Background: Makers are a growing community of STEM-minded people who bridge technical and non-technical backgrounds to imagine, build and fabricate engineering systems. Some have engineering training, some do not. This paper presents a study to explore the educational pathways of adult Makers and how they intersect with engineering. This research…

In this article, I relay the irony of my own path as an "illegal alien" in the US--identifying the tension between being a successful student earning straight As and accolades for good citizenship, while hiding my undocumented legal status. Drawing from the notions of race, smartness and citizenship as social constructions, I use a…

The problem was that Hispanic English Second Language (ESL) students enrolled in the ESL program had consistently failed the California High School Exit Examination (CASHEE) in greater numbers than their cohorts. The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry was to explore the life stories of Hispanic ESL students in identifying the factors…

Given the rise of incidents of mass violence affecting college campuses, interventions for students are gravely needed, especially ones with broader accessibility and reach. This pilot study examined two online narrative writing interventions for undergraduates experiencing distress a year after exposure to a mass murder at their university.…

In this study, we told the story of a Kenyan couple, B. and F., who has left Kenya and moved to Southern California. We followed a narrative inquiry framework, using Clandinin and Connelly's (2000) guidelines. We delineated core components of narrative inquiry research, as well as related the journey of B. and F., who have created dual lives in…

This story explored the educational experience of a 20 year-old man who came to California from Michoacan, Mexico with his parents and siblings when he was 10 years old. Using qualitative research methodology and testimonio, he and his parents were interviewed to hear and document their stories of his academic journey from the early years in…

This study centers on the racialized experiences of Afro-Latino undergraduates at historically White institutions. Of particular interest, I examine how six Afro-Latino collegains experience intragroup marginalization due to colorism. The research design is undergirded by critical race theory and a critical race methodology. Participants'…

Multilayered disciplinary policies including sophisticated surveillance mechanisms and harsh punitive practices increasingly characterize schools in the United States. Researchers contend that these modalities funnel students into prisons and produce "prison-like" conditions and/or militarized spaces. Most studies have examined the…

In this study, Michelle M. Espino uncovers the ways in which twenty-five Mexican American women PhDs made meaning of conflicting messages about the purpose of higher education as they navigated within and through educational structures and shifting familial expectations. Participants received "consejos", or nurturing advice, from parents…

The intent of this qualitative study was to better understand factors, which impacted Latin women's development of resilience and how they continued their education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The participants were enrolled in Ph.D. programs at 5 of the 10 University of California campuses currently designated as…

All institutions of higher education depend heavily on the contributions of adjunct faculty. The purpose of the qualitative narrative inquiry was to gather, analyze, and interpret stories offered by faculty members to make meaning of their experiences as adjuncts in non-traditional higher education institutions. The qualitative narrative inquiry…

This article examines how the Education Leadership Foundation (a leadership development community based organization) in partnership with the Migrant Education Program use parent retreats for building leadership, and skill development of migrant farm-working families. Utilizing cooperative and community responsive practices, these retreats build…

This article explores the raced representations of the "Muslim Other" and how these representations engaged the lived realities and found footing in how Muslim youth understood their identities. Utilizing qualitative life history interviews with 24 Muslim undergraduates, I examine student talk addressing the construction of the Muslim in…

"Some are born great; some achieve greatness; and some have greatness thrust upon them." "Twelfth Night," Act 3 Scene 4. This article examines the differences and similarities between two faculty members as they discuss their entry into the academy after successfully teaching in secondary schools. Both brought with them the…

"Research assistant" is a term used to describe student researchers across a variety of contexts and encompasses a wide array of duties, rewards, and costs. As critical qualitative scholars situated in a discipline that rarely offers funded research assistantships to graduate students, we explore how we have engaged in faculty-student…