The current high school schedule is more of an advanced version of middle school than it is a preparation for college/university life. The general structure of the high school day is introduced by the time a student reaches sixth (6th) grade. The continued pattern of dipping back into previous levels of school leaves high school students with…

The narrative of first-generation, low-income students (FGLI) has a long, and often complicated tradition in the history of American higher education. FGLI students experience challenges in postsecondary retention. FGLI students are rapidly enrolling in higher education, but they are dropping out of college at alarming rates. Over 4.5 million FGLI…

This qualitative dissertation study focused on the perceptions of school professionals in working with transgender and gender queer students. Twelve school professionals were individually interviewed utilizing a semi-structured format regarding their experiences working with transgender and gender queer students. School professionals were…

Characteristics of effective transition programs include (a) providing realistic experiences of middle school expectations for incoming students, (b) frequent communication with students, parents, and staff, and (c) extensive and ongoing planning, assessment, and redesign of the transition program. While these effective components of a transition…

Academically underprepared learners have been enrolling in college at increasing rates over the last several decades, yet their success rates in the courses designed to remediate their deficits have remained low. Theses courses serve as either gateways or gatekeepers to certificates and degrees for academically underprepared college students…

This research uses a descriptive quantitative statistical design to examine campus-level results from the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). The focus is on describing the achievement disparities between campuses that implemented Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) programs and those implementing Dual Language (DL)…

Despite the U.S. having one of the highest college access and participation rates in the world, equity gaps exist that impact access and success for first-generation, low-income, underrepresented students in higher education (Cahalan et al., 2020). The goal of going to college is often imperiled for first-generation, low-income, transfer students…

First generation African American students are less likely to enroll in a higher education institution after completing high school compared to other racial and ethnic groups. The problem of perceived barriers that prevent first generation African American college students from degree completion was addressed in this study. First generation…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the college choice experiences of Black College Women. Through the theoretical framework of Yosso's (2005) Community Cultural Wealth model, this study sought to examine how Black College Women incorporated aspirational, familial, linguistic, navigational, social, and resistance capital in…

The present study investigated the perceptions of K-12 related service professionals and higher education disability service professionals about the need for postsecondary transition planning and strategies for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Twenty-two female participants participated in the study. The K-12 participants are…

Transition planning for students in special education is mandated by IDEA law. However as with many areas of special education, its implementation varies from school district to school district and even differs among different case managers and students within a district. Furthermore, little is known about the effectiveness of transition planning…

Research shows that students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities (MMID) transition to post-secondary educational environments and the real-world experience more barriers than their typical peers (Banks, 2014). However, limited research includes the voices of students with MMID and their parents/guardians as they describe their…

The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore and discover the transition practices of special education leaders who work with students with disabilities (SWD) during the elementary to middle school transitional period. The transitional year between elementary and middle school has been described as difficult due to many reasons. The…

This study explored the influence of randomized belonging interventions on academic outcomes among first-generation college students at a mid-sized, Midwest, four-year public institution. Astin's Input-Environment-Outcome (I-E-O) model served as the conceptual framework for investigating the impact of an environmental sense of belonging…

Transitioning from high school to the real world is a difficult issue for students with disabilities. Special education students may get lost not knowing what their future holds. Special education teachers are most times challenged in the process of linking transition plans to academic Individual education plan(IEP) goals. The problem addressed by…