In response to the need for greater racial and ethnic diversity, the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) at Indiana University Indianapolis introduced a mandatory equity and inclusion-centered training program for faculty search committees in August 2023. This training addresses key challenges in achieving faculty diversity, including biases, narrow…

Providing a culturally responsive learning environment that allows students and faculty to feel safe and welcomed is essential. This action research study examined the harmful impact of microaggressions in the school and how providing targeted and comprehensive professional development sessions helped faculty members be able to acknowledge and…

Opportunities and experiences for all students, including students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to build self-determination abilities and skills is critical to enable positive postsecondary outcomes (e.g., competitive and integrated employment, community access participation). However, racially and ethnically marginalized…

Despite policy efforts over the last few decades to address racial disparities in education, often in the form of educator professional development, racism still manifests in educator practice, and Whiteness is often centered in the very processes designed to address exclusion. While research exists critiquing how systemic racism and Whiteness are…

The divide of America and the racial injustices occurring support the need for ensuring faculty development to confront race and racial inequities in the classroom (Hughey, 2012). This study explored the experiences of White faculty members who incorporate racial dialogue in their courses. Based on ten interviews, one focus group, and a…

Many children with disabilities receive the majority of their instruction in the general education classroom where many universal programs are implemented. It is therefore important to examine the impact of evidence-based universal interventions on children with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Incredible Years…

This research study examined curricular and instructional approaches that help students who receive special education services meet common Illinois state standards as measured by annual state standardized testing. Despite having supportive accommodations and modifications, Illinois students who receive special education services have lagged behind…

The goal of this article is to provide a critical analysis of barriers to social inclusion and integration in schools and propose inclusive educational practices that help connect and unite diverse students. Diversity is defined broadly to refer to a range of differences (i.e., overall heterogeneity) across students. We review theoretical…

The purpose of the PreK Annual Report is to comply with statute and inform stakeholders regarding the Children, Youth and Families Department's (CYFD) and the Public Education Department's (PED) efforts and how these are connected to the State's current PreK initiatives. This funding was continued for the 2015-16 school year. In addition, CYFD…