This dynamic book provides powerful ideas to guide pedagogy and a curriculum model for helping students connect with issues in their lives while meeting standards. Vivid portraits of K–12 classrooms illustrate how teachers used a human rights framework to engage students in critical inquiry of relevant social issues, such as immigration rights, religious tolerance, racial equality, countering the effects of poverty, and respect for people with disabilities. The book shows how a group of teachers worked together to develop a critical content framework using the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Chapters highlight lively classroom and community action projects.

"A Critical Inquiry Framework for K–12 Teachers is a powerful and accessible resource for all who believe that education must be more child-centered, democratic, and just. Beyond sharing vivid examples from their classrooms, these teachers share a critical content framework that can be brought to life in a variety of settings, shedding light onto how teachers can engage in more equitable education in their classrooms. This is a timely resource for all who want to teach in hopeful and transformative ways." 

—Mariana Souto-Manning, Associate Professor, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Critical literacy, innovative teaching, and children's rights take center-stage in this beautiful new book. Let us learn from these stories as we move toward socially just teaching practices, equitable educational structures, and the promise of The Rights of the Child in our schools and communities." 

—Valerie Kinloch, Associate Professor, Literacy Studies, The Ohio State University