This dissertation examines the racialization of urban Latinx youth in alternative school settings. Set in a predominantly Latinx neighborhood in inner-city Houston, the research catalogues everyday Latinx student experiences and the ways they experience, navigate, and survive educational systems of structural inequity. Drawing on long-term…

The Hispanic population was the largest minority group within the US in 2017. Yet gaps existed for Hispanic college students and degree obtainment. The problem of this phenomenological study was that First-Year Experience (FYE) Hispanic college students had low retention rates in their college courses, especially when there were not effective…

Understanding the factors that lead to academic resilience and success despite daily challenges that first-generation Latinx students face is imperative to finding solutions and increasing advocacy efforts for the Latinx population. To understand the factors that increase academic resilience and success, it is important to understand the barriers…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate the inequities that exist for Latinas in obtaining leadership positions within education, and how Latina leaders respond to said inequities within urban Mid-Atlantic school districts. The findings of this study may help advise district leaders on what improvements and enhancements to make in…

The Hispanic student population is growing at a fast pace in the United States. This population is more likely to be first-generation students than their peers and thus, require additional support. Advances in technology make it possible to leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to support students at scale presenting an opportunity…

Leadership definitions, educational approaches, and frameworks are often founded through a western lens that denigrates cultural values. With the growing Latin* student population on college campuses, there is a demand for filling the gap in empirical research and literature on Latin* leadership education. This research explored generativity and…

As fascination with "el Día de los Muertos" has grown in the U.S., the number of arts organizations and museums organizing public events for it increases every year, and in many cases, organizations are more committed to providing an entertainment experience rather than educating audiences about a traditional ritual. Amid these…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the ways in which cultural and gendered expectations affect the experiences of Latinas in their attainment of a superintendency in California public school districts. Six Latinas, currently serving as superintendents in rural, suburban and urban areas of Northern California, the Central…

As early as 1954, families of children who had been segregated into separate spaces fought and succeeded in having their concerns heard in the landmark Supreme Court case, "Brown v. Board of Education." In 1975, P.L. 94-142, "Education for the Handicapped Children Act" (EAHCA) was important because it exposed the history of…

Compared to other minorities in America, the Hispanic, specifically Chicano, population has experienced an educational crisis, manifested in high drop-out rates, low postsecondary enrollment, subpar testing results, and low literacy rates. To address this issue a project was created to lead faculty through a learning experience to broaden their…

Regardless of entry point, nearly all potential speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States (US) share the experience of navigating the arduous application process for graduate school. For students of color, especially first-generation students, this application process can serve to cause them to question whether they belong in the…

Using data from approximately 7,800 school districts, we show that test score declines during the pandemic were large and highly variable. We find that test score declines were larger in lower-income and minority districts, but that within districts, White students and non-economically disadvantaged students lost about the same amount of ground as…

The goal of the "Immigrant Wellbeing Project" (IWP) study is to test a transdisciplinary ecological approach to reducing Latinx immigrants' mental health disparities by adapting and integrating a multilevel community-based advocacy, learning, and social support intervention into existing efforts at four community partner organizations…

This study examines the relationship between faculty interactions and students' perceptions of campus racial climate at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), with a specific focus on community colleges. Utilizing data from the National Assessment of Collegiate Campus Climate (NACCC), we analyze responses from nearly 30,000 students across diverse…

Research suggests that child problem behavior and poor family-school partnerships contribute to maternal stress in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most extant research focuses only on White families even though Latina mothers of children with ASD experience greater systemic barriers impacting parent well-being…