Supporting agency can be complex and challenging, especially when teaching students with severe disabilities (i.e., students with intellectual disability, autism, and/or multiple disabilities who are eligible for their state's alternate assessment). In this article, we compare Bandura's model of agency with constructs from the severe disabilities…

This culminating article synthesizes the collection of articles to discuss conceptualizations of student agency across contexts. Themes that exist across the collection of articles include agency as multidimensional, agency as a navigational tool, and agency as advocacy. In this concluding article, ideas from across the articles are presented to…

First-generation college (FGC) students represent 56% of college students in the United States (RTI International, 2019). Studies on the role FGC family in students' campus experiences by Covarrubias et al. (2015) along with Orbe's (2008) work on the role of culture in FGC identity development provide a foundation for understanding FGC…

In 2020 the Australian Government reviewed the "Disability Standards for Education 2005" (the Standards). The Standards help to make sure students with disability can access and participate in education and training on the same basis as students without disability. This includes preschool, school, vocational education and training, and…

Higher education has long been viewed as the primary pathway for low-income, first-generation college students to exceed their parents' socioeconomic status. But the lack of access to high-quality college education and career opportunities has remained a constant barrier for many students. Over the years, educators, economists, sociologists, and…

This article addresses a challenge for sociologists who teach at institutions located in unfamiliar cultural contexts through a photo elicitation project to develop students' sociological imaginations while teaching the instructor about students' social contexts. In introductory courses, we must present sociology as a field of study that is…

The article reviews challenges facing colleges including the need for actions to address new circumstances of educating college students and preparing them for productive roles following graduation. These challenges are balanced by resources colleges are developing to facilitate college-to-career transitioning to first destinations following…

Conventional wisdom encourages educators to cultivate student success by creating expectations among students, with the intention of boosting motivation and empowerment. If students feel that their learning is in their hands, they are more likely to fulfil the learning outcomes. But this paper argues that vulnerable or sensitive students are…

The article explores the landscape in higher education in which old binary divisions are officially denied yet have been reinvigorated through mix of conservative and neo-liberal policies. Efforts to resist such pressures can happen at different levels, including, in this case, module design and classroom practice. The rationale for such…

This interpretative phenomenological study was conducted to understand how a nursing college's organizational structure may affect a returning nursing student's sense of empowerment and motivation to succeed. A returning student is a student who previously failed in a nursing program and was reaccepted to the Maine College of Health Professions's…

Internships are increasingly popular in higher education (Coco, 2000; Divine et al., 2007). One reason for the increase is the benefits, both perceived and documented, associated with them (Divine et al., 2007). In addition to offering internships as electives, some programs have even begun requiring them of all students (Klein & Weiss, 2011).…

During the 2017-2018 academic year, I worked as Program Manager for a government-funded post-secondary organization in Ontario, Canada. A core part of my professional role was creating awareness and increasing the use of open educational resources (OER) in partnership with Ontario educators. I conducted this work with the support of colleagues and…

Hungry for lively and engaging ways to augment word study? Looking for ways to empower your students and give voice to their ideas? "In Word Study That Sticks," teacher and literacy consultant Pamela Koutrakos provides a step-by-step approach that makes word learning jubilant and fun -- and encourages students to take ownership of word…

This article describes how four English language arts teachers formed an inquiry group to design approaches to writing assessment that would support and foster student writers' agency, empowerment, and freedom. They hoped that by focusing assessment on students' articulation of their writing processes rather than on rubrics or final products, they…

Revision is arguably the heart of the writing process, but teachers and students may sidestep the complexities in favor of the quick finish. By surfacing the classroom ecologies and practices involved in supporting student writers, the authors discover revision as a site for the development of agency. To more closely examine what happens in the…