This qualitative multi-case study explored the experiences of nine women serving as presidents of community and technical colleges in seven different Midwestern states to understand how they serve students with an increasingly diverse background and ultimately work to close the education opportunity gap. The data collection process consisted of…

This study investigated educational disparities among Black/African American and White/Caucasian high school students, with a focus on their perceptions of educational opportunities and factors contributing to disparities. Utilizing qualitative research methods, this study explored students' perspectives on academic success, influencing factors,…

Every child has a right to education, and their skin color should not determine their education quality. However, since the landmark case of "Brown v. Board of Education" (1954), it has been proven that race continues to matter in the success and failure of education (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). The persistent achievement gaps…

The COVID-19 pandemic, along with historical inequities, resulted in a widening of the achievement gap between underserved populations and more advantaged students. In response to this issue, California took action by allocating additional funds to public school districts for out-of-school-time services through the Expanded Learning Opportunities…

Increase in the recognition of racial and gender disparities has raised the accountability stakes for educational leaders and their contribution in influencing improved educational outcomes and closing the achievement gaps for racially minoritized groups. Evidence suggests that these institutions are inadequately equipped to assist students from…

Each year economically disadvantaged students fall further behind in the achievement and opportunity gap. Studies show that ethnically diverse students do not enter school with social skills supporting success in traditional school settings (Jagers et al., 2019). One approach to solving this problem is incorporating cultural background knowledge…

This study explores the impact of attending optional professional learning events on the critical consciousness development of Ready to Learn (RtL) mentors over the course of one program year. Ready to Learn is an out of school time math tutoring and mentoring program that seeks to address opportunity gaps in math learning for middle school…

This study investigates whether teaching practices of non-minorities who teach Black students has an impact on the achievement gap between Black and White students. There is a lack of awareness of culturally relevant teaching in the U.S public school system (Epstein, 2005). Per NCES (2015), 80% of public schools have a high density of Black…

Several national and international studies have indicated that there is an achievement gap between student literary reading and student informational reading, with the gap favoring literary reading. One plausible explanation for this gap is that reading informational text has been neglected in early grades in the U.S. (Dreher, 2003; Kletzien &…

The enrollment, retention, and graduation rates for African American, Latino, Native American, and segments of Asian and Pacific Islander men in higher education are disproportionately lower than women from all racial groups and White men. A significant body of research substantiates the concern by institutions on the opportunity gap for men of…

The purpose of this grounded theory qualitative study was to understand the impact of culturally responsive leadership on low-income minority middle school students and, if any, the impact that leadership has on students. This study utilized an expert panel to create a purposeful sample of low income/minority school leaders using the culturally…

The purpose of this study is to understand how two high school principals purposely worked to disrupt the inequities in educational opportunities and outcomes that had previously existed for marginalized students in their schools. Committed to a social justice agenda, the two principals systematically changed the culture, structures, and processes…

The onus of this dissertation was to evaluate the educational conditions of Mexican American students forty years after the "Mexican American Education Study" published a six-volume study detailing the findings of the "Mexican American Education Study" (1970-1974). The "MAES" study focused on five southwest states…

Recent research suggests a major crisis exists affecting urban children's educational opportunities. This study focuses on the use of research-based strategies to determine whether, and to what extent, transformative leadership influences the development of quality education that overcomes educational inequity in the lives of students who attend…

There is a gap in academic achievement, as evidenced on standardized tests, between European American, Latino American, and African American students in the United States. In 2011, the United States average scale scores for 8th grade students on the NAEP mathematics assessment for European American, Latino American, and African American students…