Focus on Equity
Issues of social justice and equity are at the core of our book. In your reading, you’ll examine the racial, economic, social, and gender issues that erect barriers to equal opportunity. Discussions of equity are integrated throughout the book. Student diversity, which may be the most critical issue facing our schools in the decades ahead, is a powerful focus integrated throughout the book. The text provides explanations of group differences in academic performance, as well as practical strategies for nonracist, nonsexist teaching. We argue that only through recognizing and appreciating diversity can teaching be both effective and joyful.

Research Updated and Expanded to Reflect Education in America Today
As with previous editions, the goal of the ninth edition is to expose you to the issues facing education today; to ensure its currency, over four hundred new references have been added. Some of the topics receiving special attention in this edition include gender stereotypes; multicultural education; and gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) students. This new edition also provides updated discussions of school reform, classroom management, poverty, alternative families, eating disorders and obesity, sex education, special education, No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and standards based education. Readers will also note the revised discussions of teachers’ liability in the classroom.

INTASC Reflective Activities and Your Portfolio (RAPs) The RAPs follow and connect to each of the four parts of the book; they are keyed to INTASC standards for licensing beginning teachers. In Appendix 3 , we provided a chart connecting the content of the book to INTASC standards and the correlated RAPs.

You Be the Judge This feature provides two sides of an educational issue and asks you to consider these different points of view.

What Do You Think? This feature taps into the readers’ curiosity and prepares you for the chapter that follows. It links to the Online Learning Center, where you can take a quick survey or self-inventory that registers your responses on issues ranging from why you want to become a teacher to how much you already know about the history of education.

Reflection Questions To help you determine if teaching is right for you, and to learn more about education in general, you will find Reflection questions throughout the text. These questions will put you right into the center of issues, a personal connection that encourages your thoughtful deliberation.

Interactive Activity Links These activities are listed in the text margin and can be found on the Online Learning Center. They allow you to connect to content in unique ways, such as responding to a multicultural literacy quiz or taking a personal emotional intelligence assessment.

The annotated instructor's edition provides a wealth of instructional ideas and links key supplements to the content through approximately 40 annotations per chapter. Features include teaching tips, critical thinking questions, suggested in-class activities, "Global Views," and "Multiple Intelligences Connections."

The text is accompanied by a wealth of supplements developed by the author, including an Annotated Instructor’s Edition; an Instructor’s Manual with extensive, creative activities; a Test Bank; PowerPoint presentations; a video program (on DVD); an Online Learning Center; CPS questions; Blackboard and WebCT cartridges; and the student Reader CD-ROM with 35 readings, 23 case studies, and 19 classroom observation video segments.