Whereas much literature illustrates inequities inherent in rural gifted education programs, scant literature exists on how these inequities are managed or reflected in the everyday enaction of the rural gifted education classroom. Through an exploratory case study of three rural Appalachian gifted programs, this study provides a glimpse into…

To advance knowledge of critical consciousness development, this study examined age-related change in awareness of inequality by race and ethnicity, gender, parent education, generation status, and their interactions. With longitudinal data (2013-2017) from 5019 adolescents in grades 6-12 (55.0% female) from California, Minnesota, and West…

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…

In 2017, the National 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies (PRKC) taxonomy was updated reflecting the current needs of 4-H youth development professionals. Knowledge and skill gaps of 4-H professionals need to be identified to optimize resource allocation for professional development on the state and regional level. We developed…

A changing economy and rapid advancements in technology have resulted in mismatches between employers' needs and workers' skills in a number of fields -- and are likely to continue to generate new ones. Many people in postsecondary education and workforce development see community college career and technical education (CTE) as a way to fill…

Historically, African American and other underserved students encounter academic challenges in pursuit of a college degree--one of which is their performance on standardized tests. This paper analyzes College Grade Point Averages (CGPAs), ACT Composite (ACTC), and SAT Total (SATT) scores of students who participated in the Health Sciences and…

This narrative inquiry shows the barriers and possibilities that the current US education context poses for two mothers of pre-kindergarten sons with autism. Specifically, this work is contextualized within the growing universal pre-kindergarten reform which provides a mixed delivery (public and private) implementation. Presented with the context…

In the context of a large-scale randomized controlled trial, our team investigated "front line" teaching issues as schools implemented a fully digital, blended learning curriculum in mathematics. This paper focuses on observations of instruction within schools that were assigned to use the new digital resources. Compared to a…

Teachers today operate in highly politicized accountability environments where quick results, typically measured by K-12 test scores, are demanded. Although focusing on student learning outcomes is critical, equally essential is assuring that teacher learning opportunities which can strengthen instruction are available to teachers. A decade ago,…

Ten years ago, MDC's report, "The State of the South 2007: Philanthropy as the South's 'Passing Gear,'" (ED519455) examined how philanthropy can accelerate progress toward a South that is both equitable for all its residents and competitive with other regions of the country. A decade later, our second iteration, commissioned by the…

In every state in the South, the percentage of residents with bachelor's degrees or higher who were born outside the state exceed the percentage born in-state, reflecting their dependence on imported talent over building their own talent-development systems. In Virginia, the Southern state with the highest percentage of residents with a B.A. or…

Documents inequality in school funding patterns in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Shows that school districts with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged children also are those with lower per pupil expenditures for instruction. Federal and State compensatory funds do not overcome this unequal expenditure for…

This article presents the results of "The Status of Race Equity and Diversity in Public Higher Education in the South," an analysis of trends in admissions, enrollment and completion at public colleges and universities in the 19 Southern and border states that maintained segregated systems of higher education in 1954. While work on the…