As an institution that aims to create more access to higher education by removing barriers to entry, the California Community College (CCC) system supports what is often described as "nontraditional" students (i.e., first-generation and systems-impacted students), but also of most importance to this study, Students of Color (Knoell,…

This qualitative study delved into the lived experiences of individuals who identify as Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). Specifically, the study investigated encounters with racial microaggressions among BIPOC counselor education faculty and doctoral students through a qualitative research approach. The research question was,…

The imperative to increase the representation of historically minoritized groups (HMG) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by addressing systemic barriers in the United States remains a formidable challenge with profound implications. By 2036, the majority of high school graduates in the United States will be people…

The slogan "I can't breathe" reverberated in 2020 with the Black Lives Matter movement protests against police brutality and racial injustices in America. As much as there was an uncanny coincidence with that phrase and the root of the COVID-19 pandemic, the immediate association of those words for me, a dance educator in South Africa,…

Microaggressions have been studied in higher-education institutions, professional work environments, and ordinary life. However, most research studies on microaggressions in higher education focus on the experiences of college students at four-year institutions, exposing a gap in the literature on microaggressions in two-year community colleges.…

Substantive research exists to the benefits of teachers of color for all students but most dramatically for students of color. Teachers of color play a vital part in increasing student academic achievement, belonging, and connectedness. This research study sought to uncover the professional lives of teachers of color in a predominantly white…

There is a persistent shortage of qualified special education teachers in schools across the country. This issue is exacerbated by the need for special education teachers of color who can help serve the disproportionate number of minority students in schools. Over time, researchers and government entities, alike, have considered ways to increase…

This counterstorytelling study involved examining how Practitioners of Color (POC) enact "carino" and embed restorative literacies or cultural and community practices in community college integrated reading and writing (IRW) classrooms to create a safe counterspace for Students of Color (SOC). The significance of this research is to…

Schooling in the United States has never been a public good, nor has "the public good" been its primary goal. Since its origins in the early nineteenth century, schooling has been a "white" good, designed to promote white advantage. Three mechanisms, among many, have been key to this process: the relationship of schooling to…

Examining the political activism of high school students provides a window to fully understand the rich history and resistance of young people of color from South Central Los Angeles who blazed the trail in many crucial battles during the civil rights era. Researching John C. Fremont High School's history shows that the high school reflects a…

In this Black feminist critical inquiry, I theorize the politics of race, gender, and geography in the context of a liberatory Black pedagogical space located in the United States. Using curated interview and observation data, I position an anti-racist pedagogue as a cartographer who employed method, content, style, and technique to map freedom…

This autobiographical research draws from testimonio inquiry exploring my lived curriculum as an emerging scholar and curriculum administrator of students who are living in historically marginalized areas. The questions are: How can testimonios inform the struggles of immigrant students in the Whitestream curriculum? How does my life in Nepantla…

This study was designed to center the voices of four Latina educators who are now in a professional space to bring light to their lived experiences, the challenges they face, and the feelings of being an impostor in the spaces they occupy despite their many accomplishments. In this study, I used a collective storytelling approach to illuminate the…

Within the education workforce, two significant challenges are receiving national attention: teacher shortages and the need for diversity among educators. These issues are widely discussed in the news, prioritized in district and state strategic plans, and debated by researchers generally as separate topics addressing separate needs. Yet…

Student conduct exists as the intersection of student development theory, legal compliance, and institutional policies. While literature in the K-12 and criminal legal system shows the way that policy has a disproportionately negative impact on Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color, there are few studies that do similar work in higher…