This article builds on theories of safe and brave spaces to demonstrate how to transform higher education institutions to be better able to incorporate multivalent forms of diversity. In particular, the article suggests leveraging the civic-oriented methodology of interfaith cooperation (Patel & Meyer, 2011) in order to encourage people to…

Nearly three decades of research have examined the experiences of LGBTQ students in schools. These include numerous studies documenting elevated rates of school victimization, as well as how an LGBTQ affirming school climate may enhance safety among LGBTQ students. Of the studies conducted, research has focused mostly on LGBTQ students in urban…

Since the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in March 2020, districts across the nation have faced the difficult task of reopening schools safely and keeping them open as community infection rates have risen and fallen. It is useful to learn from the efforts of counties and districts that have been able to reopen schools--and keep them open safely--using…

This document includes two technical appendices that accompany the full report, "Improving K-12 School Facilities in California." The two appendixes include: (1) FIT Assessment Data; and (2) Supplemental Tables and Figures. [For the full report, "Improving K-12 School Facilities in California," see ED607958.]

Over a decade ago, the first edition of "City Schools and the American Dream" debuted just as reformers were gearing up to make sweeping changes in urban education. Despite the rhetoric and many reform initiatives, urban schools continue to struggle under the weight of serious challenges. What went wrong and is there hope for future…

A state voter proposition concerning gun regulation motivated a local far-right political group to organize a pro-gun rally on campus. Overriding the safety and security concerns of faculty and students, freedom of speech rights required that the group be allowed to assemble on campus. The case explores interactions among administration, faculty,…

Improving school climate remains a priority for improving academic achievement and social emotional learning, and for reducing violence and promoting safe schools. This study examined staff member experiences of school climate with the goal of identifying the quality of climate (negative or positive) that staff experience and how certain…

To better understand the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation, this report presents data drawn from the California Healthy Kids Survey (2017-2019) regarding high school students' social and emotional well-being, school experiences, engagement, and their perceptions of the supports they received at school. With…

This exploratory research surveyed faculty who instruct in community colleges from 18 states about their attitudes toward the concealed carry gun policies that allow appropriately licensed citizens to carry a handgun in public places such as college campuses. Building upon previous research involving 4-year institutions, we surveyed 1,889…

Using the framework of physical campus ecology and socio-academic integration moments theory, the researcher sought to identify physical university spaces that successful Latina/o transfer students turned to as sites of positive socio-academic integration. Findings revealed that students developed a keen spatial awareness of comfort spaces where…

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth face hostile and exclusionary learning environments. A qualitative phenomenographic method involving semistructured interviews of seven secondary school administrators was conducted to identify perceptions of experiences creating a safe and inclusive environment for students…

With a new Governor, State Superintendent, and Legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California's leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. Several high-profile reforms over the past few years, including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)…

California's CORE Districts--a consortium of eight school districts serving a racially and socioeconomically diverse population of over one million students--have since 2014 led the way in deploying measures of social and emotional learning (SEL) and school climate and culture. Influenced by surging interest and research support over the past…

Academic self-efficacy is a student's belief about their ability to learn or to perform within a school environment. This paper captures differential trends in academic self-efficacy by gender using self-efficacy survey data from five large districts in California from the 2014-15 through 2017-18 school years. We find that female students report…

Research shows that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning or queer (LGBTQ) youth are at high risk for bullying and violence, poor mental health, and other challenges. The availability of data from WestEd's California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS), which provides arguably more data on LGBTQ youth than any other source in the nation,…