Transforming America: Cultural Cohesion, Educational Achievement, and Global Competitiveness- Foreword by Jim Cummins

Creatively and rigorously blending historical research and contemporary data from various disciplines, this book cogently and comprehensively illustrates the problems and opportunities the American nation faces in education, economics, and the global arena. The authors propose a framework of transformation that would render American culture no longer a culture of conflict, but one whose purpose is to achieve metacultural cohesion. The book illustrates how this change is imperative if we are to ensure that our nation and its individual members thrive domestically - and if we are to enhance our global competitiveness and contributions, geopolitically and otherwise, throughout this century and beyond. Transforming America is a welcome foundational text for teachers and students in education and the social sciences at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Robert A. DeVillar, Professor of Education at Kennesaw State University, received a BA in Latin American studies, an MA in ethnic studies, and an MA and PhD in education from Stanford University. He has held tenured faculty and leadership positions within the several university systems. As a year-long Fulbright Scholar at the Center for Social Science Research at the University of Colima, Mexico, he conducted and later published research on indigenous economic, educational, and immigration issues. Other published research includes work in Belize, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Mexico, and various books, journal editorships and articles.
Binbin Jiang is Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership of the Bagwell College of Education at Kennesaw State University. Educated in both China and the United States, Dr. Jiang has over 20 years of experience in teaching, research, and educational administration in both countries, as well as in professional development for K-16 teachers from Mexico, Japan, China, and the United States. Her research focuses on effective teaching and leadership in multicultural education, international education, cross-cultural contexts, second and foreign language learning settings, and the preparation of educational leaders and programs.