Objective: To examine inequalities in sleep quality during the COVID-19 pandemic by gender, sexual orientation, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic position (SEP), and test associations between discrimination and sleep quality in a national longitudinal cohort of emerging adult college students. Participants: Participants were enrolled in college…

Although the trajectories of children's social skills have been examined across biological sexes, less research has examined these patterns for racially and ethnically diverse children in the United States. The purpose of this study was to estimate the longitudinal growth trajectories of social skills, while examining the influence of biological…

Purpose: Almost all epidemiologic studies estimating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevalence have focused on school-age children. This study provides the first population-based data on the prevalence and expression of ASD among adolescents in a large US metropolitan region. Methods: Active multiple source ASD surveillance of adolescents aged…

Various intervention usage is associated with positive outcomes for children with autism. However, the intensity of these interventions tends to be below recommendations, especially for minoritized children. This study aimed to examine how average weekly intervention hours among children vary by sociodemographic factors. Regression analyses were…

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the moderating effects of economic advantage and race/ethnicity on graduation rates during COVID-19. Data collected from the Tennessee Department of Education's Graduation Cohort Rates was examined for a numerical relationship between the variable of race/ethnicity with…

In the context of an emerging new additional learning needs (ALN) system in Wales, this research explores who was likely to be identified with special educational needs (SEN) under the previous system. Our study reveals analysis of linked Welsh education and health data on SEN identification in learners in mainstream education settings born…

Although community colleges have served as a gateway to universities for millions of students--disproportionately so for students from populations historically underrepresented in higher education--prior research has demonstrated that the majority of vertical transfer students lose at least some of their pretransfer credits. However, researchers…

Background: Exclusionary discipline (ED) has long been an educational equity concern, but its relationship with student health and protective factors is less understood. Methods: Using population-based public school student data (N = 82,216), we examined associations between past-month ED and positive depression and anxiety screening instrument…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the extent to which differences existed in the attainment of Texas Education Agency approved industry-based certifications of Texas high school graduates by their ethnicity/race, gender, and economic status. In the first study, the degree to which the attainment of Texas…

In public discourse around higher education, diversity based on socioeconomic status (SES) is often presented as an alternative to diversity based on race/ethnicity. In particular, the Supreme Court's 2023 ban on race-based affirmative action gave new energy to calls for SES-based diversity efforts. This dissertation seeks to uncover people's…

An important part of STEM education is students' acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for career success, all of which emerge from a combination of classroom and co-curricular activities. Work-related experiential activities (WREAs) offer the opportunity for students to engage in experiential activities before degree completion,…

Previous research has provided compelling evidence of a strong connection between extracurricular activities and positive youth development. While both school offerings and student participation affect the outcomes of extracurricular activities, earlier studies have primarily focused on student participation. In contrast, this study shifts the…

The COVID-19 pandemic led to notable disruptions in student learning, particularly in mathematics, impacting students from marginalized backgrounds. This quasi-experimental quantitative study examines whether the State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness (STAAR) Mathematics results from 2019 to 2024 indicate that students have recovered…

Given urban school and district administrators' historical challenges with recruiting and retaining a high-quality, racially diverse teacher workforce, there is a need to better understand the factors shaping why graduates return to teach in their home district. This descriptive study examines the high school students who returned to teach in…

Researchers have long documented a persistent Black-White gap in wealth. These studies, however, often treat race as a discrete category, eluding its socially constructed nature. As a result, these studies assume that the "effect of race" is consistent across all individuals racialized as Black. Studies that make this assumption…