We utilize a difference-in-difference design to examine the effect of adopting a statewide promise program on the enrollment of community college students across socio-economic status. Limited by a small sample size for treated units, we find inferential evidence that the adoption of a state-wide, last-dollar promise program for community colleges…

The corequisite support model is a promising developmental education reform effort that is helping students transition into college-level coursework more quickly. The purpose of this chapter is to shed light on the critical leadership that has enhanced student success in corequisite courses and hold promise in enhancing equity within developmental…

Objective: Six-year cohort completion rates calculated for California community college students--who declared their goal to obtain a certificate, associate degree, or become university transfer ready--averaged just below 50% for cohorts entering the fall semesters between 2007 and 2011. The range of this completion rate varied from 23% to 67%.…

Postsecondary education enrollment is declining across the United States. The U.S. Department of Education's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) initiative focuses on increasing the college-going rate of students living in low-income neighborhoods through targeted university-community partnerships (UCPs).…

Public universities with campuses in urban, low-income neighborhoods have an opportunity and civic responsibility to engage with the K-12 schools, non-profits, and community-based organizations that directly serve their community. However, many community-engaged administrators and scholars are working with limited budgets and without formal…

With more low-income children in the United States participating in center-based early childhood education programs than ever before, understanding the features of preschool classrooms that promote positive and equitable outcomes for children is of increasing concern to education researchers. Relatively little empirical work, however, has…

Children need life-affirming and authentic relationships; genuine deeply felt inclusion comes when we share our humanity openly and honestly. This article draws on the research of author Peter W. Cookson Jr., who recently completed a study of success strategies for educating children living in deep poverty. An inclusive school is one where every…

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) has been a widely utilized framework for educational practice and research (Ladson-Billings, 2014). It is built on the ethics of care, first established in consideration of education among Black youth (Ladson-Billings, 1995). However, applications of CRP to youth physical activity (PA) programs are largely…

Early childhood is an opportune time to begin teaching STEM, and preschool education provides the opportunity. How children experience and respond to STEM in community-based preschools is our focus. Using the CIRCLE classroom observation system, we examined how frequently and in what contexts preschool teachers provided STEM learning…

Despite decades and hundreds of billions of dollars of federal and state investment in policies to promote postsecondary educational attainment as a key lever for increasing the economic mobility of lower income populations, research continues to show large and meaningful differences in the mid-career earnings of students from families in the…

Researchers have revealed a strong association between sense of belonging and students' social class and economic background. Notably, students from less advantaged economic and class backgrounds typically report a lower sense of belonging in college compared with their middle and upper-class peers. To address gaps in college completion, educators…

This mixed methodological study examines the relationship between participation in a residential commons system and sense of belonging in the context of an elite, highly residential liberal arts institution. Students of color, students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, and students who do not participate in Greek letter organizations reported…

As communities grapple with the harmful, inequitable effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which have been particularly hard on low-income and marginalized youth, renewed attention has been directed toward how out-of-school time (OST) programs can help youth reconnect and re-engage. In this article, the results of a systematic literature review on the…

Basic needs insecurity, including insufficient or inadequate food, housing, and other personal necessities, is a common problem on college campuses, especially at community colleges (Baker-Smith et al., 2020; Broton & GoldrickRab, 2018), and an increasing number of higher education institutions are attempting to ameliorate this issue (Broton…

Despite their sizable presence on U.S. college campuses, few institutions have comprehensive programs to support student-mothers' success. However, research suggests that access to even one supportive or encouraging institutional agent can make a difference in a student's college trajectory. Based on interviews with 57 student-mothers at 2- and…