The teacher workforce does not look much like the adult population or the students they serve. Across the country, only 21% of teachers are from historically disadvantaged racial groups compared to 35% of working-age adults and 49% of students. Simple math suggests that the diversity gap between students and teachers will only close when teachers…

This article presents findings from a participatory evaluation of alumni groups--Think Tanks--affiliated with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Think Tanks are cocurricular settings wherein participants develop and apply skills and capacities valuable within and beyond the context of meetings. Data come from nine focus groups convened in…

As part of one predominantly White institution's efforts to better support teacher candidates of Color (TCOCs), researchers held focus group discussions with TCOCs. Findings include TCOCs' diverse identities and shared experiences of "onlyness" in educational settings (Harper et al., 2011). Recommendations include racial affinity groups…

In 2021, like far too many states around the U.S., educators in Pennsylvania have been forced to wade through a myriad of attacks against educating students for liberation and justice under the guise of combating Critical Race Theory (CRT). There is a fair amount of "racial policy whiplash" in educators, as many states are simultaneously…

This study, guided by Woman of Color feminist epistemologies, implements culture circles to highlight the agency of displaced Puerto Rican mothers. Participants expanded their social/kin networks and shared resources from which they drew to meet their family's needs. Our space provided support for each participants' reality based on their…

Racial/ethnic minoritized youth are underrepresented in autism research. Documented inequities in accessibility to and utilization of autism-specific services highlight the importance of better understanding for whom and under what conditions autism evidence-based practices (EBPs) work. This report examines the race, ethnicity, sex, and gender of…

Background: Long-term care planning (LTCP) is critical for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities. Objectives of this study were to investigate progression through LTCP, and associations between social support and: (1) LTCP and (2) burden among family caregivers. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was distributed to caregivers of…

The convergent mixed methods study highlighted the career demographics, barriers, and strategies for public high school athletic directors affiliated with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association. The purpose of the study was threefold: 1) Understand the career profile of athletic directors; 2) Explore the barriers women encounter in…

This research intends to test the practice that Women of Color, or women who identify as a race other than white, do not receive fair and adequate opportunities to ascend to leadership roles. More specifically, Women of Color do not receive equitable opportunities in administrative positions in the K-12 educational system. Within this study,…

Background: Long-term care services are funded primarily by Medicaid long-term services and support in the United States, where eligibility is based on care needs of the individual with intellectual and developmental disability alone. Impact of Medicaid waiver services on self-reported caregiver needs is not well understood. Method: Caregivers (n…

This exploratory study examined the effects of naming animal ambassadors on participants' level of Empathy, Altruism, Connectedness to Nature, and Commitment to Engaging in Environmentally responsible Behaviors. Raptor educational presentations were used for this study. Two animal ambassadors were used in the experiment (one animal was given its…

The Future Educator Pathway is a comprehensive "Grow Your Own" program designed to recruit, motivate and mentor students of color so they can attend college and become future educators. The Future Educator Pathway is a collaboration between Millersville University and local school districts, and it consists of the following four unique…

Trauma has been shown to cause poor academic performance, high drop-out rates, lack of confidence, lack of connection to peers, difficulty regulating emotions, and more (Bishop et al., 2019; Duncan, 2000; Gaywish & Murdoch, 2018; Hallett & Crutchfield, 2017; Hallett et al., 2018; Redford, 2015; Warnecke & Lewine, 2019). The student…

In this article, the author recounts some of the events that occurred on September 11, 2001, when four doomed airlines crashed after being hijacked by 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists, resulting in the deaths of 2,977 people in New York, New York, at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and on an empty field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. It is at this…

Undergraduate research offers a significant avenue for enhancing the engagement and skill development of underrepresented students, particularly those from BIPOC backgrounds. This study conducted at Penn State University aimed to illuminate the challenges faced by BIPOC students in their pursuit of undergraduate research opportunities and promote…