Despite decades of initiatives, engineering education continues to lack diversity. The proportion of women, BIPOC, LGBTQA+, low-income, first-generation, and disabled students in engineering education remains below national population levels. The culture of engineering is a barrier to increasing participation in engineering for students from these…

This research study explored the perceptions of paraprofessionals regarding their ability to work successfully with students with disabilities, as well as explored paraprofessionals' feelings about collaborative working relationships with supervising teachers. Extant research showed that in a variety of special education programs,…

Many colleges use strategic planning as a tool to guide institutional, equity-centered change. However, all too often, thoughtfully crafted strategic plans end up sitting on a shelf. The purpose of this action research study was to explore how communication can support equity-centered strategic plan implementation and organizational culture change…

Makerspaces are settings in which learning occurs through creating projects of personal interest with a range of technology. Through the exploration, inquiry, and teamwork inherent within making, learners strengthen their skills in creativity, collaboration, and perseverance. Certain groups have been marginalized and underrepresented in…

Communities of color have been fighting for equal rights in society throughout history, resulting in the development of different social movements. In 2013, the Black Lives Matter movement was founded and protests erupted across America as Black lives were lost at the hands of law enforcement. In the summer of 2020, the protests continued, serving…

Purpose: Prior to COVID, family involvement was on a forward movement of becoming a more involved, collaborative relationship between teachers and families of students. Just as family involvement was beginning to gain momentum with student-led conferences, in and out of school volunteer opportunities and families being seen as a valued perspective…

Purpose: This paper emerged from the challenges encountered by both authors as academics during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Based on their subsequent reflections on inclusion in education for minoritised academics in pandemic-affected institutional contexts, they argue that beyond student-centred foci for inclusion, equity in the field, is…

Though "assessment is an integral part of the learning process," unfortunately, struggles are not uncommon, and for various reasons, some students struggle with specific assessments. So, the question becomes, what should be done about it? Discussions on inclusive educational practices have exploded as a part of a renewed push for greater…

Purpose: Speech-language pathology graduate programs exist within societal structures with uneven distribution of social goods (i.e., tangible and intangible concepts of value). As programs strive to increase inclusion of minoritized students, minoritized students' advice to a peer provides insight into their access to social goods and their use…

As educators are becoming more aware of the mental health needs of young adults, and the impact of trauma and poverty on student learning and development, there is an increased need for different pedagogical approaches that view the student holistically in the classroom. In addition, staff and faculty are experiencing burnout in record numbers. An…

Many departments seek to improve their equity, diversity, and inclusion using data-informed methods; however, not much is known about how closely department leadership aligns their review practices with appropriate theory. This dissertation seeks to explore four areas: 1) how are equity, diversity, and inclusion are being conceptualized (implied…

Ample research investigates returns to teacher preparation and other instructional inputs for the general student population, yet evidence is lacking for students with disabilities (SWDs). This study uses North Carolina data to estimate achievement returns to teacher preparation by classroom type and level of classroom support for SWDs. I find…

The objective of this mixed-methods descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the beliefs, attitudes, and needs of general education teachers concerning the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms with emphasis on co-teaching efforts. Researchers have presented varied and mixed views of inclusive programs…

Student activism has existed for as long as higher education has existed in the United States. The subject has been studied at length, and yet there is still more to be understood regarding institutional response to student activism, students' perceptions of that response, and strategies that may be employed to address student activists' concerns.…

This collective case study is intended to examine the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives of three historically white institutions (HWIs) in the southwest region of the U.S. through the lens of Critical Whiteness Studies (CWS). I employed the theoretical framework of Gusa (2010), White Institutional Presence, and Ray (2019), Theory…