This article explores the unexpected discovery of a significant divergence between the strong feelings of safety and belonging reported in a school and neighborhood safety survey, and the discursive, contradictory, and complex narratives about safety revealed by students' storytelling through theater and narratives shared with researchers in a…

Considering the increased number of students impacted by homelessness and the overrepresentation of people of color among the homeless population, feeling adept in meeting the unique needs of this student population is critical for school counselors. We address findings from a qualitative study exploring the challenges and cultural responsiveness…

This study examines the impact of a polytechnic high school model designed in collaboration with a research-intensive university and industry/community partners. Aimed at urban settings and focused on minoritized youth, this model replaces traditional subject-specific classes with industry-driven design project cycles. As design-based integrated…

This dissertation explores the integration of work-study programs, mentorship, and support systems at Cristo Rey Tampa Salesian High School (CRTSHS) and their role in preparing underrepresented students for post-secondary education and professional careers. Utilizing a case study methodology, this research centers on an in-depth analysis of a…

Research documents positive associations between school climate and student outcomes, and, as such, many policymakers have positioned it among their chief priorities for school improvement. Despite this increased focus, extant research has offered mixed findings on the presence and magnitude of racial school climate disparities. The present study…

What does it mean for a school to be failing? Too often, answers to this question do not include insights from students of colour, their families, or teachers. In fact, schools, especially those that serve poor communities of colour, lack systemic opportunities for educators to hear directly from students. This qualitative case study yielded…

Purpose: This qualitative research study examines classroom observations and transcripts, teacher and student interviews and student writing to investigate how white English teachers can cultivate students' critical literacies regarding race and oppression through classroom literature. As research and practice in the field of critical literacy has…

This article provides an account of the ways in which students and adult supporters of an urban turnaround high school mobilized to defy the rhetoric of neoliberal reforms and the subsequent deficit narrative imposed on them and on their school. Their counternarratives refute the master narratives advanced by federal and state educational reforms.…

Background/Context: Racial disparities in school discipline represent a longstanding injustice in U.S. schools. Students of color, particularly Black students, are systematically subjected to harsher school disciplinary actions compared with their peers. A growing body of evidence demonstrates the severity of the problem and the negative…

This study examined whether secondary students in an urban school district perceived racial differences in opportunity to be successful in mathematics, whether those perceptions differed between students of color and white students, and the relation of those perceptions to teachers' choice and implementation of mathematical tasks. The results of…

This article tells the story of two exploratory youth-centered participatory action research (PAR) projects to consider how youth-centered research can resist inequality. In this paper, I focus on the findings and process of two PAR projects that took place within one geographically isolated neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. The studies focused…

As part of a longitudinal research effort that examines the influence of social capital on differential persistence and retention among undergraduate engineering majors, this study examines how engineering degree-related social capital differs for first-year engineering students by gender and ethno-racial groups. Social capital is operationalized…

In 2017, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) launched an ambitious school redesign project. High Plains High School (pseudonym) was among the schools selected for redesign, and as part of their plan, High Plains High School (HPHS) faculty and staff administered a survey to students. Survey results indicated approximately 38% of…

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how the exercise of administrative authority to suspend the Muslim Student Association (MSA), an affinity group at a suburban Midwestern high school, was experienced and perceived by affected students. Notably, it traces the mobilization of the MSA students to challenge the principal's authority…

According to the National Science Foundation, "the U.S. STEM workforce must be considered in the context of an expanding and vibrant global scientific and technological enterprise" (2014). "The National Academy of Sciences further suggests that, without the participation of individuals of all races and genders, the increasing demand…