Educational assortative mating patterns in the U.S. have changed since the 1960s, but we know little about the effects of these patterns on children, particularly on infant health. Rising educational homogamy may alter prenatal contexts through parental stress and resources, with implications for inequality. Using 1969-1994 NVSS birth data and…

In a flipped classroom, an increasingly popular pedagogical model, students view a video lecture at home and work on exercises with the instructor during class time. Advocates of the flipped classroom claim the practice not only improves student achievement, but also ameliorates the achievement gap. We conduct a randomized controlled trial at West…

California community colleges account for the overwhelming majority of Latinx student enrollment in public higher education institutions. However, student equity or parity in educational outcomes in California community colleges continue to be a problem, especially for Latino men. While the research concerning these men has increased in recent…

This dissertation is comprised of three studies that examine the likelihood of exiting the college-going pipeline, test the framing of a text messaging intervention, and explore the transition and enrollment experience for high school seniors eligible for Tennessee's tuition-free college scholarship, TN Promise. In a discrete-time survival…

Background: To compare the mental health status of children of immigrant (COI) and non-immigrant (NI) parents and to determine whether differences in mental health status between COI and NI vary across 4 racial/ethnic groups. Methods: We conducted universal mental health screening of 2374 sixth graders in an urban public school district. To…

Objective: To examine the association between nonmedical use of over-the-counter medications (NMUOTC) and nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD). Participants: University students surveyed on NMUOTC and NMUPD between August and December 2011 (N = 939). Methods: Cross-sectional data analysis of online survey. Results: The majority of…

Although most students regularly complete homework, the extent to which race and gender influence teacher perceptions of homework performance has been largely unstudied. However, individual characteristics, such as race and gender, have been shown to meaningfully influence many aspects of students' educational experiences and outcomes, and it is…

Derridean hospitality is seen to undergird ethical teacher-student interactions. However, hospitality is marked by three aporias that signal incommensurable and irreducible ways of being and responding that need to be held together in tension without eventual synthesis. Due to the sociopolitical materiality of race and the phenomenological…

The number of available jobs in environmental science, science, technology, engineering, and math (E-STEM) is growing rapidly. Nonetheless, women and Latinx, Black, and Indigenous people remain underrepresented in these fields. A number of diversity pipeline programs have been established with the goal of attracting and retaining individuals from…

We comment on several major factors that contribute to the underrepresentation of specific groups (i.e. racial and ethnic minorities) in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) educational programs, particularly at the advanced graduate levels. Recognition of the structural inequalities that create and reinforce these disparities…

Do your peers in the classroom have an effect on your vocabulary learning? The purpose of this study was to determine if group-level peer characteristics and group-level peer achievement account for individual-level differences in vocabulary achievement using a large sample of students in kindergarten through second grade (n = 389,917). We applied…

This research study was designed to explore the results of the Florida U.S. History EOC Assessment, and understand the potential demographic disparity amongst social studies standardized testing. To examine if there were trends in disparity, researchers examined countywide data from the Florida U.S. History EOC from 2012-2016. By using population…

While the existence of affinity initiatives, like Harvard's Black Commencement--a commencement exercise intended solely for its Black students--may seem to perpetuate the social isolation of minority students, the opposite is true. By addressing minority feelings of otherness and exclusion, these measures not only strengthen individual groups, but…

This practical resource will assist secondary educators in creating equitable schooling environments for racially diverse youth. "Classroom Cultures" provides direct insight into the experiences, challenges, and successes of teachers and school leaders who were among more than 500 educators across 29 schools who engaged in professional…

The purpose of this study was to determine if an experimental Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) based alternative discipline policy paired with a community-school partnership, effects suspended students' subsequent suspension incidents. Data were collected from four Midwestern school districts participating in an experimental Alternative to Out…