School leaders, educators, and community members are keenly aware that New Mexico has consistently ranked last in the nation in education, childhood poverty rate, and access to appropriate individualized educational support for children (Bobroff, 2019; Martinez, 2021; Rodriguez, 2019; Sanchez & Martinez, 2019). Now is the time to address the…

This study aimed to research the impact Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programs have on the development of student agency in high school students. AVID was founded in San Diego, California by teacher Mary Catherine Swanson in 1980 (AVID.org). The AVID framework is divided into two sections, "What Students Need" and…

This qualitative multiple case study explored Saudi World Language English instructional approaches from a Positioning Theory perspective, focusing on empowering learner agency in tertiary-level education in Saudi Arabia. Using a combination of semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, researcher journals, and analysis of classroom…

International students' experiences with race and racism in U.S. higher education has received increasing scholarly attention, especially in light of a series of recent environmental hostilities (e.g., anti-Asian hate associated with COVID-19) that have affected the population. This growing body of research has primarily focused on how…

This action research looked at the low comfort levels among young people when engaging in conversations about social inequities. Additionally, this research investigated the development of youth voice, agency, and engagement from youth who were involved in creating an online resource library surrounding these topics. The research consisted of 2…

This dissertation examined the contribution of higher education to the understanding and practice of women's empowerment, as perceived by adult Afghan men and women living in the city of Kabul who attended universities either in or out of Afghanistan. While studying the concept of women's empowerment, this work defined empowerment through its core…

Using Kimberle Crenshaw's (1990) intersectionality theory as the theoretical framework, this intersectional narrative study focused on how a Black, female school leader in an Alabama Black Belt public school navigated structural constraints to foster Black female student agency (Berry & Cook, 2018; Crenshaw, 1990; Esposito & Evans-Winters,…

This study explores the experience of Generation X women who play casual video games on mobile devices (e. g., smartphones and tablets), and draws connections to learning and literacy, particularly in the areas of New Literacies, the New Literacy Studies, and semiotic literacy. Data was gathered from in-depth, semi-structured interviews with five…

Students at a suburban high school in the American Mountain West have been separated by race, linguistic ability, and socio-economic status for decades, and the research posits that the ways in which students have moved in cohorts throughout past decades has largely determined their academic pathways in high school. The researcher studied eight…

Unaccompanied youth are migrant children who travel by themselves to the United States, mostly from Central America and Mexico. Since 2014, more than 200,000 unaccompanied youth have entered the United States, with approximately 28,000 residing in Los Angeles, California (U.S. Customs and Border Protection [CBP], CBP 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021a,…

Jeffrey Duncan-Andrade (2009) wrote that if failure to provide quality education continues, it will not be because we lack the know-how to effectively educate all children, it is because we lack the resolve to do it. As a steadfast leader of teaching and collaborating with children, Duncan-Andrade mentors hope in students and teachers alike. This…

Formative assessment is a tool for learning that virtually every educator uses in the classroom to some extent. While teachers may be motivated to use formative assessment for a variety of reasons, its intended purpose is to be a tool for both teachers and students for teaching and learning, respectively. However, many teachers, even those with…

STEM Schools purport to prepare students to learn and work in the 21st Century by providing students with innovative learning experiences through the interdisciplinary integration of science, technology, engineering, and math (Tsupros, 2009). Advocates of STEM and innovative school models argue that the traditional school system does not and…

Understanding the professional identity of senior-level undergraduate business students may shed light on the rampant unethical acts of business managers in industry. Business education is the largest segment of undergraduate majors, constituting more than 20% of students in four-year institutions, year after year. To explain the professional…

The purpose of this study was to examine the role that self-determination played in the transition process for young African American women with disabilities who exited high school with a special diploma and participated in a local transition program. Factors under study included the young women's autonomy, self-regulation, psychological…