The Latino population in the U.S. is a community with high family values, pride in their culture and language, as well as great respect to their ancestors. The intervention of our predecessors in STEM-related topics goes back to the Aztec and Mayans, who developed a sophisticated numerical system and contributed to the advancement of society. This…

Widely accepted as a foundational course within health professions education, anatomy is often taken at the beginning of the health professional curriculum and students are expected to be prepared for the rigors of the course. Anatomy preparedness, evaluated in this study, has been defined as matriculating into a graduate or professional anatomy…

Social influence from society holds the key to social norms that influence students and their future aspirations. Gender bias is considered one of the influencing factors that affects the decisions of female high school students on participating in STEM education. This descriptive study describes the key factors that STEM educators perceived as…

Suspensions and expulsions from school often result in deleterious outcomes for students and contribute to the broader phenomenon known as the school-to-prison pipeline, wherein children are funneled out of systems of learning and into the criminal legal system. Students of color, particularly Black students, are disproportionately excluded from…

This dissertation was designed to provide positive perspectives regarding recruitment and retention practices in an urban school district. Recruiting and retaining African American teachers for Advanced Placement (AP) courses is a vital educational issue in the U. S. The number of African American teachers teaching AP courses was low.A…

This qualitative study looked at the topic of Black female principals in an urban school district using research reports obtained from dissertations, journal articles, and documented experiences. This is of particular significance given the continuous disenfranchisement and subsequent underrepresentation of Black female principals in the US. Black…

Closing the education opportunity gap in K-12 public schools is a national issue that has the attention of school leaders. To narrow the disparities and create equitable outcomes for students, school leaders are examining ways in which students of color are being marginalized by the educational system. Exclusionary school discipline…

From the 1930s through modern times, African Americans have faced marginalization regarding equal access to higher-paying job opportunities, including job opportunities in the information technology (IT) industry. This study adopts social capital theory as its framework to investigate the influence of social capital on individuals' careers,…

Is underrepresentation of Black students, Latinx students, English learners (EL), and students from economically challenging communities in gifted programs due to inequality in early academic achievement or bias in the gifted identification process? Using three-level multilevel logistic models, we examine the degree to which the disparities in…

Culturally proficient leaders model cultural competence for the entire school community. They create an environment where students from diverse backgrounds feel valued, respected, and safe. When students feel a sense of belonging and affirmation, they are more likely to engage in their learning and perform better academically. Hence, this…

For public health students, global education supports development of core skills towards becoming effective leaders and advocates for health equity. Despite the growing number of undergraduate students participating in experiential study abroad opportunities, there remains a stark educational disparity: racial and ethnic minority students continue…

Existing research indicates that underrepresented-in-STEM racially minoritized students with similar academic preparation are less likely than their counterparts to persist in STEM, raising the question of factors that may contribute to racial disparities in STEM participation beyond academic preparation. We extend the current literature by first…

Black teachers have been known to provide positive experiences and outcomes for students, especially Black students. Nevertheless, Black science teachers are marginally represented in public classrooms across the United States, and Black students are marginally under-represented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Black…

This essay provides a two-pronged critical assessment of a subset of the literature on racial disproportionality in special education: that which aims to estimate racial disparities among otherwise similar children. This body of research has shown that Black students are less likely than "comparable" White students to receive special…

Context: Health care cost continues to rise; the US continues to spend dramatically more money than other developed nations per individual without increased health outcomes. More individuals are finding it harder to get access to a health care provider, especially those in medically underserved areas and populations. Objective: To increase the…