As colleges and universities focus on admitting and supporting more first-generation college students (FGCS), there is a need to examine ongoing and structural support for students after matriculation. Research has focused on how higher education supports FGCS individually. However, colleges and universities play a role in facilitating support for…

As a result of constantly grappling with systemic forces of oppression such as racism, ableism, and disablism Latinx students with dis/abilities may experience anxiety, loneliness, and frustration in higher education contexts. Social support has been shown to improve the health, well-being, and persistence for Latinx college students and college…

Students of color and students with disabilities are two underserved populations in our educational systems. At the intersection of these groups is a new subgroup: special education students of color (SESOC), who are highly underserved in schools. The experiences and perspectives of teachers of color who serve special education students of color…

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs and curricula have emerged as a priority in schools over the past three decades, with greater urgency since the COVID-19 pandemic. While SEL programs may show promise in supporting students' social and emotional needs generally, current SEL practices apply color-evasive approaches, leading to White-centered…

This dissertation aims to illuminate and uncover the experiences of Black students' learning mathematics in rural Appalachia and specifically West Virginia. The focal theory for this study is Critical Race Theory (CRT) which centers the experience of Black students and their voices. The intersection of race, mathematics education, and the context…