Recent reports reveal that due to many factors, the U.S. has experienced an unprecedented decline in attracting new international students (IIE, 2017) in higher education. In addition to obvious changes in the political climate and competition, national and institutional barriers contribute to this phenomenon. Other countries, specifically…

Teacher education is entering an exciting era for professional development schools (PDS). Recent reform efforts have called for increased school-university partnerships (AACTE, 2010; NCATE, 2010), which means that the PDS community may be well poised to offer insight into the necessary boundary-spanning roles and structures needed to support…

This study employs Deardoff's (2006; 2009) model of cultural competence and applies it to an undergraduate preservice teacher course on children's literature in order to address concerns that preparation programs are not providing opportunities for students to discuss socio-historical issues and cultural inequities. Qualitative data was collected…

Extant research has shown that students do better academically and socially when they are in schooling environments that are racially and socioeconomically diverse (Coleman, 1966). To date, there is very limited research which has examined the development of adolescents' racial, ethnic, and social identities within the contemporary contexts of…

This paper employs postcolonial framework to discuss the contradictions of promoting western education in Islamic communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Prior to colonization, Islamic education was an important socializing process that instilled strong Islamic identity in Islamic communities in SSA. European encounters in SSA and the…

The Every Student Succeeds Act prohibits the federal government from requiring the use of student achievement data for teacher accountability purposes. As states grapple with what to do about teacher accountability, it is critical to examine policy influences on a) the equitable distribution of effective teachers; and b) how teacher accountability…

There is a widening college access gap in the United States. The ever-rising cost of higher education, coupled with diminished government financial support and growing income inequality, have put college out of reach for many at a critical juncture when postsecondary education is essential for enhancing career prospects. The situation has been…

Introduction: This paper applies the thought of Jacques Rancière to the concept of democracy as it is traditionally understood in library studies literature. Methods: The paper reviews a cross-section of instances of the link between democracy and the public library in library studies literature. It offers a close textual analysis of Michael…

While Peru has experienced economic growth in recent years, there is still significant inequality in the country based on various indicators. Given higher education's association with greater incomes and broader social inequality, equitable access to higher education is vital. One important factor to accessing university is geographic mobility,…

This two-part investigation (a) assessed the impact of the Jaime Escalante Math Program (JEMP), a structured summer mathematics intervention program, on the math achievement of urban middle school students and (b) identified the characteristics of the program that the administrators and teachers perceived to contribute to student achievement. A…

During the Obama/Duncan federal education policy era, grant programs emphasized school -- community, and university partnerships to address student needs in high poverty areas. Critics noted the over-representation of urban poverty regions as compared to rural areas. Meanwhile, researchers have contributed insight regarding methods for effective,…

English language learners make up the fastest growing segment of the student population, but they are one of the lowest academically performing groups of students, and the achievement gap widens as students progress through school. Dr. Oscar Jimenez-Castellanos, IDRA's inaugural José A. Cárdenas School Finance Fellow, presented his research…

I became interested in inequality in education and academic achievement from my youth, after I attended the first year of my secondary school in a rural college. However, I was also privileged to attend an elite college from year 2 of my secondary schooling, having changed from the rural college to a city college in the 70s. I realized, from these…

This collaborative inquiry brings together data from a three-year period to understand how a charismatic principal and an innovative teacher educator united to develop teacher leadership and renew a low performing, high-needs, urban school. The results show improvement in teacher leadership, school culture, and student achievement. The study shows…

A new high school on a remote inland in Belize offers important educational opportunities to students who previously only had access to primary education. This qualitative case study applied Patterson's (2000) Culture of Poverty to understand challenges that exist that keep students from achieving their academic potential despite new opportunities…