Purpose: The study explored the distinct contributions of domain-general, behavioral, and reading-specific executive function to reading comprehension, and whether reading fluency and vocabulary moderate or mediate the relations between executive function and reading comprehension. Method: Data were collected from 129 4th and 5th graders (35.66%,…

Research has demonstrated erosion of empathy in students during medical education. Particularly, U.S. studies have demonstrated empathy declines during clinical training in the third and fourth year of traditional medical programs. Yet, studies conducted outside the U.S. have not confirmed this trend. Timing and extent of patient interactions have…

Objective: To investigate the contexts in which college students use e-cigarettes and marijuana, perceptions about the benefits and harms, and health effects of use. Participants: College student e-cigarette and marijuana ever users (n = 20; 18-21 years old) from the Texas Adolescent Tobacco and Marketing Surveillance System (TATAMS). Methods:…

This article explores how five school superintendents in south Texas construct their professional identity and positionality around immigration and immigrant students during interviews with academics researching social justice advocacy of superintendents. Situated in south Texas on the frontline of migration flows and faced with a conservative…

The role of the principal in high-needs schools is vital to the success of the organization. Middle school principals play a critical role in fostering a safe learning environment as middle schoolers navigate socioemotional development alongside academic demands. High-need schools are defined as those presenting a context that challenges the…

It has often been shown that intentional recollection is influenced by context manipulations, such as context reinstatement (e.g., Smith, 2013; Smith & Vela, 2001), but whether or not automatic retrieval (e.g., Jacoby, 1991) is likewise context dependent remains an open question. Here, we present two experiments that examined effects of…

The Community Readiness Model (CRM) developed and validated by the Tri-Ethnic Center was adapted to identify at-risk communities in six rural Texas counties. Five to six key informants per county were recruited from a variety of community sectors to participate in phone interviews. Paired scorers independently analyzed individual interview…

This study examines how administrative burden is evolving in college classrooms to meet external pressures focused on student success. Through a mixed methods analysis of data from a 2018 survey, this work tests how faculty and administrators view ownership of the responsibility to meet these mandates and whether it is affecting classroom…

While research has shown class attendance is important for undergraduate student success, few studies have examined why students choose to not attend class. What is more, existing research has focused on absenteeism among undergraduates at land-grant institutions and professional schools. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine…

The early phases of teachers' professional careers are multi-layered and informed by many factors, including teachers' values, their own experiences in schools, and the nested contexts of their professional employment. While in teachers' everyday lives government policies sometimes operate beneath the surface rather than overtly, these policies…

Music teachers in urban, suburban, and rural communities face a multitude of challenges and opportunities. To identify and examine specific experiences that may be unique to rural general music teachers, we recruited six teacher-participants to complete a 5-week online professional development (PD) course for this exploratory study. We created a…

Undocumented students continue to face unique barriers in American higher education. Community colleges are being challenged to enhance the ways in which they serve, support, and advocate for undocumented students in order to become undocu-competent. Through qualitative document analysis, this study evaluated Texas community colleges'…

As novice teachers gain experience, they are more efficacious and likely to overcome adversity. The more authentic, rigorous, and frequent the experience in preservice methods coursework, the better prepared candidates are to teach. We used a mixed methods, convergent, nested design to examine the Teacher Self-Efficacy (TSE) of 21 SBAE preservice…

With the changing face of educational leadership, and the changes in programing for preparation programs, the question of the importance of developing specific leadership practices based on the size of districts served by the program arises. By looking at the relationship between leadership practices and the demographics of current leaders in…

Background: Equitable healthcare outcomes are compromised in the absence of strong medical care and social services linkages. In May 2019, Children's Health, the largest health system for pediatric care in North Texas, initiated a three-pronged social determinants of health (SDOH) quality improvement (QI) project that included: (1) baseline and…