College of Education > About > Alumni & Professional Partners > Alumni Newsletter > Spring 2017 > For Your Bookshelf

For Your Bookshelf

When you read books written by your professors, you can hear their voices in the pages. You see how their new ideas build on past discussions you’ve shared. Explore these new works by College of Education faculty members, then continue the conversations you began as a student and let them know what you think. 

Book covers

Running the Rails: Capital and Labor in the Philadelphia Transit Industry  

By James Wolfinger, associate dean of curriculum and programs and professor of secondary history  

In “Running the Rails,” I use the history of Philadelphia’s public transportation system to explore how labor relations shifted from the 1880s to the 1960s. As transit workers adapted to technological innovation to keep the city’s people and commerce on the move, management sought to limit its employees’ rights. Raw violence, welfare capitalism, race-baiting, and smear campaigns against unions were among the strategies managers used to control the company’s labor force and enhance corporate profits. With public service workers and their unions today coming under frequent attack for being a “special interest,” my book offers a historically grounded way of thinking about the people who keep America’s cities running. (Cornell University Press) 

S (Success)-Factor: The Psychological Roots of Success  

By John Taccarino, associate professor of educational policy studies and research, with a case study by An-Chih Cheng, assistant professor of educational policy studies and research, and many recent alumni and current graduate students  

Mara Leonard and I conducted more than 20 years of research to identify the psychological roots of success that could provide a framework for personal effectiveness, which we dubbed the S (Success)-Factor. Through case studies, we explore the role of the S-Factor in shaping the success tendencies of high-achieving individuals, families and corporations, including actors Robert Downey Jr. and Hedy Lamarr, athletes Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, corporate leaders Steve Jobs and Jack Ma, television mogul Oprah Winfrey, composer Ludwig van Beethoven and the Sony Corporation. (Motivational Press) 

Addressing Challenging Behaviors and Mental Health Issues in Early Childhood  

By Mojdeh Bayat, associate professor and director of the early childhood education doctoral program  

My book addresses foundations of mental health in children as well as best-practice strategies in addressing challenging behaviors in children. Childhood provides a framework for empirically based best practices that have been successfully used in the classroom. This comprehensive, multidisciplinary resource offers an appreciation of the deep understanding of culture as it affects approaches to working with children, family engagement, and child growth and development. My book references the most recent research in the field of child mental health and provides educational and intervention approaches that are appropriate for all children with or without disabilities. (Routledge and Council for Exceptional Children)