Research on Schools, Neighborhoods, and Communities: Toward Civic Responsibility focuses on research and theoretical developments related to the role of geography in education, human development, and health. William F. Tate IV, the Edward Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis and former President of the American Educational Research Association, presents a collection of chapters from across disciplines to further understand the strengths of and problems in our communities. Today, many research literatures--e.g., health, housing, transportation, and education--focus on civic progress, yet rarely are there efforts to interrelate these literatures to better understand urgent problems and promising possibilities in education, wherein social context is central. In this volume, social context--in particular, the unequal opportunities that result from geography--is integral to the arguments, analyses, and case studies presented.Written by more than 40 educational scholars from top universities across the nation, the research presented in this volume provides historical, moral, and scientifically based arguments with the potential to inform understandings of civic problems associated with education, youth, and families, and to guide the actions of responsible citizens and institutions dedicated to advancing the public good.

The first part of this book presents a fresh and encouraging report on the state of racial integration in America's neighborhoods. It shows that while the majority are indeed racially segregated, a substantial and growing number are integrated, and remain so for years.

Still, many integrated neighborhoods do unravel quickly, and the second part of the book explores the root causes. Instead of panic and "white flight" causing the rapid breakdown of racially integrated neighborhoods, the author argues, contemporary racial change is driven primarily by the decision of white households not to move into integrated neighborhoods when they are moving for reasons unrelated to race. Such "white avoidance" is largely based on the assumptions that integrated neighborhoods quickly become all black and that the quality of life in them declines as a result.

The author concludes that while this explanation may be less troubling than the more common focus on racial hatred and white flight, there is still a good case for modest government intervention to promote the stability of racially integrated neighborhoods. The final chapter offers some guidelines for policymakers to follow in crafting effective policies.