When a global pandemic hits during a longitudinal study of biology student success, researchers can unearth rich information about student resilience. By sharing case studies from two demographically different midsized 4-year institutions, this article illustrates the aspects of student self-efficacy beliefs that were undercut by the shift to…

This study explores how two high school English language arts (ELA) teachers leveraged disciplinary literacy practices in their classrooms to help students explore their identities as citizens and imagine a more just and equitable democratic society. Using a figured worlds framework, the study articulates a sociocritical approach to civic literacy…

This article explores how a scholarly learning journey, as a student and faculty member, brings one back to an understanding of the value of knowledge gained in one's home community, and provides insight on how to foster settings for others to cultivate knowledge.

This mixed-method research study sought to investigate the relationship between middle school configuration and the academic achievement of eighth grade students in English Language Arts (ELA) and Algebra 1. The California Content Standards exam scores of 646 elementary middle schools (K-8) and 1,282 traditional middle schools (6-8, 7-8) in…

Use of marijuana and alcohol among current college students (N = 1101) was compared to the perceptions and use of entering freshmen (N = 481) surveyed before the start of classes. Entering freshmen significantly misperceived campus norms for marijuana use, over-estimating that almost every student used in the last 30 days, p less than 0.001.…

Latina/os are the fastest growing minority group in the United States and in California, yet they have not been able to maintain an adequate educational attainment and achievement level in comparison to other ethnic groups (Marin & Marin, 1991). Typically, Latinas are not able to achieve the amount of education they set out to accomplish…

At most colleges and universities, African American and Latino students are less likely than students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds to stay enrolled in college and are, therefore, less likely to earn a college degree. "The Digest of Educational Statistics" reports the following trends: in 2006 30% of Whites age 25 and older…

Over the last few years, increasing scholarly and media attention has been paid to the plight of undocumented immigrant college students. However, only a small fraction of undocumented youth actually moves on from high school to postsecondary opportunities. Indeed, the exclusion from financial aid eligibility and low family socioeconomic status…

This article examines the experiences of 20 students of color who voluntarily attend a racially integrated school. The study draws from the Socio-Cultural dimension of schooling as a framework to understand how the students of color fared on a social, cultural, and environmental level within a predominantly White school. Through a questionnaire,…

Drawing from a multi-year ethnography of a Latino/a immigrant Pentecostal church and from high school observations and interviews of three focal students, this article compares the language and literacy experiences of an immigrant Mexican Pentecostal adolescent in church and school contexts. I document how the youth's Sunday school class fostered…

In 1997, California became the first state to conduct large-scale experimentation with single gender public education. This longitudinal study examined the impact of single gender academies in six California districts, focusing on equity implications. Data from observations and interviews with educators, policymakers, and students indicated that…

The purpose of this article is two-fold; (1) to inform school psychologists of connections between models of school engagement, psychological needs, and strength-based assets and (2) to share data collected with the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) to understand the relationships between academic performance and two environmental protective…

The commission was charged with drafting a framework for overhauling education in California's 1,600 intermediate and secondary schools. The Superintendent of Public Instruction asked the commission to envision an educational system that could respond continually to changing needs in the next quarter century; to identify the skills and…