Although thousands of Iraqi refugees who worked with the Allied Forces during the Iraq war have been resettled in the United States, little is known about their experiences. In the aggregate, they are a well-educated, multilingual subset of refugees who aspire to earn college and higher education degrees. In this article, I draw from a series of…

Public Agenda surveyed Illinois residents to learn about how they view public higher education and what would help it serve them and the state better. Three research briefs highlight key findings from the broader survey findings. This brief finds that 46% of Illinois residents do not have a post-secondary credential and are not currently enrolled…

Contrary to common assumptions, the vast majority of the world's refugees reside in neighbouring countries in the Global South. This paper explores the complex interaction of global vocational education policies with the local realities of five communities within the under-researched yet highly relevant refugee context of India, across three major…

Quality early childhood education (ECE) can improve children's learning and development in low- and middle-income countries, but little evidence exists of programs targeting marginalized girls in vulnerable rural communities. This study used a matched-pair mixed-methods community-randomized trial to evaluate a preschool program for marginalized…

Rural students' college attendance rates continue to lag behind their non-rural counterparts (Ardoin, 2018; Barr, 2018; Byun et al., 2012; Byun et al., 2015; Byun et al., 2017; Friesen & Purc-Stephenson, 2016; Hlinka et al., 2018; Longhurst, 2014; McDonough et al., 2010; Morton et al., 2018; Tieken, 2016). While the body of research…

For many Latinx at-promise youth, college is a critical and high-stakes form of aspirational wealth (Yosso, 2005), one that offers a path to "get out" (Brandehoff, 2020) of their current circumstances and circumvent a life of difficult choices. To get there, one must not only navigate personal and societal barriers, but also navigate…

Access to post-secondary education for first-generation college students (FGCS) has become even more important after COVID-19 brought to the forefront the most affected in the workforce: those who had a high school degree or less. College access programs play a vital role to move the needle in closing the educational achievement gap. These…

Young mothers who pursue college degrees face systemic barriers that can hinder their educational success. The New Moms College Success Program was designed to help young mothers in Chicago persist in postsecondary education by providing individual coaching, financial assistance, and peer support. Chapin Hall conducted a 2-year evaluation of the…

While many policy makers attempt to close the educational divide, precollege programs have the ability to creating a college going culture and develop college aspirations throughout the entire K-12 pipeline. Exposure to college culture and the college system grants students opportunities to develop college aspirations, skills, confidence, and…

Understanding educational aspiration is pivotal for studying access to and success in higher education, given its influence on academic, occupational, and societal trajectories. Yet, aspiration is a challenging topic to research, in part because of its complex definitions, measurements, and contexts. This review focuses on the educational…

This policy brief analyzes the effects of insecurity on education in the Sahel, highlighting how attacks against schools and forced displacement disrupt learning. With over 9,000 schools closed because of insecurity in the Central Sahel, with the majority in the Liptako-Gourma area, and 3.3 million people displaced, the region faces a protracted…

This much-needed volume brings together academics, practitioners, students, and community members of Color to thoroughly reframe college access and choice in research and practice. Enrollment rates continue to differ substantially by race and ethnicity. While Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color remain inequitably stratified in the pursuit…

The relationship between career counselling and widening participation is increasingly capturing the attention of educational researchers, especially those interested in its social justice implications. International research on first-in-family students demonstrates the continual class-based barriers they are faced with which influence their…

There is a significant gap in the literature about Indiana Latino students' struggles to access post-secondary options. This study uses focus groups and interviews to explore parents', students', and teachers' perceptions about barriers and opportunities Latino high school students have to transition into education options after high school.…

How do youth placed in foster care aspire to and access college? This book chronicles the lives and experiences of 49 college students navigating the challenging terrain of the United States' foster care system. Through in-depth interviews, Johnson provides insight into the harsh realities of how our nation's educational and welfare systems often…