Digital literacies have been recognized as significant practices for the identity formation of immigrant youth. However, the significance of self-sponsored digital literacies in the identity formation of African immigrant youth requires further scholarly examination. Drawing on racial and postcolonial theories, this study examines the identity…

This article addresses tensions between how researchers have conceptualized and operationalized adolescent reading motivation and how a group of Black girl readers perceive and enact reading motivation. Through a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study offers an initial exploration into mapping a race-reimaged reading motivation construct…

The inclusion of Black learners in mathematics education discourse is typically achieved by way of deficit framing and the need for intervention rather than discussions of Black learners' brilliance (Gholson et al., 2012; Leonard & Martin 2013; Martin, 2012). Although mathematical illiteracy has become a signifier of Blackness, it is not a…

This article details how a team of fourth-grade teachers in Rockingham County, Virginia used the Inquiry Design Model (IDM) to deepen student understanding of Barbara Johns and the Moton Student Strike's fight for racial justice in Virginia and to reframe their overall approach to Black history in general. Although Rockingham County Schools are…

This doctoral dissertation investigates the effects of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) policy on educational equity in New Jersey, focusing on three primary research questions. Firstly, the study examines whether the implementation of NCLB mandates led to the closure of achievement gaps between black and white students, as evidenced by disparities…

This study is a journey through the academic lives of 4th-grade Black males in one Central Arkansas school district. This study aimed to investigate certain behavioral variables that may impede the learning and achievement of fourth-grade Black males in Central Arkansas. In the study, groups were established by ethnicity and gender and their test…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin (1990) introduced the "fourth-grade slump" to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of…

Nearly 30 years ago, Chall, Jacobs, and Baldwin introduced the fourth-grade slump to describe the unexpected deceleration of reading skills between first and fourth grades among children growing up in poverty and low-income households. Advances in our understanding of reading development and how race, racism, or other forms of discrimination are…

While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted educational learning, the impacts of the pandemic may vary based on student demographics. The main purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences in student performance due to COVID-19 across several demographic variables. Multilevel mixed effects models compared the effects of COVID-19 in a…

This phenomenological study investigates teacher experiences using i-Ready's literacy-based software with Black male fifth-grade students in an urban school district in the Northeast region of the United States. The participant's knowledge about i-Ready is fundamental to understanding the program's impact on Black male fifth-grade students. This…

The purpose of this convergent parallel mixed methods study was to understand how being both Black and a girl impacted the mathematical and STEM experiences of Black adolescent girls enrolled in informal STEM learning programs and Black adolescent girls who are not enrolled in informal STEM learning programs. Using Critical Race Theory, this study…

Despite the racial/ethnic diversity of the United States, a significant difference remains between the standardized achievement scores of White students and Black students, most commonly known as the achievement gap or the opportunity gap. Although it is recognized that the opportunity gap is rooted in structural racism, scholars have examined…

In the US, the presence of a lifetime diagnosis of either depression or anxiety rose from 5.4% in 2003 to 8.4% in 2012 in children aged 6-17 years (Bitsko et al., 2018) and by 2016, 16.5% had at least one mental health disorder including depression or anxiety (Whitney & Peterson, 2019). Children and adolescents exposed to adverse childhood…

Objectives: At the K-12 level, "CS for All" initiatives across the country strive to increase equitable access to and participation in computer science (CS). However, there are many open questions about the implementation and effectiveness of these initiatives, including the extent to which exposing young people to CS early on can shape…

In this article we describe the Books 2 Basketball (B2B) program created by a school counselor for Black youth along with some preliminary outcomes examined after its implementation. This program was not evaluated for effectiveness but to determine if the program was feasible and to share feedback from some of the participants. The B2B program is…