"This is a rare, readable, and provocative book. . . . Speaking out of her own experience, allowing others to speak out of theirs, Sonia Nieto offers us a text enlivened by passion, by a love of children, and by shared images of hope."

–Maxine Greene, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Once again, Sonia Nieto’s writing is a powerful combination of critique and hope. Her skillful synthesis of current educational research and the personal narrative of teachers transforming classrooms help us to see the complexity of what needs to change in American schools and the possibility of how we might change them. It is important reading for all educators."

–Beverly Daniel Tatum, Dean, Mount Holyoke College

"This informative book by Sonia Nieto, one of the leading theorists in multicultural education, focuses on ways in which teachers can modify their teaching in order to increase the academic achievement of students from those racial and ethnic groups that are experiencing massive failure in the nation’s schools, and consequently in society."

–James A. Banks, Series Editor

In The Light in Their Eyes, Sonia Nieto makes student learning the primary objective of multicultural education. Going beyond "curriculum integration," Nieto draws on a host of research in learning styles, multiple intelligences, and cognitive theories to portray the ways in which students learn. Nieto then takes us beyond individual learners to discuss the social context of learning, the history and manifestations of educational equity, the influence of culture on learning, and critical pedagogy. Centering on multicultural education as a transformative process, the text includes many reflections of teachers who have undergone this process and whose experiences will be invaluable to other teachers.