Chronic absenteeism is a critical predictor for student achievement and high school graduation rates and helps to identify at-risk students. It is a significant challenge in the NYC public school system, driving inequitable outcomes for marginalized students. Since 2014, NYC public schools have used the community school model as an equity…

The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act improved access to postsecondary education for disabled students, yet they are still marginalized and leave university at rates 17% higher than nondisabled students (Lombardi & Lalor, 2017). The specific problem is that disabled students face compounding barriers to success, including oppressive…

This critical autoethnographic study explored my multifaceted journey of being Black and female in administration within a predominately white higher education institution. I drew upon personal narratives and reflections from 25 years of experience in higher education. This study explored the intricate intersections of race, gender, and power…

This dissertation presents the first known Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) investigation of how marginalized students are included in syllabi. This study fills a gap in the literature due to the changing demographic of college students, the absence of faculty who share these marginalized identities, the syllabus being the first…

Critical peace education sets forth a process-oriented pedagogy with key tenets that include inquiry, reflection, dialogue, critical value-assessment, and empowerment. Empowerment as tenet is unique because, when viewed comprehensively, it is recognized as an integral element required for the actualization of all other tenets within CPE. Although…

Despite the attempts by lawmakers to legislate a closing of the achievement gap, persistent gaps in performance for students based on ethnicity, race, economic level, disability, and first language persist throughout public schools in the United States. Occasionally, a principal will receive attention for raising the performance of minoritized…

Culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) is essential to research regarding culturally responsive pedagogy, reform, and social justice education. This comprehensive study sought to provide a responsive framework to meet the needs of diverse students in a holistic approach not limited to culturally sustaining pedagogy. This study included the…

Multiple national calls centered on critical thinking and social justice have been made to improve and reform higher education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses to increase the representation of students from marginalized groups in the STEM workforce and equip all students for success. To help answer this call,…

Institutions, including collegiate schools of music, tell stories about the ways in which they have transformed to include and support diverse students, but what do students say about their institution? Collegiate music students possess powerful and intimate knowledge, and their stories can reveal the lived reality of their experiences of equity…

The first paper in this multifocal policy analysis (Young, 1999) is a traditional, quantitative policy study that tested a comprehensive framework that links teacher perceptions of leadership, autonomy, and accountability to principal, school, and teacher characteristics. The study examined the relationship between principals' instructional…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study is to examine the power differentials that manifest within Kansas public higher education due to policies surrounding territory assignments and degree offerings for Kansas two-year community and technical colleges. The study provides insight into the differential effects of these policies among different…

Positive mentoring experiences are crucial for retaining and advancing those who hold marginalized identities in STEM, as they foster a greater sense of belonging and self-efficacy that encourage these students to persist in their fields. Marginalized identities in STEM include, but are not limited to, women, BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People…

Historically marginalized students, especially urban students attending under-resourced schools, experience lower levels of belongingness than their white peers in suburban, well-resourced schools. Much research highlights that student belongingness increases student outcomes such as on-time graduation, standardized test achievement, and lifetime…

The COVID-19 pandemic can be understood through a trauma-informed lens, as the cumulative and chronic health, financial, and interpersonal stressors can be considered traumatic and may lead to long-term psychological distress. Unfortunately, this pandemic has greater impacts on marginalized populations, including those from racial and ethnic…

There is a long history of educational discrimination which has led to marginalized populations in the U.S. (Perez, 2021; Love 2019) This structural oppression has continued into the present day. This is apparent even in social work programs. Educational injustice is problematic with social work programs because social work's mission is to be a…