The disparity amongst African American males in education has been a major concern for educators and policy makers nationwide for many years. Though various researchers have made implications to precisely correct the issue, African American males still perform significantly behind their peers. This dissertation examined how one of the most…

How can we use math to understand--and solve--challenges in our world? In "What We Do When Fairness Fails Us," Moises, Marissa, and Astrud realize that a specialized high school uses a lottery for admission that prevents many qualified students from attending. As they research how lotteries work, they come across videos by Federico…

The objective of this study is to conduct an analysis of the social class representations in visual materials utilized in the English language textbook at the 9th-grade level during the 2022-2023 academic year in Turkiye. Employing a descriptive qualitative research design, data were obtained through the documentation method by scrutinizing visual…

The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to explore the impact of informal STEM education on underrepresented middle school girls. The study took place within the context of the EUREKA! summer program, a collaboration between Drexel University's Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering and Girls Inc. of Philadelphia and…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which the number of days that Texas Grade 9, 10, and 11 students assigned an exclusionary discipline consequence differed by their ethnicity/race (i.e. Black, Hispanic, and White), and economic status (i.e. Poor, Not Poor). In the first study, the extent to…

This comprehensive study explores the experiences of underrepresented students who have participated in informal science education programs at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Using qualitative methods, including interviews and participant observations, the research uncovers transformative insights shaping the educational landscape.…

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education is an economic opportunity for an urban school district in Tennessee. Lack of interest in STEM courses was throughout schools with underrepresented populations. An urban district in Tennessee with few schools implementing STEM initiated instructional practices to increase…

The 'Articulate' programme is a high-intensity five-day widening participation programme designed to help students develop their communication skills and confidence through a range of activities led by an Articulacy tutor and culminates in students taking an examination for the English Speaking Board (ESB) Level 1 Award in speech on the final day.…

This robust mixed-methods study examines ninth-grade advanced course placement in Arkansas, revealing disparities rooted in race and socioeconomic status. Utilizing a logit analysis for a five-year pooled sample (n = 163,616), we find persistent enrollment gaps for Black ninth-grade students after controlling for prior academic achievement,…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived sense of comfort and belonging of girl participants, aged 15-16, engaged within a school-based offering of the Marine Education Advanced Education (MATE) underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) program (MATE-ROV). MATE-ROV is a competition-based educational robotics (ER) program that can…

This case study aims to investigate the effectiveness of an online science enhancement program in retaining ethnic minority students in science by providing them with opportunities to interact with cultural role-models of scientists and engineers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study draws on foundational theories of identity formation and…

Racial and ethnic achievement gaps contribute to the lack of underrepresented minorities in STEM-related careers. This research is grounded in the expectancy-value model of achievement motivation which posits that motivation is influenced by social-cognitive variables such as self-efficacy and beliefs about the usefulness or utility of the task.…

The development of student identities--their interests in computer science, perceptions of the discipline, and sense of belonging in the field--is critical for broadening participation of underrepresented groups in computing. This paper reports on the design of portfolios in which two classes of high school students reflected on the process of…

Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) during students' first year of high school have been understudied despite research indicating they undermine graduation rates. Based on two cohorts of 9th grade students from one high school in one American Midwestern state, trends in ODRs were analysed in relation to students' and teachers' ratings of…

Exclusionary discipline has been a topic of focus for Texas lawmakers in recent legislative sessions. While studies show the negative impact of exclusionary discipline on students, few explore how children who enter Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs fare later in their educational careers. The following paper outlines data collected from…