The Psychological Dynamics of Race and Culture in Education ― Toward Integrating Perspectives

Culture, race and ethnicity play a large role in creating educational inequality, particularly as students construct and reconstruct their identities around individuals, communities and social institutions. This volume offers a penetrating critique of the current empirical research on cognitive development, educational psychology and cultural psychology, as well as the role of culture in education from both historical and contemporary perspectives. It analyzes recent education reform efforts in light of this research, and calls for more integrative scholarship in culture and educational transactions. By examining culture and ethnicity through the lens of basic psychological phenomena, educators can begin to reevaluate their perceptions of student behavior and gain insight on how their own attitudes, behaviors and teaching practices are determined by racial and cultural factors.

Eric Hurley is Associate Professor of Psychology and Africana Studies at Pomona College, CA, USA.