This document presents an in-depth exploration of the challenges and dynamics in discussing Critical Race Theory (CRT) in Texas high schools, particularly in the wake of House Bill 3979, often called the Critical Race Theory Bill. The author, a Mexican female educator, and a recent doctoral graduate, utilizes a unique narrative bridging academic…

The role of the principal includes various obligations and responsibilities, including leading the school's special education (SPED) program. Many aspects inform how SPED students respond to the curriculum, including their learning needs, race, socioeconomic class, and other aspects that intersect and make their needs more complex. The researcher…

Objective: To explore the perspectives and practices of high school health education teachers implementing health literacy with a focus on the social determinants of health within the context of a concern for social justice. Design: Qualitative content analysis was used to assess high school teachers' accounts of the practices used to teach health…

This article examines contextual factors that impact inclusive education in the Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas, United States. Based on the analysis of teachers' narratives, the study concluded that teachers perceive inclusive special education as a student's right primarily grounded in the social justice context of education. While…

The Texas Legislature passed House Bill 5 in 2013 to adopt the Foundation High School Program, a new graduation program intended to support youth college and career readiness. Texan students entering grade 9 were guided to enroll in one or more endorsements with a specific curriculum designed to introduce them to STEM, Business & Industry,…

Research on early college high schools exists, however a gap in literature reveals that "there is an absence of studies that specifically address the ways in which leaders enact justice" (Theoharis, 2007, pg. 222). Numerous stakeholder groups such as educational leaders, public servants, and researchers can benefit from the outcomes of…

Race shapes the policies and history of the United States. Current research shows that state-approved social studies content standards are written in a non-racial and colour-evasive whiteness language that reinforces racist policies and practices in education. This qualitative framework analysis study examines the language of social studies…

The purpose of this study was to examine Mexican and Mexican-American mothers' perspectives about the construction of two-way dual language bilingual education (DLBE) programs in the context of an urban area in South Texas and to analyze the factors that contribute to their decision about their children's participation in such programs. Our main…

This essay explores the institutionalized master narrative of public institutions and how the mandated policies enacted by public institutions impact social studies teachers when they are delivering instruction to their students. A socio-transformative constructivist framework guides the essay in order to affirm that knowledge is socially…

Anti-immigrant vitriol is growing, even disturbing our educational spaces. Teachers are also affected by the negative discourses around them and need to develop knowledge that shapes their attitudes and actions regarding immigrant youth. This article details a professional development with high school teachers that used reader response to develop…

The purpose of this study was to explore how social unrest in the United States, specifically the COVID-19 pandemic and the tragic deaths of Black people at the hands of police, have transformed the leadership and pedagogy of school leaders in three rural school districts in southwest Texas. The strategies used to collect data for this study…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Bridging the Digital Divide." Contents include: (1) Texas High School Attrition…

Research literature suggests students need to engage in "actual" civic experiences; however, in most cases, teachers feel unwilling or unable to facilitate experiences beyond the formal classroom setting. In this project, we sought to understand the relationship between social studies teachers' civic ideology, pedagogical approaches, and…

In this essay, Nicole Mirra and Antero Garcia explore how young people from six demographically distinct communities across the United States understand the social and political issues affecting their lives, engage in storytelling and dialogue across differences, and collaboratively imagine humanizing and hopeful civic futures. Drawing from…

In order to promote effective learning, individuals must feel fully appreciated within their own unique identities (i.e., ethnicities, language differences, socioeconomic status, gender, religions). Culturally competent educators employ practices that acknowledge and build on cultural diversity and that identify students themselves as resources…