American community colleges are typically public 2-year higher education institutions with a history and mission of providing educational access to the people in the communities in which they are located and serve. Nationally community colleges continue to become more diverse, providing increased access especially for the socioeconomically…

Historically, the United States (U.S.) has led the world in the development of innovative high-tech solutions that increased employment opportunities, wages, productivity, and the economic growth of our nation. However, STEM workers are in great need to fill the millions of vacancies in the STEM workforce. Despite the increasing demand for STEM…

Rural students' college attendance rates continue to lag behind their non-rural counterparts (Ardoin, 2018; Barr, 2018; Byun et al., 2012; Byun et al., 2015; Byun et al., 2017; Friesen & Purc-Stephenson, 2016; Hlinka et al., 2018; Longhurst, 2014; McDonough et al., 2010; Morton et al., 2018; Tieken, 2016). While the body of research…

According to the U.S. Refugee Processing Center (RPC), over three million refugees have resettled in the United States since 1975 (U.S. Dept. of State, 2018). The purpose of this research was to obtain a deeper understanding of what refugees learn through their cultural experiences as they adjust to their new surroundings. Viewed through the…

Political agendas and political attention often change based on media attention and business influence, ultimately impacting policies. Elementary and secondary education policies have evolved to improve academic rigor and increase global competitiveness. Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were established based on state-level elementary and…

In 2023, a small team undertook a series of interviews and yarns with staff, students and families at the remote community of Yiyili in the central Kimberley. The case study formed part of a much larger study which sought to understand why attendance rates in remote Aboriginal schools have fallen over recent years, to unpack a whole raft of…

Many students come to higher education with a history of trauma. College life may also expose students to traumatizing events. While the past decade has witnessed greater discussion of trauma-informed frameworks, it has not regularly been applied to the college environment. We advance the concept of a trauma-informed campus, where administrators,…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of first-generation Black women who completed at least a bachelor's degree without student loans. While Black women are most burdened by student loan debt, little is known about the experiences of those who navigate college without accruing student loans. Combining endarkened…

In the United States, one unresearched or undiscussed immigrant population is immigrant parents of children with disabilities. Research shows that immigrant parents of deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children migrate to the US to find better opportunities, resources, and services for their D/HH children and an environment in which their D/HH…

The African American population has faced adversity in the United States in many ways since the arrival of their first known ancestors in Jamestown in 1619. This narrative of systemic oppression creates obstacles and challenges for this people group even today. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, the researcher, who has a long…

Movements have been the driving force of social change through most of human history. Yet despite the important impacts that movements had in the past that led to a more just present, most Americans generally hold low opinions of movements. The authors see this as a major failing of history education. The authors argue for a need to center the…

Many higher education institutions review the disciplinary and criminal history of applicants to assess potential threats and ensure a safe learning community in the college admissions process. This review is often criticized for exacerbating the opportunity gap and racial disparities for marginalized populations and creating barriers to college…

Prior language and literacy support from home, community and heritage language (HL) schools provides young HL learners with linguistic and metalinguistic foundations for language and literacy development (Chinen & Tucker "Heritage Language Journal" 3:27-59, 2005; Koda et al. Chinese as a heritage language: Fostering rooted world…

Increasingly, doctoral education is being challenged to reflect and act on issues of access and equity. I argue that in art and design the expanding doctoral expectations and emphasis on doctoral community impact the multiple and intersectional concerns around diversity, equity and belonging that urgently need to be acknowledged and addressed. The…

Involvement in honors programs provides students an opportunity to grow academically, connect with like-minded peers, and reap tangible and intangible benefits. Understanding the motivations driving this involvement is a crucial task for honors program administrators and faculty alike as different motivations may influence how students engage and…