In college athletics, there appears to be evidence of misalignment between stated commitments and institutional practices. Though institutions publicly promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), college athletic departments have failed to create large scale systemic change in the representation and retention of women and people of color.…

Through a landscape analysis and content analysis, this study investigated informal Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education funding and evaluation policies. The primary objectives of this study were to identify informal STEM education funding organizations, and to examine funding priorities and evaluation policies…

Performance funding policies are politically popular, however research on performance funding has shown that these policies are ineffective and can have unintended negative consequences, particularly for lower-resourced institutions and underserved students. The purpose of this study was to determine if the Montana University System performance…

Closing equity gaps in student outcomes has been a key part of the national agenda in postsecondary education the last two decades as goals to increase the number of college graduates coincides with an increasing number, and future majority, of students from historically marginalized communities. Impactful support programs for students from…

The focus of this study was planning methods and instructional practices that educators use to address the needs of students affected by poverty. The problem addressed in this study was identifying common themes among classroom instructional strategies and classroom environmental factors that produce positive gains in student achievement. Those…

The practice of grading students began in the late 1800s and became institutionalized within the educational system. Grading in K-12 education has remained relatively unchanged in its purpose, intent, and use for nearly a century while simultaneously becoming an increasingly critical factor that impacts student opportunities, external perceptions…

This study examines equitable grading practices in secondary mathematics from the student perspective. Youth participatory action research (YPAR) provided a vehicle for high school students to investigate equitable grading, research impacts grading had on their collective, and develop solutions to inequitable grading. It provided opportunities for…

Equitable education for all students is an enduring issue in public schools, especially for schools serving marginalized students living in poverty. Providing equitable educational opportunities to students in their K-12 careers increases the likelihood that historically marginalized populations will improve their social mobility and increase…

This study assessed the impact of COVID-19 on secondary teachers' assessment, grading, and reporting practices in south Florida. The study included a review of the literature on the history of traditional versus criterion-based grading and reporting; accountability and equity in grading prior to COVID-19; challenges in implementing alternative…

Advocates for inclusive diversity with equity, access and accountability (IDEAA) are often torn between individual-level change and institutional-level change processes. Similarly, antiracist scholarship spans individual-level and institutional-level efforts towards antiracism. In discipline-based education research (DBER) in microbiology…

This study used a quantitative survey in the form of an online self-administered questionnaire to explore and describe the views of school leaders on chronic absenteeism in New Jersey public schools. The first of its kind, this statewide survey was designed for the purpose of understanding how school leaders perceive the importance of equity in…

This study explores university-based teacher educators' and undergraduate students' engagement with literacy coursework that meets the requirements of state accreditation while also developing instructional practices that honor the languages and literacies of racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse children. In this dissertation, the…

The problem in the current basic qualitative study was that elementary principals were challenged to implement a district-mandated educational equity policy. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore elementary principals' experiences implementing a district-mandated educational equity policy. The conceptual framework for this study was…

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind nearly twenty years ago, teachers' and students' educational experiences have been largely shaped by the high-stakes accountability system. The consequences of high-stakes accountability can be exacerbated in bilingual settings, because in these contexts often contradictory assessment policies and language…

To achieve ambitious and equitable mathematics education, districts will likely have to extend their efforts beyond the bounds of classroom teaching and learning, and also address the social and political aspects involved in improving mathematics education. However, the literature has yet to explore the underlying boundaries that determine which…