Despite an increase in enrollments across public and private higher education sectors, Black/African American and Hispanic students in graduate and professional programs are disproportionately affected by educational debt. Using nationally-representative data from NPSAS:2000 and NPSAS:2016, findings show that, in general, Black/African American…

Follow-up studies of clustering by academic major, the dynamic of 25% or more of the student-athletes on a roster pursuing the same academic major, indicate that it still occurs in revenue-generating sports. Research on clustering is absent in member institutions of different NCAA divisions, institutions with unique missions, specifically…

More Black women are graduating with advanced degrees than ever before. Despite the fact that their educational and professional opportunities should be expanding, highly educated Black women face strained and worsening economic, material, and labor conditions in graduate school and along their academic career trajectory. Black women are less…

This phenomenological study explored the influences of Black community college women learners' successful online learning experiences through their described observations, perceptions, and experiences. The drivers for a study about the successful online experiences of Black community college women were twofold. First, despite the substantial…

This convergent mixed method study examined the supports and barriers of Black male student persistence at a predominantly White institution in the southeastern United States through four research questions: 1) To what extent do mean graduation rates vary across self-described racial designations and gender over the academic years 2013-2021 at a…

Local teacher recruitment through "grow-your-own" programs is a prominent strategy to address workforce shortages and ensure that incoming teachers resemble, understand, and have strong connections to their communities. We exploit the staggered rollout of the Teacher Academy of Maryland career and technical education certificate program…

The purpose of this dissertation was to understand how Black middle school students interpret the relationship with their mathematics teachers. This study is situated within research exploring the nuances of the Black-White achievement gap. National assessment data provide that more than 80% of eighth-grade Black students enter high school working…

The vision for the Leadership Richland One MSAP project was that all students will have the opportunity to succeed academically through a high-quality education in an environment characterized by diverse social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. To improve student achievement, major project goals and objectives focus on four areas:…

Where do Black and Brown STEM doctoral students want to live post-graduation and what are their criteria for making these decisions? This study explored the decision-making process of doctoral students and graduates with respect to their future career destinations. It investigated the regions that were most appealing to racially underrepresented…

Throughout the history of the United States there have existed gaps in the educational achievement outcomes of different groups of students. One of the most well-known and persistent achievement gaps is seen in the academic performance of Black versus White students, which is also known as the Black-White student achievement gap (BWSAG). The BWSAG…

More than half a century of educational efforts have focused on eliminating the Black--White achievement gap. Yet, racial disparities persist. In this article, we describe the issues with educational discourse focused on the achievement gap and the ways structural racism drives the educational experiences and outcomes of Black students. We include…

Research for Action (RFA) studied why Black teachers were leaving their jobs more than White teachers in Allegheny County from 2014 to 2020. RFA analyses found that the number of Black teachers in the area was consistently dropping, more than the decrease in the overall Black population. The data gathered from speaking directly with 38 current and…

There are equity gaps in dual enrollment registration. Literature demonstrates that White and Asian students register for dual enrollment at higher rates than Black and Latinx students. Many students and parents are not aware of dual enrollment opportunities, nor do they fully understand the proven benefits such as saving time, money, and…

Prior research has shown that Black and Hispanic students are more likely to experience office discipline referrals than White youth, and the magnitude of these inequalities has been found to vary by gender. However, it remains unclear whether racial/ethnic and gender disparities in office referrals might be amplified among students in more…

Although the United States Supreme Court declared segregation in education under law unconstitutional in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954, the public high schools in Jackson, Mississippi, would remain segregated until 1970. The present study examines the effects of this social climate on the high school band programs in…