The STEM Scholars program at Bucknell University was originally supported with a five-year National Science Foundation STEP grant to begin recruitment for a summer program in 2014. The grant, with a one-year no-cost extension, supported six cohorts of students. The recruitment of participants was specifically designed to attract typically…

Despite growing numbers of college students with disabilities and a call to offer support beyond disability service offices, earlier data demonstrate disproportionate barriers to disabled students' academic success resulting from or in (a) limitations to existing accommodations, (b) worsening mental health, (c) academic achievement gaps, and (d) a…

This dissertation examines two key axes of inequality in higher education -- gender and socioeconomic status (SES) -- in terms of differences in college persistence and college major using the nationally-representative High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. While gender differences in terms of STEM majors has been oft-studied, this dissertation…

The test-optional movement in American college admissions emerged as a response to the challenged notion that standardized tests, such as the SAT and ACT, predict student success. Research has shown that the tests may be discriminatory towards students from disadvantaged racial and ethnic backgrounds. This study examined two cohorts of incoming…

Black women comprised only 1.4% of superintendents leading school districts in the United States as of 2021 (Grogan & Nash, 2021). These professionals face challenges to their leadership driven by systemic inequities deeply embedded in traditional leadership perceptions regarding race and gender, and contend with being undervalued and…

Agricultural education's most pressing issue is a lack of qualified classroom teachers. In 2020-2021, 30 states reported the loss of over 70 agricultural education positions, with many schools closing these positions due to inadequate staffing. Furthermore, in 2021-2022, there were 1,680 agricultural education vacancies nationwide and only 789…

The Florida Department of Education requires that student teachers complete the Florida Teacher Certification General Knowledge (GK) Exam for certification. As of 2021, the Florida pass rate for the GK exam, the first of the required exams, is 63% and the pass rate at FIU is a similar 62%. There were also 28,517 GK retakes statewide that year. As…

International teachers and schools are a tremendous part of globalization, creating opportunities for cross-cultural exchange and understanding, innovative educational practices, and technological advancements. These schools offer educators from various countries the chance to share their expertise and collaborate on developing and improving the…

Teachers help shape the future of our world and impact school effectiveness and improvement. School effectiveness is most important because education is transformative and central to economic development and social change, called for in this year's AERA theme. Retaining talented teachers is pivotal to cultivating tomorrow's leaders and innovators.…

This quantitative study investigated factors influencing first-year student retention at a midsized regional comprehensive university. Using archival data from the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 academic years, the research examined the retention rates of Standard Admit students and conditionally admitted Success First students. The study explored…

The need for qualified school-based agricultural education (SBAE) teachers is often discussed in terms of teacher recruitment; however, retaining those teachers is also necessary to ensure the stability and longevity of SBAE programming. Through the lens of teacher resilience, this qualitative study sought to answer the question: What individual…

Little is known about what influences high-achieving, low-income students' persistence in higher education, despite extensive work on their enrolment decision. This paper investigates the role of credit constraints. Using exhaustive administrative data for France, I estimate the impact of automatically granting generous additional aid to enrolled…

Child care and early education (CCEE) are essential resources for families and children across the country. Yet qualified educators are choosing to leave their positions, and young professionals are choosing not to enter the field. This instability has been a long-lasting issue and is thought to be driven largely by structural and systemic forces…

Despite the contributions of their work to the learning and development of young children, child care and early education (CCEE) educators are among the lowest paid workers in the United States and have high rates of turnover in their jobs. In a pioneering effort, Washington, DC has launched the nation's first large-scale, publicly funded program…

The year 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop culture which, as a global industry and phenomenon, has accomplished a lot. But as a culture, what has hip-hop taught us? How has it inspired us? In what ways has it freed us? This book presents The Hip-Hop Mindset Framework--a perspective that gives us the permission to show up in…