The Evolution of Deficit Thinking: Educational Thought and Practice (Stanford Series on Education and Public Policy)

Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students, particularly low income minority students, fail in school because they and their families experience deficiencies that obstruct the leaning process (e.g. limited intelligence, lack of motivation, inadequate home socialization). Tracing the evolution of deficit thinking, the authors debunk the pseudo-science and offer more plausible explanations of why students fail. Deficit thinking refers to the notion that students (particularly low income, minority students) fail in school because such students and their families experience deficiencies that obstruct the learning process (e.g. limited intelligence, lack of motivation and inadequate home socialization). The authors of this text argue that deficit thinking is a pseudo-science founded on racial and class bias. They trace the evolution of deficit thinking from the American colonial period to the present, critiquing the model and offering more plausible explanations of why students fail Edited By Richard R. Valencia. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.