A Tale of Three Cities: Defining Urban Schools Within the Context of Varied Geographic Areas

Abstract

What constitutes an urban school? This question has confounded social researchers and educators who often limit definitions to population data. H. Richard Milner suggested a framework for defining urban schools that includes population data as well as the racial and social context of schools. This article applied Milner's model to school districts in New York, Nebraska, and New Mexico which exemplified Milner's categories of urban schools: urban intensive, urban emergent, and urban characteristic. Application of the framework to the districts presents a model for teacher educators to deliver two important components of preservice preparation. First, the model can assist preservice teachers to challenge their existing perceptions of urban schools. Second, establishing a framework provides teacher educators the opportunity to guide preservice teachers to view urban schools through a Critical Race Theory lens. Through this lens, preservice teachers can begin to realize the impact of systemic racism within education.

(Re)Defining Urban Education: A Conceptual Review and Empirical Exploration of the Definition of Urban Education

“…The vast majority of studies ground their definitions of urban education in location, size, and population (Schaffer et al, 2018). Almost all studies considered student demographics and race/ethnicity in their definition of urban education.…”

“…Almost all studies considered student demographics and race/ethnicity in their definition of urban education. Schaffer et al (2018) highlighted that it is difficult to neglect issues of race when the context of urban schools is considered. Although elements of city, neighborhoods, schools, and students are all seemingly embedded implicitly and explicitly in the definition of urban education, over time, conceptualizations of urban education have increasingly acknowledged the nuanced interaction between inside and outside of school characteristics.…”

“…There is an “identity crisis in urban education” that holds significant implications for the growth of a coherent and nuanced body of knowledge on urban education in the broader educational literature (Milner & Lomotey, 2014). Among educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers, there is no universal definition of “urban education” (Buendía, 2011; Milner, 2012a; Milner et al, 2015; Noguera, 2003; Schaffer et al, 2018). Shifting demographics of neighborhoods, increasing diversity of students, as well as widespread disparities across and within districts and schools nationwide have further muddled the categorization of urban versus nonurban districts (Jacobs, 2015; Noguera, 2017).…”

“…Shifting demographics of neighborhoods, increasing diversity of students, as well as widespread disparities across and within districts and schools nationwide have further muddled the categorization of urban versus nonurban districts (Jacobs, 2015; Noguera, 2017). Few studies focus explicitly on how urban education is defined, and these studies have largely been limited to descriptive categories (Buendía, 2011; Irby, 2015; Milner, 2012a; Noguera, 1996; Schaffer et al, 2018).…”

“…Defining and operationalizing urban education establishes policy “boundaries” (Stone, 1997). The conceptualization of urban education shapes the perceptions, understanding, expectations, and practices of educators as well as teacher education (Jacobs, 2015; Milner et al, 2015; Schaffer et al, 2018). Different subsets of districts along the spectrum of “urbanness” may face distinct problems and require appropriate and commensurate solutions, making the nuances of defining urban education also important to school improvement conversations.…”