Background: Among adolescents, the pathway from being offered drugs to engaging in drug use has been established. The prevalence of drug transactions specifically in schools is less understood. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of adolescents who have reported drug transaction experiences (being offered, sold, or given an…

Improving reading performance among Hispanic students continues to be a national and state priority. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of literacy centers in first grade bilingual classrooms and its relation to students' Tejas LEE scores. This quasi-experimental study took place in two elementary schools in a South…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore teachers' perceptions of their multicultural competence and how their views translate into their interactions with Hispanic students within the classroom. A phenomenological approach was utilized for this study in order to capture the self-perceptions and behaviors of teachers who work…

This study extends prior work on the college-going efforts of Latino boys and adolescents (Latinos) by examining the extent to which meeting with a school counselor is related to their college-going aspirations and whether they apply to and ultimately matriculate to college. The study utilizes social capital and social reproduction theories to…

Parents, family members, and other adults can play critical roles in helping their multilingual preschool-age children confront the stresses and trauma of the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. This brief highlights various language practices of multilingual children that deserve to be respected and nurtured through daily conversations and…

Effective recruitment into Career Technical Education (CTE) programs requires framing CTE to meet the needs and aspirations of each learner and their parent/guardian. This Advance CTE report provides insights on what families value in their education; elevates what aspects and messages about CTE that most resonate as well as the go-to messengers…

Studies consistently show benefits of teacher-student race/ethnicity matching, with some suggestion that these effects are driven by role modeling. We explore this hypothesis by examining effects on the educational outcomes of Black and Hispanic students for exposure to same-race/ethnicity professional staff (e.g., administrators, counselors),…

This qualitative research study sought to understand how African American and Latinx students overcame academic failure to achieve good standing. In this study, Latinx and African American students' academic readiness was a marginal factor in academic success. The following research questions framed the conversation: What are African American and…

This study aimed to understand educational perceptions of persistence of female Latino students, ages 25-40, of assimilated parents. The need to explain the phenomenon is warranted further to uncover persistence barriers specifically for female Latino students. Although there is research related to Latinos in education, there is a gap between…

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…