While gender-based achievement gaps have been widely explored in academic motivation research, gender-related variables such as sexual orientation and other-gender similarity radically shift understandings of these disparities. Recent research has shown that gay men have a notable bachelor's degree attainment advantage over heterosexual men while…

In postsecondary Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, equity issues regarding race and gender receive attention. On this attention, it is suggested to view from the sociopolitical perspective--mathematics is political, mathematics education is political, and equity is defined with the critical dimension of identity…

Overall, there has been an increase in students earning bachelor's degrees, but for first-generation college students (FGCS), the overall percentage earning a degree is decreasing. Overall, the available literature provides information about the factors that lead to the disparities experienced by FGCS (i.e., socioeconomic factors, cultural…

There is a lack of information regarding the motivational experiences of Arab women undergraduate students in STEM fields in the US and the factors that contribute to their engagement and persistence in this field. This is because of their categorization as white on census documents, which renders them invisible. Research has shown that…

The purpose of this research was to understand the influence of family on the educational trajectories of Sikh American college students. I conducted a qualitative study at various research sites and interviewed 30 self-identifying Sikh college students. The theoretical framework and data analysis of this research were guided by Funds of…

The purpose of this study was to identify and explore how curricula in queer studies at Community College of the Bay (CCB) reflect and ignore the lived experiences of Queer, Trans, Black, Indigenous, People of Color (QTBIPOC) by engaging queer studies students as co-researchers in virtual participatory action research (VPAR). This research…

Multiply marginalized learners (MMLs), students with two or more marginalized identity factors (Annamma et al., 2013), are America's most vulnerable K-12 student population. MMLs face significant challenges, including increased opportunity- and academic achievement gaps (Hanushek et al., 2019; McClellan et al., 2018). They are disproportionately…

Using narrative interviews, this study explored the experiences of belonging among eight first-generation college students (FGCS) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). By applying Strayhorn's Belonging and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Framework, this study sheds light on the challenges and benefits BIPOC FGCS encounter as…

We are living through unprecedented times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although the consequences and impacts of structural violence upon historically marginalized and excluded communities remain the same- inhumane and inequitable. Intersectional factors related to identity perpetuate this disparity; overwhelmingly, these divisions are at racial…

Decades of research about students of color with dis/abilities has left but one fact clear: these students are not treated equitably within our school systems. The purpose of this qualitative document analysis was to identify how Disability Critical Race Studies is represented within federal inclusion policies. The research question was "How…

The California State University's Graduation Initiative 2025 has strengthened and renewed campuses' commitment toward supporting students on their educational journey to ensure they meet their ultimate goal of graduation. Of equal importance is the elimination of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic equity gaps in graduation completion, especially for…

Second-year students, also known as the forgotten class, receive the least attention of any undergraduate college class, making fewer contact points with faculty and garnering minimal support from student affairs staff. The second year of college represents different challenges than the first year, and at some institutions, a higher percentage of…

There is a persistent and growing global call to examine, challenge, and transform exclusionary structures and systems within mathematics education (Laursen & Austin, 2020; Reinholz et al., 2019; Thomas & Drake, 2016; Wagner et al., 2020). An important component of this call examines students' mathematical identity. While a growing body of…

Personal narrative and research stress that Black womxn college students employ various types of coping strategies to navigate anti-Black gendered racism at institutional and interpersonal levels while obtaining their college degrees. Throughout this dissertation, I explore how Black college womxn and femmes coped with gendered racism at the…

The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to widen racial educational achievement and attainment gaps in the United States, reinforcing a need to understand how education policy can work to advance racial equity. Dual enrollment (DE) programs offer a potential policy solution that could increase college-going for these students as participation has…