For decades, gifted education equity advocates have sought to ameliorate the field's longstanding issue of under-representation of students from historically marginalized communities. Little improvement has been realized in schools over this time (Peters, 2021). Recently, Novak (2022a) presented a GTCrit framework in a textbook primarily centered…

This article explores a promising new approach to college admissions: direct admissions. Direct admissions bypasses traditional college admissions processes such that students are automatically and proactively admitted to college. There are both state and institutional direct admissions systems. In some state-level programs, all students are…

The college admissions process can be confusing and inconsistent, requiring students to navigate a complex web of information, procedures, and admissions requirements from different postsecondary institutions. All of these require extensive social and cultural capital, which many students do not possess (Klasik 2012). Systemic change in college…

A quarter of a century after South Africa's transition to democracy, the rhetoric of 'transformation' remains firmly ingrained in its higher education policy and discourse. In many of the reviews, reports, proposals, and frameworks on the transformation of the South African university system, one thing stands out: an oversupply of rhetoric and a…

Equity in education begins with creating structures that support students inclusive of their social-emotional needs. Students exposed to trauma perform best in schools that adopt trauma-sensitive practices. Many of these trauma-sensitive practices naturally prepare students to learn social-emotional skills, as the trauma-informed staff also models…

For decades, observant Americans have looked upon institutions of higher learning with dismay. The reasons for their anxiety varied; some were upset at the increasing politicization, others at rising costs, and so on. But it seemed as if there were no way to turn back the tide of higher education's degradation. That may be starting to change.…

Recent studies reveal people from marginalized groups (e.g., people of color and women) continue to earn physics degrees at alarmingly low rates. This phenomenon is not surprising given reports of the continued perception of physics as a masculine space and the discrimination faced by people of color and women within the field. To realize the…

Despite substantial evidence of the effectiveness of--and the need for--culturally relevant education (CRE), it has been treated by many schools as a professional choice or new initiative rather than a fundamental approach to teaching in a multicultural, democratic society. Moreover, efforts to implement CRE across schools and districts have…

Young people develop their value systems during their school years, offering the perfect window of opportunity for educators to challenge prejudice and promote race equality during these formative years. Yet, as teacher training is increasingly school-centred and school budgets are stretched more thinly than ever, most teachers do not feel they…

With some combination of remote, hybrid, or in-person learning with social distancing restrictions--and (hopefully) a bit of time this summer to relax and restore--teachers are ready to take on the 2021-2022 school year. The question on everyone's mind is, "What will our students need?" The idea of differentiation is taking center stage.…

Classroom environments, virtual and face-to-face, are changing; we are moving to focus more explicitly on students' health and well-being and to ensure we actively promote anti-racist educational environments for students. This paper examines how we can enshrine those lessons into academic programs by institutionalizing a trauma-responsive…

There is increasing acknowledgement of the need to lighten the academic burden on Chinese primary and secondary students because it affects the quality of their education and well-being. This study investigates recent education policies to analyse how the problem of academic burden is framed in these policies and how they attempt to solve it. In…

I am an example of a transformed higher education administrator. In this essay, I describe how my journey to an education doctorate impacts my work as a scholar-practitioner in higher education. The CANDEL program challenged what I thought I understood about the status quo in higher education with respect to race, socioeconomic impacts,…

In this article, I share ways in which my professional journey, from admissions and enrollment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, intersect with my evolution as a scholar-practitioner through CANDEL, the doctorate in educational leadership program at the University of California Davis. I further share how I have leveraged my experience in the…

Australia's higher education sector has seen substantial developments in equity and inclusivity as a result of initiatives which work to improve the numbers and experiences of students from a wide diversity of backgrounds. This practice report shares learnings from a recent national project about the impacts of a wide range of access and equity…