The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is a matriarchal tribe located in Escambia County, Alabama. Poarch Creek women are an integral part of the Tribe and serve in various leadership positions within the organization. Poarch women are members of Alabama's only federally recognized Native American Tribe and their educational experiences are largely…

Purpose: The overarching aim of this journal-ready dissertation was to investigate the degree to which differences existed in performance on the STAAR English I End-of-Course exam by student economic status, race/ethnicity, and language status. The objective of the first article was to ascertain the extent to which the economic status of boys and…

Black & Brown college students with autism are missing in the higher education research surrounding the college experience and college readiness. This is important because understanding the college experience and readiness for students center many debates and research queries within higher education practice and policy (Carnevale et al., 2010;…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this journal-ready dissertation was to determine the degree to which differences might be present in the campus proportion of college, career, and military readiness for Texas high school graduates. In particular, the purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the overall campus proportion of…

Nearly two thirds of students are not ready for college level work in mathematics as evidenced by the inability to succeed on standardized math placement tests. Unfortunately, this necessitates developmental coursework, which is not credit bearing, and ultimately makes these students significantly less likely to earn a college degree. This study…

This qualitative research study was designed to examine potential differences in the transition to college for rural and non-rural first-generation college students. In addition, the study also aimed to examine how students' other identities (including ethnic and socioeconomic identities) may have impacted their transition to college. Participants…

There are widespread concerns about disparities in educational attainment in the United States. Unfortunately African American, Hispanic, Native American, and low-income Broward County Public Schools high school students participate in College Bound Type Programs at lower rates than students of other races and ethnicities. Many of these students…

My study seeks to explore the extent that select secondary and postsecondary indicators predict STEM student enrollment and persistence particularly for Hispanic students. Identifying postsecondary STEM success and college readiness indicators with special focus on malleable indicators that can assist educators, administrators, and policymakers in…

Community colleges are more likely to serve student populations commonly categorized as at-risk, including students attending part-time, students from lower-income groups, or underprepared students. Each year, over 2,000,000 community college students are considered underprepared and enroll in remedial or developmental education courses.…

In recent years, student completion of the first-year and second-year college curriculum has become a significant barrier to student success and retention especially at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Despite low pass and retention rates, many degree programs in the U.S. require at least one college-level mathematics course, and the…

College enrollment for the Latino/a population has improved over the past 30 years, yet even with this growth, Latinos/as continue to trail their Caucasian and Asian peers in college enrollment and attainment (Camacho-Liu, 2011; Fry, 2011; Krogstad, 2016; Krogstad & Fry, 2014; Santiago, Calderon-Galdeano, & Taylor, 2015; Zarate &…

The achievement gap for students of color has existed in this country for decades. Previous research has shown that even when controlling for factors such as socio-economic status, Black and Hispanic students still underperform White students by a significant margin. This study sought to determine if teacher social justice attitudes are related to…

Misconceptions on affordability remain a barrier to postsecondary access for millions of potential students. When students recognize financial aid availability during secondary school years, they gain the capability to better establish a curricular path that aligns with postsecondary aspirations. This dissertation assesses the use of…

Since school age ELs are the fastest growing population, it is even more critical that ELs not only graduate high school, but graduate college and career ready. Many EL graduates are not completing their high school education as postsecondary ready. Although the Latino population was the largest group of ELs, representing 77.1 percent of all EL…

Postsecondary access and degree completion are increasingly important concerns for individuals and policymakers. This dissertation presents evidence on three distinct strategies for increasing students' level of preparedness for higher education, rates of postsecondary enrollment, and rates of postsecondary degree completion. The first is an…