Centers for undergraduate research and civic engagement are rare at the community college level. With two such Centers, both launched in 2022 and 2023 at a Midwestern Community College, we are examining how intentional mentoring efforts in undergraduate research and civic engagement at community colleges impact students' political efficacy and…

During the COVID-19 global pandemic, early intervention (EI) practitioners experienced an unexpected shift to providing tele-intervention services to support children and families using virtual platforms. Because this shift occurred across the field, it is important to understand the perspectives of those who experienced it under exceptional…

Engaging Youth for Positive Change is a local civic engagement program focused on youth and young adults in the U.S. state of Illinois, and guides them through the process of adopting a local ordinance by working with their local city councils or other governing bodies. Researchers collected two waves of data from EYPC participants to…

It is not known how teachers describe parental involvement as an influence on Mexican immigrant student achievement is the problem of this study. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how teachers describe parental involvement as an influence on Mexican immigrant student achievement in Northern Illinois. The six types of…

This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to explore Black men's lived experiences at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) through a student involvement lens. This study used critical race theory to determine if the experiences of Black men align with the desired outcomes of involvement theory. Racism is acknowledged by critical race theory…

While research abounds on the outcomes of out-of-school time programs for youth, most studies focus on programs with similar profiles or within the same program category, leaving a notable gap in examining youth experiences across programs with different delivery modes. The current research investigated the perceived experiences of youth in two…

Parent involvement is often cited as an essential component of effective dual language bilingual education (DLBE), yet we have limited understanding of the ways parents participate in DLBE or how parent experiences differ between Latinx and non-Latinx families, who often have different reasons for enrolling their children in bilingual programs.…

An indicator is a gauge or sense that allows a person to draw a conclusion. Because teacher leadership is so vaguely defined in both research and practice, indicators can assist teachers in using their perceptual knowledge to recognize and define teacher leadership. This article reports the findings of a statewide study conducted to better…

Throughout the history of higher education, students have engaged in activism, demanding that institutions become more and more equitable. This study shares data collected across Big10 institutions through the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership regarding trends in activism involvement, activism behaviors, and social issues around which those…

Rubrics are a commonly used tool to evaluate student work in the introductory communication course. Although rubrics may appear objective, they are continually interpreted by both instructors and students, often reflecting traditional classroom power dynamics. In order to understand how rubrics constrain as well as expand opportunities for the…

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study examined athletic participation rates between 2016 and 2019 of nine male IHSA-sanctioned sports in Illinois. The quantitative portion examined whether a statistically significant difference exists between low socioeconomic students and non-low-income high school students' participation in high school…

Despite significant efforts to broaden participation in postsecondary science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, students from historically minoritized populations continue to face systemic barriers related to access, departmental climate, and institutional practices. Previous research suggests that campus-level STEM diversity…

Under current and prominent definitions, the rates of parental involvement among Hispanic/Latino families have been historically low. However, empirical evidence suggests that parental involvement can be perceived/practiced in varied ways. This work explored these perceptions held by Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino families through focus groups…

In the past, parents of children with disabilities have spearheaded several policies for individuals with disabilities. However, little is known about their experiences with legislators. To address this gap, focus groups and surveys about legislative advocacy were conducted with 127 parents of individuals with disabilities across four states. The…

Purpose: State funding is being reduced for higher education institutes (HEIs) is linked to several checks such as performance-based incentives (Hagood, 2019). This forces HEIs to look for other options for funding. Endowment funds are now becoming the main source of revenue for HEIs (Sörlin, 2007), largely provided by alumni. Thus, this study…