Sexual violence remains a public health concern in the United States. Much of the research has focused on gender-binary individuals, despite the heightened vulnerability of Black, transgender, and nonbinary (BTN) individuals due to societal stigma and discrimination. Campus climate surveys have been recommended by the Obama Administration to…

While the higher education institutions around the world grapple with a systematic dismantling of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and targeted attacks on social justice measures, social work education remains a ray of hope. With its deeply embedded principles of empowerment, the profession is positioned to foster advocacy. And…

School climate has been identified as a critical systemic variable associated with many desirable academic and social-emotional outcomes. However, little research has been conducted regarding the students with disabilities' perceptions of school climate. This review aimed to investigate and synthesize the existing research on this topic to…

Women of color in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) face multiple barriers to success (Ong et al., 2011). Students have different experiences mediated by race or gender, and when these two identities intersect, they face unique challenges. The purpose of this critical quantitative study was to examine department climate and its…

The purpose of this study is to examine how the perceptions of school climate, specifically school relationships, differ for Black girls with and without an individualized education plan (IEP) as compared to their peers. The study utilized survey responses from high school students in a Georgia school district who participated in the 2020 Georgia…

We center the voice of Dwyan Moore, a Black 12-year-old boy, during his transition of being diagnosed with a learning dis/Ability. We do so to grapple with the problem of disproportionate representation in special education along race and dis/Ability, with particular attention to educational leadership. Disproportionate representation is a…

The present study represents a novel method not yet used in the quantitative intersectionality literature -- the CT-C(M-1) model (Eid et al., 2003) -- for measuring and understanding the similarities and uniquenesses among intersectional subgroups. Intersectionality is a conceptual framework from which to investigate and remedy the ways in which…

This dissertation is comprised of two separate manuscripts, which coalesce on the topic of interventions for Black students in educational settings. In the first chapter, I provide an overview of existing interventions that have been applied in different academic environments, particularly as they pertain to Black students in PK-12 and college…

Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) students face unique mental health challenges and treatment disparities, with the extant literature demonstrating that APIDA populations have disproportionately high levels of untreated mental health symptoms. There is currently a gap in the literature of studies on APIDA college and university student…