This qualitative study investigated the factors contributing to limited access to Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in rural high schools in the United States. Despite the potential benefits of CTE programs in preparing students for the workforce, studies showed that underrepresented groups have limited access to CTE programs,…

Over the last two decades, dual credit programs have emerged as viable pathways to postsecondary completion. Despite their potential, these programs remain largely untapped by high school students and their families who experience historical and ongoing educational injustices. This study explores the racialized organizational dynamics at a rural…

Despite the number of students and the growing diversity of the students served by rural districts, a lack of research exists on rural district systems to support the continuous improvement of schools. The lack of understanding around systems for rural district improvement stands to exacerbate long-standing inequities for rural communities. Using…

The induction process for new and beginning teachers has the potential to transform how teachers experience themselves and their school and ultimately the impact they have on students. Schools, like Clark Hill Academy, within rural, historically marginalized communities face challenges of recruiting and supporting new teachers. By using a…

The study aimed to build the capacity of assistant principals to identify and support teachers in using equitable classroom practices. The Participatory Action Research (PAR) study in a rural North Carolina school district included a team of the principal and two assistant principals as co-practitioner researchers (CPR) to study how the principal…

This quantitative study was designed to understand the relationship between the variables of student attendance, educator experience and turnover, and student achievement at the Molly Hootch schools in rural Alaska in an effort to understand the current state of achievement according to data from 2002-2019 collected from the Alaska Department of…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences and perceptions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) students as they engage in services offered at a Maryland community college and the effect of participation and engagement in those services on their overall success while enrolled at the community…

To teach composition in this era means to engage students with technology; it is all but an unspoken requirement at the majority of universities. This dissertation theorizes, however, that the imbricated use of technology in first-year writing (FYW) classrooms places rural students at an inherent disadvantage, with issues of inadequate…

This study employed design-based research to explore the efficacy of professional learning materials and approaches in developing social justice advocacy with rural elementary teachers in Appalachia. Bronfenbrenner's (2005) bioecological theory and Boler's (1999) pedagogy of discomfort formed the theoretical framework for the design,…

To ensure all students, including historically marginalized students, reached their highest capacity, there was a focus on equity in education at the state and national levels. Minimal research existed where researchers explored principals' educational equity mindset, and I found a gap in the literature concerning the use of principals'…

The purpose of this study was to ascertain the relationship between district-level per-pupil expenditures and district-level student achievement in rural South Carolina school districts. School districts in rural South Carolina are synonymous with higher concentration of minority students and students living in poverty (Showalter, 2019). The…

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted education systems worldwide, exacerbating longstanding educational disparities, particularly concerning technology access and utilization. This qualitative study explores amplified technology inequities in rural New Mexico education, capturing students' experiences through the lens of teachers. Using a…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of open access policies for Advanced Placement (AP) courses on student participation and performance, particularly focusing on minority and low-income students in a rural school district in Central Florida. The study addressed significant barriers to equitable access to AP courses, including…

The U.S. Department of Education, under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, underscores every child's right to integrate, receive support, and fully participate in school life. The problem is that significant disparities exist in reading growth scores between students with disabilities taught in special-education resource settings and…

The disproportionality of Black students identified as gifted has been a hot topic of discussion in the field of education for decades. If the purpose of education is to maximize the potential of all learners, then educators are missing the mark. Although multiple factors may impact the gifted identification of Black students, one of the biggest…