to advance diverse scholarship across disciplines. The resulting volume attests to the need to craft programs and policies that are sensitive to local contexts when trying to create more inclusive institutions.

Developing Intercultural Competence and Transformation: Theory, Research, and Application in International Education, Victor Savicki, Ed. (Stylus Publishing, LLC, 2008, $29.95 paperback)

American anxieties about globalization have drawn increased attention to study abroad as a way to prepare students for leadership in the modern world. But as Victor Savicki points out, educators cannot simply send students overseas for a semester or less and expect them to return interculturally fluent. Savicki and contributors urge educators to craft intentional opportunities for learning based in experiential and reflective practices. Combining educational theory, program assessment, and pedagogical design, their essays serve as a guide for educators hoping to lead students toward transformation through intercultural exchange.