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…

This dissertation empirically tested Tinto's student integration theory through structural equation modeling using a national sample of 2,847 first-time entering community college students. Tinto theorized that the more academically and socially integrated a student is to the college environment, the more likely the student will persist through…

Filipinos are the second largest ethnic group in Hawai'i and their population continues to grow at a rapid pace. However, they are among the lower socioeconomic groups in Hawai'i and are disproportionately represented in the University of Hawai'i system--overrepresented in the community colleges while underrepresented at the flagship campus, the…

School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) programs integrate research-based practice within a three-tier approach of prevention and intervention to impact change within school systems. Research suggests positive changes in student outcomes with the implementation of SWPBS. Supported by social-ecological and behavioral theory, this longitudinal…

This study explores how academically talented Black girls read, write and narrate their lived experiences while attending a predominantly white, selective admissions urban high school. Black girls in these types of settings often experience feelings of isolation and silencing, unjust treatment, and underrepresentation in the curriculum (Carter,…

The United States has become more ethnically diverse, and this trend is projected to continue. Despite an increase in minority group enrollment on campus in the United States during the last decade, their rates of degree completion are not keeping pace (NCES, 2007). The question that remains to be answered is: What factors are unique to minority…