Purpose: This study aims to explore the perceived barriers that a secondary English teacher faced when attempting to discuss racial injustice through young adult literature in Mississippi. Design/methodology/approach: The authors rely on Critical Whiteness Studies and qualitative methods to explore the following research question: What are the…

Background: In response to the effort to increase minority enrollment in college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors, STEM summer bridge programs were created to help minorities with the transition from high school to college with the long-term goal of increasing the diversity of professionals in STEM. The goal of this…

Presently, there is a political attack on LGBTQ+ individuals, especially in southern states. In 2022, six southern states (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas) enacted laws that prohibit discussing LGBTQ+ students or issues within P-12 schools. These laws perpetuate heteronormativity and create intolerant and unsafe…

Recent evidence suggests school resources are continually segregated from minoritized communities. This funding disparity impacts students' long-term outcomes in school and in their community. Political discourse has prioritized school defunding, privatization through vouchers and related policies, and tax relief and at the same time greater…

Mobility has become more constrained, and patterns of immobility are spatially concentrated in certain parts of the United States. Drawing on three years of ethnographic fieldwork in Mississippi, this article examines the role of college as a pathway out of this entrenched poverty and the social and structural barriers that limit the potential of…

Scholarship has provided some insight into inequities that exist within sorority and fraternity life (SFL), whereas members of culturally based sororities and fraternities within Multicultural Greek Councils (MGC) and National Pan-Hellenic Councils (NPHC) report being treated as inferior to those in historically white organizations. However, few…

The lack of women in elected leadership roles trickles down to student governance at colleges and universities (American Student Government Association, 2016). The researcher sought to understand how women student leaders made meaning of their experiences as a leader and how their understanding influences their actions and motivations. Through the…

Rural Mississippi schools often face challenges in providing equitable access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses, particularly in STEM fields. This lack of access limits opportunities for high-achieving students to pursue rigorous STEM coursework and related careers. The AP STEM program aims to improve access to AP STEM courses for high-achieving…

When the phrase "Social workers cannot be racist" is used, there is not consideration of race, racism, and the detrimental effects of racism. This study includes an exploration of the extent to which social workers have been educated on racism-based trauma. Most participants did not have courses or training on the concept of racism-based…

Culturally responsive computing (CRC), that centers sociopolitical issues and transformational uses of technology, has been described as valuable for increasing engagement with computing, especially for historically underrepresented minoritized students. But what do high school students think? Through a sociocultural lens prioritizing student…

From 2017-2021, Mississippi State University's Department of Chemistry has hosted a 10-week summer Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, focused on research related to food, energy, and water security topics. The goals of this program were to train students by providing an intensive research experience, recruit minority and…

The Pell Grant is the foundational need-based student aid program in the United States, providing students of lower socio-economic status a pathway to afford college costs and educational expenses. Currently, over one-third of all U.S. undergraduate students receive Pell. This paper examines federal Pell assistance and institutional costs for…

Background: The attraction and retention of female and minorities to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related academic careers have been a concern for many years. Today, it is still unclear what are the needs of this STEM minority population to encourage them to pursue and be retained in academic career paths. Design/Method:…

Whether students of color are more or less likely to be identified as having disabilities than similarly situated students who are White in U.S. states with histories of de jure and de facto racial segregation is currently unknown. Unadjusted analyses of large samples of students attending elementary and middle schools in the U.S. South yielded…

In this descriptive and comparative study, we present results highlighting the complexity and scope of the challenges facing rural districts as they navigate the changing demographics of the students and families they serve. Rapid increases in the number and concentration of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse students in rural areas…