Education and Urban Inequalities From a Deweyan Transactional Perspective

Educational inequalities in urban contexts are an important area of study, as many examples exist of the role of city
planning and evolution in limiting access to quality education, as well as the impact of displacement,
discrimination, and segregation in contributing to educational inequalities. The four-part causal framework of
Flessa and Ketelle is highly useful in understanding the global landscape of urban educational (U-E) inequalities. Yet
generalizable causality presents some challenges, as causal explanations often fail to capture the complex
interactions between students, schools, and urban contexts. An alternative perspective is the transactional
approach of John Dewey, whose key concepts of transaction, habit, and inquiry have implications for
understanding U-E inequalities. The deterministic causal logics used in urban education result in limited ability to
capture the complexity of evolving social experiences. Creative democratic inquiry offers a way forward, as
communities can develop contextually responsive strategies by acting openly, together, and critically.