The “Urban” in Urban Education: Conceptions, Questions, and Implications

• In Event: Roundtable Session 111
  In Roundtable Session: Rethinking Urban Education

Abstract

This paper examines how urban is conceptualized in urban education scholarship. To unpack the meaning of "urban" in education, we analyze research published in peer-reviewed education journals dating back to 1916. Using critical urban theory to understand the various ways urban is conceptualized in education research, we argue that the field of urban education cannot take for granted the meaning of the “urban” without limiting its theoretical, political, and policy contributions. We suggest that the field of urban education can engage with critical urban theory in order to discern the ontological and theoretical significance of the urban within the field of urban education.

Authors

• Decoteau J. Irby, University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

• Melissa R. Gilbert, Temple University