Paul Sylvester

Paul Sylvester
  • Associate Professor
  • Coordinator Urban Teacher Track
  • Department: Early & Middle Grades Education
  • Institution: West Chester University of Pennsylvania
  • Email: PSYLVESTER@wcupa.edu

Education

  • B.A., Earlham College
  • M.Ed., Bank Street College of Education
  • Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania

Research Interests

curriculum developmentclassroom managementsocial change

Opportunities

Work Study Positions Available: No

Grant Funded Positions Available: No

Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No

Volunteer Research Positions Available: No

Biography

Growing up in the extreme segregation of the suburbs of Detroit led Dr. Sylvester to his work in urban schools. He began his work at youth programs in Detroit and Spanish Harlem, and taught elementary school in Boston and Philadelphia. Since then he worked as the Dean of Faculty at an environmentally focused charter school in Philadelphia, coordinated the master’s elementary program at the University of Pennsylvania, and lived in Costa Rica working as a consultant to a rain forest preserve developing its educational programs. Dr. Sylvester earned his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania and his research and teaching interests include curriculum development, classroom management, and teaching for social change and sustainability.

Contact Information

Phone: 610-436-3491

List of Publications

  • Skilton-Sylvester, P. (2003). "Less like a robot: A comparison of change in an inner city school and a Fortune 500 Company. American Educational Research Journal. 40, 1, 3-43. Skilton-Sylvester, P. (1994). "Elementary school curricula and urban transformation." Harvard Educational Review. 64, 309- 331. Reprinted in Noya, G.C. et al (1995)
  • Shifting histories: Transforming Schools for Social Change.Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review. Reprinted in Hall, I., et al (1996) Class acts: Teachers Reflect on their Own Classroom Practice. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review. Reprinted in K.P. Afolabi, et al (2011) Education for a Multicultural society. Cambridge: Harvard Educational Review.

Links