African American students make up 17% of the public school population nationwide. Ironically, 41% percent of students in special education are African American (Kunjufu, 2005). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of teacher demographics on the overrepresentation of African American males in special education in a coastal school…

Given the large continued investment by the federal government in programs that promote academic success and the pursuit of advanced degrees in the sciences among members groups traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, there is a strong need for research which provides rigorous investigations of these programs and their impact on the target…

There has been a significant increase in the use of secondary data sets. Many such data sets purport to be nationally representative. Secondary data sets include research commissioned by the National Center for Education Statistics, the Centers for Disease Control, and other public entities. Research increasingly utilizes these secondary data in…

Women are "starkly underrepresented" as researchers worldwide ("The World's Women 2010," 68). In Canada, for example, men hold over three-quarters of full professorships and top research positions. Dozens of interconnected factors restrain women's research careers. These include "upstream" factors, such as gender,…

Using a cluster randomized trial design, we evaluated the persistence of effects of a research-based model for scaling up educational interventions. The model was implemented in 42 schools in two city districts serving low-resource communities, randomly assigned to three conditions. In pre-kindergarten, the two experimental interventions were…

Despite improvements in the rates of college admission over the past few decades, college persistence, retention, and graduation rates continue to be problematic for underrepresented students--students of color and students from low-income and/or first-generation families. This article presents a case study of a female, first-generation,…

The Bradley Review in 2008 and the Australian government's response echoed policy concerns that young people from low socioeconomic status are underrepresented in tertiary education. In order to address this, responses to both recruitment and retention are necessary. While many studies have looked at reasons for student attrition, few investigated…

Academic tracking has been shown to limit the quality of student instructional opportunities, decrease students' perceptions of their abilities, and negatively influence student achievement. These factors associated with academic tracking also may influence students in lower tracks to learn less and ultimately to drop out of high school. Few…

This paper discusses the challenges college students with children face, as well as the steps colleges, universities, and the surrounding communities must take to help students succeed in their work as both students and parents. The role of parenthood in postsecondary settings needs greater focus from the higher education reform community. Unless…

Current researchers indicate that the superintendency continues to be male dominated and aspirants are often unaware of the strategies necessary to achieve the position. The purpose of this researcher is to identify the challenges female administrators face in their quest for the superintendency and to explore, through a qualitative…

Women in medicine and biomedical research often face challenges to their retention, promotion, and advancement to leadership positions (McPhillips et al., 2007); they take longer to advance their careers, tend to serve at less research-intensive institutions and have shorter tenures compared to their male colleagues (White, McDade, Yamagata, &…

Students who are traditionally overlooked in academic settings (e.g. poor, Black, Hispanic American, Latino/Latina) are not likely to have educational experiences that reflect equity in access to excellence in education. These students regularly encounter challenges that reflect a poor educational fit and their key needs are often overlooked in…

This AIR Data Brief examines where STEM and SBE majors are earning their degrees and what these students typically pay for their undergraduate education, with special emphasis on underrepresented minority populations. Students are seeking more affordable options, the brief finds, but student loan debt is a growing concern for broaden participation…

Concerns over college costs and student debt are at an all-time high. This AIR Data Brief looks into the impact that certain types of institutes, and degree programs (STEM or SBE sciences) can have on a student's potential debt load, particularly among students who are underrepresented in the STEM fields. This data brief is the second of four in…

While undergraduates in the STEM and SBE fields tend to accumulate considerable student loan debt, this AIR Data Brief finds the opposite is true for many individuals pursuing doctorates in the sciences. Early debt accumulation at the undergraduate level can have dramatic implications for participation in advanced degrees, the brief explains. This…