Book Review

Abstract

Ability, equity, and culture: Sustaining inclusive urban education reform, edited by Kozleski and Thorius (2014), is a remarkable compilation of work, written by a diverse ensemble of educators, researchers, practitioners, and advocates. A thought-provoking book that looks critically at urban education reform, the authors challenge readers to have a broader understanding of what the term inclusivity entails. The editors present the work of 17 authors who were all part of the National Institute for Urban School Improvement (NIUSI). These authors shed light on various aspects of systemic urban reform in policy, pedagogy, and practice. Issues discussed ranged from the micro to the macro change initiatives to classroom environments and district culture, as well as successful models of student-centered programs around the country. Using data from 12 years of research conducted under the sponsorship of NIUSI, the contributors paint a hopeful, if daunting, a portrait of what equitable, inclusive, and culturally responsive education should and could look like. Ultimately, the contributors of this book believe that sustainable, scalable, successful systemic educational reform is attainable, provided that all stakeholders are committed to cultural responsivity and inclusivity for all students. In order to achieve this goal, the authors posit that reform needs to combat discrimination based on socially constructed notions of difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, ability, class, and sexual orientation.