This research advances notions about how interactive learning environments that intentionally shape learners' identities can empower students and give them agency. Our work draws on research on teacher noticing, extends it to the community level, and orients it towards identity. We provide an instrumental case study approach that examines…

First-generation students, a population that makes up one-third of all college and university students nationwide, and expected to grow, have lower retention and graduation rates than continuing-generation students. They also have been identified as the population of marginalized students that have the least developed sense of belonging.…

Most introductory biology laboratories are taught using direct instruction. An alternative to the direct instruction laboratory course is the Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE). CURE courses have been reported to positively impact undergraduate students, increasing self-efficacy, enhancing science identity, improving preparation…

This paper shares the results of semi-structured interviews with 30 community college librarians who have instruction duties. The interviews explored these librarians' perceptions of students' information literacy (IL) strengths and weaknesses as well as their views of students' self-perceptions. Participants believe that students are confident in…

Increasing student retention is one of the greatest challenges faced by community colleges. First-year community college students face a complex set of issues in grappling with their new academic roles and identities. Therefore, there is a need for effective retention efforts that support students during this time of transition. First-Year…

Money has been the dominant way to understand the motivation for artists to teach. Written from an adult community learning (ACL) perspective, this research is part of a wider study interrogating artist-teacher identity transformation. This paper explores the motivations for becoming an artist-teacher in ACL, questioning the assumption that…

Global citizenship education (GCE) has emerged as a powerful force in global and national discourses, with scholars and dominant international organisations stressing it to be the overarching educational framework. Although numerous approaches have been adopted to promote it, most of the strategies focus on transnational activities. There is less…

Learning assistance services offered by U.S. community colleges are vital to the academic success of many students, but the tutors themselves remain understudied. This paper attempts to narrow both the research and recognition gaps by exploring and categorizing prominent aspects of professional community college tutors. Using a small-scale,…

This study aimed to synthesize and critically analyze 24 empirical studies that focused on Students of Color (SOC) in Integrated Reading and Writing (IRW) classrooms in U.S. community colleges. Our review, through the cultural and community practices framing, examined IRW studies and how SOC, curriculum/institutional reform, and wise pedagogical…

Although open-access Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) continue to expand across the United States, they are often under-resourced and lack adequate institutional support services. This article presents findings from a qualitative case study of an asset-based, peer support program for Latinx students in an open-access HSI in the Southeast…

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the experiences of undergraduate students who participated in academic community-engaged learning, specifically as those experiences related to student mental health and wellness. The data for this qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was collected through semistructured interviews…

Previous research has highlighted best practices for community engagement, problematized server/served approaches to communities, and identified both barriers and benefits for students engaged in this coursework. What is lacking, however, is a deeper examination of students who participate in community engagement in their own home communities. The…

Using narrative interviews, this study explored the experiences of belonging among eight first-generation college students (FGCS) who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). By applying Strayhorn's Belonging and Crenshaw's Intersectionality Framework, this study sheds light on the challenges and benefits BIPOC FGCS encounter as…

Utilising a social constructivist lens, this study explores how students from rural areas constitute and negotiate their identities in the context of an urban South African university. Much of the research on rurality in South Africa has focused on rural areas as places, and not on the people occupying them. This qualitative study employed a…

"Transformative Critical Service-Learning" offers hands-on tools for implementing, reflecting on, and assessing critical service-learning in classrooms and community spaces. Answering a need from practitioners for a practical tool for making sense of critical service-learning, the authors introduce the Critical Service-Learning…