As higher education diversifies, students from underrepresented backgrounds find themselves on campuses that are not prepared to support them or are steeped in European American cultural norms. These students experience "cultural mismatches" when their personal norms do not match those of their institutions, which can harm their social…

Researchers indicate that there is a need to address disproportional discipline in schools. As the landscape of some schools change the question becomes, how does cultural mismatch in school affect discipline? This dissertation contributes to the conversation on cultural mismatch in the classroom and its effects on discipline. The researcher…

Latinx students are enrolling in four-year higher education institutions at a rapidly increasing rate. However, an alarming low number complete their degrees. Institutional barriers such as racism, language discrimination, cultural conflict, privilege of citizenship, and lack of role models present challenges to degree completion for Latinx…

Preparing early childhood providers (ECP) to effectively meet the needs of socioculturally and linguistically diverse children and families is necessary in early childhood personnel preparation and professional development programs (Rueda & Stillman, 2012). However, research shows that many providers continue to have difficulty engaging…

The purpose of this study was to collect and explore the stories of Korean immigrant parents of young adults with developmental disabilities as they transition to adulthood and how their attitudes and perceptions of disabilities have an impact on their youths' post-school experiences. Qualitative in-depth interviews with five Korean immigrant…

The purpose of this ethnonursing research study was to discover, describe, and systematically analyze the care expressions, practices, and patterns of Alaska Native nurses within the context of their nursing school experience. The goals of this study were to identify generic and professional care factors that promote the academic success of Alaska…

This dissertation presents the findings of a descriptive, survey-based study of special education paraeducators and their self-reported perceptions about the adequacy of their ongoing professional development training in Arizona school districts. The results show that school districts in Arizona are not spending adequate time in preparing special…

This study examines Latino student's impressions of the university campus climate. The over-arching question guiding this study asked: How do Latino first college generation students negotiate the psychosocial, cultural and environmental perspectives of the college experience? The conceptual framework integrates three major higher education…

This in-depth case study of classroom interaction illuminated how a white female teacher and African American students used talk to build positive authority relationships across their racial difference. Racial difference in classrooms can engender cultural misunderstandings between teachers and students around behavior, communication, and learning…

Chronic underachievement, as characterized by disproportionate placement of low-income African-American students in low-ability coursework, special education programs, and behavioral remediation persists despite various efforts to address these problems (Children's Defense Fund, 2003; Harris, Brown, Ford & Richardson, 2004; Harry & Klingner, 2006;…