The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between schools' multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) implementation, students' perceptions of their social-emotional learning (SEL), educators' perception of students' SEL, and academic achievement for Hispanic/Latino, African American, and Asian elementary school students as measured by…

Asian Americans are projected to be the fasting-growing race in the next three decades. Yet the underrepresentation of Asian American leaders with universal understanding of minorities and underserved populations in P-12 education make up approximately 1% of the population that is disproportionate to the 7% of Asian American students in public…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which ethnicity/race and economic status of Texas Grade 3 students is related to their mathematics achievement. In the first study, the degree to which ethnic/racial (i.e., Asian, White, Hispanic, Black) differences might be present in the mathematics…

This qualitative research utilized the descriptive case study approach to examine the lived experiences of twelve 1.5- or 2.0-generation Hmong American women who occupy leadership positions in public schools (K-12) and colleges (community colleges, state colleges, and universities) in California. It delved into their gendered, racial,…

Purpose: The purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to examine the extent to which differences were present by student demographic characteristic in the reading achievement of Texas Grade 3 students. In the first article, the extent to which the economic status (i.e., Poor, Not Poor) of Grade 3 underrepresented boys in Texas is related to…

Children's literature serves as mirrors and windows for the students we teach today. Through literature, children should be able to see their own reflections as well as the world around them. Yet despite their long history in the United States, Asian Americans have not always been represented in children's literature. This study analyzed the…

By the start of kindergarten, there are already large gaps in achievement between black and Hispanic children and their white peers, between children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds and their higher socioeconomic counterparts, and between dual language learners (DLLs) and their native English-speaking peers. This dissertation examines the…

Multiple predictors of academic outcomes in children have been identified and studied including gender, level of parental support, family structure, and age. Though the concepts of self-concept, self-esteem, and teacher perception of the student-teacher relationship have been studied in depth, their study as predictors of academic outcomes,…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of rhythm and tonality on an academic memory task by comparing three different treatment conditions: a poem, a rhythmic chant (or rap), and a melodic rhythm (or song). A quasi-experimental experiment was designed and implemented, specifically a pretest-posttest-posttest control-group design.…

This study evaluated the influence of general and mathematics-specific classroom instructional quality on the mathematical development of a sample of Head Start preschool children. It also examined whether children's age, pre-test mathematical knowledge, and English language learner status influenced the quality of their curricular…