For decades, researchers have studied the need for students to have educators that reflect their same ethnic backgrounds. Despite the many known benefits of having culturally diverse educators, the field of education has a huge demographic divide between the rapidly growing PreK-12 Latinx student population and its educational leaders. Currently,…

The study evaluates the location and prominence of Chicana/o/x Studies courses on community college campuses nationally according to their websites and public-facing resources through content analysis methodology. To date, the research on Chicana/o/x Studies and on Ethnic Studies programs in community colleges, in general, has been limited, so…

Research Findings: Shared book reading is important for children's early literacy development. Although there is an increasing number of dual language learners, few studies have examined families' shared book reading practices in their two languages. The current study examined Hispanic parents' beliefs and practices during shared reading in…

Parent involvement is often cited as an essential component of effective dual language bilingual education (DLBE), yet we have limited understanding of the ways parents participate in DLBE or how parent experiences differ between Latinx and non-Latinx families, who often have different reasons for enrolling their children in bilingual programs.…

While undocu/DACAmented students face many challenges in higher education, their lives demonstrate a tremendous amount of motivation, resilience, commitment, and perseverance. The literature on undocumented students has indicated that these students bring a vast array of assets to college -- assets that can be used to improve the campus and the…

Studies have shown that Latina faculty have negative racialized and gendered experiences while teaching at their institutions. An emerging body of research shows that these experiences also occur at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Latina faculty at one small, private, four-year…

Since the 1990's, the federal government has allocated funds to Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) to through the Title V, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program. However, this program has become increasingly competitive such that less than half (40 percent) of all eligible HSIs received Title V funds in 2020. The competitive nature of…

The current article examines associations between preschool cognitive and behavioral skills and indicators of college enrollment in a sample (n = 379) of primarily Black and Hispanic youth growing up in low-income areas of Chicago. Although we found that most early cognitive and behavioral skills were only weakly or moderately related to later…

Background: The number of English learner (EL) students has been steadily increasing within the United States and currently includes more than 5M students. The National Education Association (2020) estimated that by 2025, nearly 25% of all learners will be EL students. Curricula, interventions, and assessments for both diagnostic and academic…

Suburbs across the US are experiencing demographic shifts with consequences for suburban schools. While scholars have expressed concern about rising segregation among suburban public schools, we extend this work by examining changes in racial/ethnic school segregation across a typology of suburban municipalities in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin…

Do inclusion, diversity, equity, and access (IDEA) courses geared toward Latinx students help create a collectivist community on a college campus? We argue that courses incorporating IDEA initiatives into their curriculum and focusing on Latinx individuals provide students the face, place, and space to create the cultural wealth required for…

Under current and prominent definitions, the rates of parental involvement among Hispanic/Latino families have been historically low. However, empirical evidence suggests that parental involvement can be perceived/practiced in varied ways. This work explored these perceptions held by Spanish-speaking Hispanic/Latino families through focus groups…

This two-site randomized waitlist-control study (n = 96 mother-child dyads) examined the efficacy of a psychoeducation program as compared to usual care to empower Latina mothers and improve their confidence in and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) for their children with ASD. A secondary aim was to improve child outcomes. Compared to control…

This qualitative study examines reflections of 11 Latinx youth in Illinois and Colorado in their predominantly White, suburban high schools. We center the experiences and perspectives of Latinx youth, as we stand to gain insights into how they perceive their schools prepared and impacted their engagement for civic life. We highlight how youth from…

In this report, we perform an analysis of kindergarten readiness in Illinois and relate it to students' third grade academic achievement. We study two cohorts of Illinois kindergarteners and follow them into third grade using data provided by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). We summarize our key findings below: (1) Disparities appear…