Introduction

Maureen E. Kenny
Interim Dean and Professor
Lynch School of Education, Boston College

The Lynch School on its 60th anniversary is at the vanguard of scholarship that examines the applications of education and applied psychology for advancing social policy and practice. We have marked our milestone this year by presenting a series of lectures that frame and inform current debates on education—and propose solutions.

About the series

Marilyn Cochran-Smith
Cawthorne Professor of Teacher Education for Urban Schools and Director of the Doctoral Program in Curriculum and Instruction, Lynch School of Education, Boston College

Dennis Shirley
Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College

The University and the Lynch School value the continuing importance of democracy and education as conjoined enterprises that can harmonize with one another to produce schools that are excellent and equitable for all students.

What Community Provides: The Role of Partnerships in the Transformation of Schools

Pedro Noguera
Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and Executive Director, Metropolitan Center for Urban Education, New York University

Unlike the naïve optimists and the radical pessimists, Pedro Noguera considers himself a pragmatic optimist in terms of educational reform and equality in the United States.

The Great American Education-Industrial Complex: How Public Schooling Undermines Democracy

Joel Spring
Professor, Queens College, and Professor, Urban Education, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

Joel Spring discusses the shifts in educational structures, policy, and assessment that have reshaped the way society views education.

Civic Mobilization and Public Education

Wendy Puriefoy
Director of Education, Barr Foundation, and Former President, Public Education Network

Wendy D. Puriefoy discusses the work of Public Education Network in Mobile, Alabama, which shows how community engagement can improve schools, educational access, and outcomes.

Teachers, Public Schools, and Democracy

Randi Weingarten
President, American Federation of Teachers

Randi Weingarten discusses new approaches to teacher evaluation and teacher development, the challenges of providing access to high-quality education, and our civic responsibility to improve public education.

Something Bigger than Myself: Youth Organizing and the Formation of Civic Identity

John Rogers
Associate Professor, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies; Director, UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access; and Faculty Codirector, UCLA Principal Leadership Institute

John Rogers explains how participation in youth-organizing groups contributes to enhanced civic participation and transformed civic identities among low-income youth of color and immigrant youth.