Overview

This influential book describes the knowledge and skills teachers, school administrators, and other educators need to combat the bias and inequity that deny students experiencing poverty the levels of educational access and opportunity their wealthier peers often enjoy. Written in an engaging, conversational style that makes complex concepts accessible and actionable, this book will help readers learn how to identify and eliminate even the subtlest inequities in their classrooms, schools, and districts. The third edition features extensive revisions based on the most recent research and lessons learned from the author’s professional development work. Enhancements include an extended summary of Gorski’s equity literacy framework; several new narrative case scenarios; a new section detailing how schools unintentionally “punish poverty”; a revised Poverty Awareness Quiz; and updated strategies throughout to assist today’s K–12 teachers, school administrators, counselors, and social workers. Book Features: Offers a research-informed alternative to popular books about poverty and education that focus on adjusting something about students experiencing poverty rather than making classrooms and schools more equitable. Describes evidence-based strategies and practices that strengthen equitable education access for students experiencing poverty. Incorporates narrative case scenarios that help readers practice recognizing subtle bias and inequity in common viewpoints and programs. Embraces an intersectional view of poverty and class by addressing how it interacts with race, gender, sexual orientation, and other dimensions of identity and experience.

Full Product Details

Author:   Paul C. Gorski ,  James A. Banks
Publisher:   Teachers' College Press
Imprint:   Teachers' College Press
Edition:   Third Edition
ISBN:  

9780807783627

ISBN 10:   0807783625
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   27 February 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents Series Foreword James A. Banks  xiii Acknowledgments  xix  1.  Introduction  1 A Place to Start: Important Shifts in Understanding  3 Definitions and Distinctions  8 The Remainder of the Book  12 Reflection Questions and Exercises  13  2.  Imagining Equitable Classrooms and Schools for Students Experiencing Poverty: An Equity Literacy Approach  14 Introducing Equity Literacy  20 Frameworks That Help Inform Equity Literacy  23 What the “Equity” Means in Equity Literacy  24 The Five Abilities of Equity Literacy  28 Equity Literacy Principles for Educators  33 Conclusion  43 Reflection Questions and Exercises  43  3.  The Economic Injustice Mess We’re In: A Class and Poverty Primer  44 Poverty Awareness Quiz  44 An Introduction to Poverty, Wealth, and Economic Inequality  47 The Unequal Distribution of Poverty  54 Conclusion  62 Reflection Questions and Exercises  63  4.  Ditching Deficit Ideology and Quitting Grit: Embracing a Structural View of Poverty and Education  64 Poverty Attribution and the Importance of Ideology  64 The Dangers of Deficit Ideology  69 Meet Deficit Ideology’s Cousin, Grit  70 The Hope of Structural Ideology  73 An Exercise in Structural Framing and Language  75 Conclusion  77 Reflection Questions and Exercises  77  5.  The Misunderstandings and Myths That Misdirect Equity Efforts in Schools  79 Debunking the “Culture of Poverty” and Other Absurd Notions  81 A Hint of Truth? The Nature of Poverty Stereotyping  83 Misperceivers Are We: Questioning Common Stereotypes About Families Experiencing Poverty  86 The Dangers of Stereotypes  96 Conclusion  97 Reflection Questions and Exercises  98  6.  Class Inequities Beyond School Walls and Why They Matter at School  99 The Unlevel Playing Field of Poverty  101 Why the “Achievement Gap” Is Really an Opportunity Gap  114 Conclusion  115 Reflection Questions and Exercises  116  7.  How Schools Punish Poverty: Learning to Recognize the Achievement—er, Opportunity—Gap  117 How Schools Punish Poverty: The Great Unequalizer?  120 Opportunity Gaps, Neoliberal School Reform, and Attacking “DEI”  133 Conclusion  137 Reflection Questions and Exercises  138  8.  Teaching Students Experiencing Poverty in Effective, Equitable, and Even Data-Informed Ways: Curricular and Pedagogical Strategies  139 A Couple Caveats  139 Instructional Strategies That Work  140 Conclusion  162 Reflection Questions and Exercises  163  9.  The Mother of All Strategies: Nurturing Equity-Informed Relationships With Students and Families  164 Equity-Informed Relational Commitments  165 Conclusion  180 Reflection Questions and Exercises  180 10.  Cultivating School Change Through Equity Literacy: Commitments and Strategies for School and District Leaders  182 Shaping Institutional Culture Around an Ethic of Equity  184 Cultivating Equity Literacy in Faculty and Staff  188 Creating Policies and Practices to Redistribute Access and Opportunity  193 Conclusion  197 Reflection Questions and Exercises  197 11.  Expanding Our Spheres of Influence: Advocating Change for the Educational and Societal Good  199 Policy Advocacy for Educational Equity  200 Policy Advocacy for Societal Justice  204 Conclusion  206 Reflection Questions and Exercises  207 Conclusion  208 References  213 Index  245 About the Author  261

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Author Information

Paul C. Gorski is the founder of the Equity Literacy Institute and The Art of Reach. He is an author and educator who has worked with schools in 48 states and more than a dozen countries.

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