This document traverses through a series of genealogical stories that span close to a century to provide context to higher learning, education, and development. The stories of elders help us re-member their dreams, re-frame the process for growth, and re-imagine the possibilities for development at the self, organizational, and community levels.…

Competitive integrated employment is defined within the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA, 2014) as full-time or part-time work at minimum wage or higher, with wages and benefits similar to those without disabilities performing the same work, and fully integrated with coworkers without disabilities. The Act requires that states ensure…

Schools with dramatically increased immigrant and refugee student populations need a systematic approach and inclusive process to ensure newcomer students, who differ in their backgrounds, languages, identities, frames of reference, prior educational experiences, abilities, interests, and belief systems, have equal opportunities and resources to…

Framed by theories and methods from critical discourse analysis and social semiotics, this comparative case study of six Missouri school systems asked: How do school districts represent and address their changing communities? Discourses of equity, language, identity, and demographic change were examined across school system websites, mission…

Community, collaboration, and relationships have become more important than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the country, school districts have embraced this opportunity to rethink how to engage with families and the surrounding community. With strong leadership that treats families, caregivers, and community organizations as full and…

Grounded in critical policy theories and democratic conceptions of research, case studies of three community-based organizations, one in Canada and two in the U.S., were analyzed to determine if and how the groups engaged with research in their efforts to influence education policy. The findings demonstrate that the community-based organizations…

Tyrone Howard is Professor of Education at UCLA; Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion; and former Director of Center X, which is where UCLA's teacher education program is housed. Center X provides a unique setting where researchers and practitioners collaborate to design and conduct programs that prepare and support K-12 teachers and…

Teacher candidates' individual and collaborative inquiry occurs within multiple and layered contexts of learning. The layered contexts support a strong connection between the practicum and the university and the emergent teaching identities. Our understanding of teacher identity is as situated and socially constructed, yet fluid and agentic. This…

We used Q methodology, a form of factor analysis, to explore and establish correlations across the perceptions of key stakeholders (i.e., deans, faculty members, doctoral students) about how doctoral programs in educational leadership engage in work with diverse communities. Four distinct viewpoints emerged suggesting the ongoing need to: develop…

Researchers analyzed data from 14 participants in a collaborative, interarts, intergenerational community partnership project entitled "An Evening with Harvey Dunn's Feminine Images," to understand the effects of the project design on participant learning. The year-long project included collaboration among faculty and students from six…

The purpose of this study was to better understand how elementary principals with high populations of Hispanic English learners (Els) and low socioeconomic-status (SES) students were able to increase achievement outcomes in high performing schools. This study aimed to determine: (a) what programs successful elementary principals implement to…

Both equity and social, emotional, and academic development (SEAD) are currently receiving much-needed attention, but neither can fully succeed without recognizing strengths and addressing gaps in these complementary priorities. Rather than being pursued as two separate bodies of work, the field needs to identify ways in which equity and social,…

Educators and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the issue of student absenteeism in general and, in particular, chronic absenteeism. This is because chronic absenteeism can have lasting effects on students' economic and social development. Children who are chronically absent have lower levels of school readiness upon entering…

Researchers and journalists have documented the challenges confronting the nation's rural communities--dwindling populations, few employment opportunities, the opioid crisis, and a lack of public investment. However, there are many rural communities that are surmounting these obstacles and helping their young people build a brighter future. The…

The impact of university-community partnerships and involvement in engaged scholarship on student learning was examined through in-depth interviews with undergraduate members of a student-led, community-based research organization at a selective mid-Atlantic university. Students reported benefits of participation that included increasing critical…