Detroit students who obtain a college degree overcome many obstacles to do so. This article reports the results of a randomized evaluation of a program meant to provide support to low-income community college students. The Detroit Promise Path program was designed to complement an existing College Promise scholarship, providing students with…

Background and Context: With the growing movement to adopt critical framings of computing, scholars have worked to reframe computing education from the narrow development of programming skills to skills in identifying and resisting oppressive structures in computing. However, we have little guidance on how these framings may manifest in classroom…

Kindergarten transition programs support successful school transitions for families and may reduce disparities in academic readiness upon school entry. Yet, access and participation in high-quality summer transition programs are lower among children from disadvantaged backgrounds. This study examined the impact of a summer kindergarten transition…

The Engaged Engineering Program (EEP) project at ABC University is a five-year Track 2 NSF S-STEM that responds to challenges in recruiting and retaining academically talented, low-socioeconomic status students from diverse backgrounds into undergraduate engineering programs. The EEP project has successfully recruited four cohorts of Scholars and…

This qualitative case study explores student and staff perceptions of whether and how participation in pre-enrollment summer transition programs influenced the sense of belonging and preparedness of first-generation and limited-income students in their first year of college. These summer transition programs are provided as part of the Kessler…

Recently there has been an emphasis on how time spent outside of the classroom can affect student outcomes, including high school graduation, with the hope of closing academic achievement gaps along socioeconomic and racial lines. This paper provides experimental evidence regarding a particular type of out-of-school activity--early work…

Little is known about college students during their summer break between the first and second years of college, when some students may contemplate whether they will return to college. Using ethnographic method, this article addresses critical questions of low-income college students during their summer breaks of where they go, where they stay, and…

The first year of college or university is a crucial phase which significantly influences students' persistence, academic achievement, and degree completion. The challenges associated with transitioning to college are often amplified for students who are the first in their families to attend college and may be less familiar with the norms and…

Institutions of higher education continue to grapple with the challenges associated with increasing access to STEM learning and STEM majors for resource-limited students. Longstanding differences among well and under-resourced student groups with respect to STEM course enrollment, STEM major retention and persistence, and research opportunities…

LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic minorities, youth from low-income contexts, and youth with cognitive and/or physical disabilities often face constraints to access and participation based on social and structural inequality. Understanding access and inclusion in summertime recreation program and camp settings for LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic minorities, individuals…

The American Chemical Society (ACS) Project SEED (Summer Experiences for the Economically Disadvantaged) program has been exposing students to chemistry-related research for over half a century. The program was created and designed to recruit and prepare high school students from economically challenged households to explore and build their…

Social and cultural capital are critical components of success among college students. In this paper, we examine the creation, accumulation, and distribution of social and cultural capital by and among underserved college students who participated in a summer bridge program at one regional public state university. Using qualitative data from…

The Pell Grant, while offering substantial financial support for low-income students pursuing higher education, historically covered only the costs of two full-time semesters per year and did not include assistance for summer courses. Research has consistently demonstrated that continuous enrollment throughout the academic year enhances college…

Women and racially and ethnically minoritized populations are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Out-of-school time programs like summer camps can provide positive science experiences that may increase self-efficacy and awareness of STEM opportunities. Such programs often use the same high-impact…

The matriculation, retention, and graduation of students is a critical and ongoing effort in undergraduate engineering education. Implementing measures is vital in increasing student motivation to continue pursuing engineering and is especially important for individuals from low-income and academically talented students. At the University of…