While Pell-grants and other financial aid offers the payment of college, students of low-income have little to no assistance for cost-of-living expenses. Frequently, students go without supplies, technology, and internet connections; they even live without the security of food and shelter. Students of low-income face barriers that leave them…

To address disparities in post-school outcomes for students with disabilities, federal legislation mandates appropriate education programs to include transition planning and programs for students with disabilities. Because administrators are held responsible for ensuring appropriate educational programs for all learners including those with…

In this dissertation, I examine how two major social programs in Kentucky--state-funded preK and Family Resource and Youth Service Centers--impact children's outcomes across the state, including racial, ethnic, and economic equity through elementary school. In each chapter, I will analyze how early childhood opportunities relate to outcomes…

Background: Teen pregnancy continues to burden families, communities, and society. Programs continue to educate and impower youth and young adults to make positive behavioral decisions. Methods: We evaluated a program aimed at high-risk youth in after-school programs. The goal of the program was to instill a sense of community and empathy, as well…

Since 2010, a substantial number of large-scale, quantitative studies on preparation features associated with teaching effectiveness and retention have emerged. The purpose of this paper is to review this body of evidence and make sense of what it suggests for practitioners and policymakers. The paper begins by describing the groundbreaking work…

The positive effects of bi-modal input on language learning are becoming a largely accepted experimental finding. However, experiments looking at bi-modal reading in a foreign language are normally limited by the common experimental situation of classroom-based researchers studying university age participants for the limited timespan of a…

This study examined the efficacy of an afternoon and weekend academic program called the "Community School Initiative" (CSI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. CSI was offered to racialized students and families from the Jane and Finch community in Toronto which is one of the most under-resourced neighbourhoods in Canada. It involved a…

This qualitative case study explored the perspectives of school administrators on implementing structured English immersion (SEI) and dual-language bilingual education (DLBE) programs serving emergent bilingual learners at one urban Arizona elementary school. Using a sociocultural policy perspective, I analyzed findings from a series of interviews…

MSW students (n = 202) from four U.S. universities participated in a Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training program focused on integrated care with children and youth. Data were aggregated across programs to assess for improved scores on the Attitudes Towards Healthcare Teams Scale (ATHCTS). Students who identified as White reported…

Transferring to a four-year institution is an important pathway to student success. Many students who enroll in community college intend to transfer to a four-year institution and subsequently earn a bachelor's degree. However, few students ultimately do, with low-income students transferring at lower rates than their peers. The Texas Transfer…

This study explores changes in willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) inside multilingual classrooms among short-term exchange students. Data were collected from eight Chinese exchange students studying in three universities in Canada and two instructors teaching in one of these universities through in-depth interviews.…

The Annual Survey of Social Work Programs (Annual Survey) is a census of social work programs in the United States and its territories conducted by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1952. Data collected in the Annual Survey are the primary source of information about social work students, graduates, and faculty members. In addition…

Creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration are thought to be the core skills that will enable students to be successful in the future. Economic and social development of a nation is associated with the individuals' such new skills, which are commonly referred as the twenty-first-century skills. However, the educational methods…

This mixed methods case study explored how graduate students in a higher education and student affairs (HESA) program perceive their preparation to engage in scholarly practice. The study provides insights for faculty members and administrators seeking to enhance current HESA graduate programs with a thesis-only option, and impart opportunities…

Kentucky's Targeted Interventions (TI) program is a statewide intervention intended to prepare non-college-ready high school students for college-level coursework. Using a difference-in-regression discontinuity design, we find that TI reduces the likelihood that students enroll in remedial courses by 8 to 10 percentage points in math. These…