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This paper aims to examine the role of school stakeholders (e.g. advisory board members, school administrators, parents, teachers and school board members) at a 99% black academy in promoting the achievement and broadening participation of high school black students in engineering career pathways.

The authors followed a qualitative case study design to explore the experiences of school stakeholders (e.g. students, district and school personnel and community partners) associated with the implementation of the career academy (Stake, 2006; Yin, 1994).

The authors found that the school relied heavily on the support of the community in the form of an advisory board – including university faculty and industry leaders – to actively develop culturally responsive strategies (e.g. American College Test preparation, work-based learning opportunities) to ensure the success of black students interested in pursuing career pathways in engineering. Thus, school stakeholders in the academy of engineering served as authentic leaders who inspired academy students by serving as role models and setting examples through what they do as engineering professionals. It was quite evident that the joy and fulfillment that these authentic leaders gained from using their talents directly or indirectly inspired students in the academy to seek out and cultivate the talents they are good at and passionate about as well (Debebe, 2017). Moreover, the career academy provided environmental or sociocultural conditions that promoted the development of learners’ gifts and talents (Plucker and Barab, 2005). Within that context, the goals of career academy school stakeholders were to support students in the discovery of what they are good at doing and to structure their educational experiences to cultivate their gifts into talents.

It is also important to acknowledge that this study is not generalizable to the one million career academy students across the nation. Yet, the authors believe researchers should continue to examine the career academy advisory board as a source of capital for engaging and preparing diverse learners for success post-high school. Further research is needed to investigate how advisory boards support students’ in school and postsecondary outcomes, particularly for diverse students.

The authors highlight promising practices for schools to implement in establishing a diverse talent pipeline.

On a theoretical level, the authors found important insights into the possibility of black students benefiting from a culturally responsive advisory board that provided social and cultural capital (e.g. aspirational, navigational and social) resources for their success.

While prior researchers have studied the positive impact of teachers in career academies as a contributor to social capital for students (Lanford and Maruco, 2019) and what diverse students bring to the classroom as a form of capital Debebe(Yosso, 2005), research has not identified the role of the advisory board (in its efforts to connect the broader community) as a vehicle for equipping ethnically and racially diverse students who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with social capital. Within that sense, the authors believe the advisory board at Stanton Academy relied on what the authors term local community capital to provide resources and supports for black students’ successful transition from high school into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-related college and career pathways.

Higher education and leadership educators have long been tasked to develop the next generation of leaders both in the classroom and outside of the classroom. Many educators use the Social Change Model of Leadership to highlight a nonhierarchical and collaborative approach to leadership while upholding the idea that everyone can be a leader regardless of the position they hold. However, the Social Change Model overlooks concepts of power and oppression and perpetuates whiteness in the process. With educators being tasked now more than ever to prepare students to solve complex social issues, this paper adds on new values to the Social Change Model of Leadership, using Yosso’s model of Community Cultural Wealth, to ensure that racially minoritized and other students from marginalized groups can tap into their capital and locate themselves within the model to make impactful and meaningful social change.

The purpose of this paper is to give voice to the experiences of women with disabilities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) who have accessed employment, to highlight the structural barriers to employment and to identify the skills they used to obtain work.

This is a phenomenological study conducted in KSA. Themes from the interviews of women with disabilities were explored using Yosso’s (2005) cultural capital conceptual framework.

The participants had work and career aspirations, persisted in their job search, navigated barriers, and had familial support and emotional support from their social networks, but lacked instrumental assistance in accessing work. KSA policies to support women and people with disabilities to obtain employment are not adequately enforced, and negative attitudes toward people with disabilities are widespread.

The sample size is small, but these preliminary findings justify the necessity for additional research and policy development specifically focused on women with disabilities.

There is an urgent need for existing policy enforcement and a need for a national strategy promoting the employment of women and the needs of women with disabilities should be specifically included in this agenda.

There is no extant research or policy literature regarding employment and women with disabilities in the KSA. This study applies Yosso’s (2005) theory of cultural capital to women with disabilities, demonstrating its applicability outside of race/ethnicity studies and suggests that “community” is not an essential factor in building employment success.

This study involves a content analysis of research published from 2000 to 2018 about American Indian students with the principal aim to identify investigations addressing the supportive factors that contribute to student academic success. Secondary aims involved better understanding the parameters of the investigations, such as sample tribal affiliations and journal outlets.

Out of 6,341 total articles published in PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO and Education Resources Information Center over the time period, 86 articles covering the pre-school to college age years were identified, almost evenly distributed between pre-college (n = 42, 48.8%); and college age samples (n = 44, 51.2%). The 86 articles account for a mere 1.4% of all published articles over the 19 year period. A community cultural wealth approach (Yosso, 2005) was used as a framework for understanding the myriad of strengths students bring to their school experiences and was used as a lens for interpreting the study findings.

When disaggregated, the most common supports for pre-college age youth were culturally-sensitive schooling, personal/intrinsic qualities along with family and social support. For college age students, the most common supports were university personnel, community-based supports and student intrinsic factors. Further results, study limitations and implications are discussed.

This research is original.

College support and career development are two significant challenges international students encountered during the pandemic, and these two factors have an enormous impact on the internationalization of higher education. The data for this study came from the 2020 to 2021 administrations of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) that includes over 500 international students enrolled at over 120 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. These students specifically responded to an open-ended item asking them what they think institutions should do better to assist their academic achievement and career goals. This study takes an in-depth look at international students’ qualitative responses about ways that institutions could better support their preparation for future careers. Using theories of cultural wealth and ecological systems to understand the unique experiences of international students during the pandemic offers an opportunity to help students not just in times of crisis but more holistically as they continue to pursue their higher education experiences in the United States. Ultimately, the authors provide recommendations for higher education professionals working with international students to better support their students’ career development and overall college experience.

Although special education was built upon the foundation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the discrimination that many racialized students receiving special education services experience cannot be denied. Many culturally, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students receiving special education services encounter labels that perpetuate racism and ableism and lead to inequitable access to services and resources necessary for more positive postsecondary outcomes. By honoring intersectionality and dismantling the singular identity, educators can become change agents and shift the historic oppressive narrative to create a system of empowerment as these individuals transition from transitional kindergarten to age 21 special education programs (TK-21) schools into adulthood.

The purpose of this article is to explain and demonstrate a critical disciplinary read aloud strategy that has both an equity goal and a social studies goal.

The authors begin by explaining background information on read alouds and critical disciplinary literacy. Then, the authors explain the four steps in the critical disciplinary literacy read aloud strategy. As the authors do so, they share important research that supports each of the four steps. Next, the authors offer a sample lesson plan using the informational picture book, Carter Reads the Newspaper.

The lesson plan uses a 5E template to promote critical disciplinary literacy before, during and after reading in such a way that teachers can foster inquiry through the use of social studies read alouds. After reading this article, teachers will understand more about what critical disciplinary literacy means, what it looks like a lesson plan and how to create their own similar plans using the template and resources provided.

The critical disciplinary literacy strategy offers teachers a way to engage elementary students in work that highlights social justice topics and inquiry.

The overarching question of this paper is, “What are the advantages of being an upwardly mobile academic?” The extant academic research on working-class academics has usually emphasized various kinds of “deficits” of working-class academics. In this paper, the author demonstrates that although class positions can constitute a formidable burden, they can translate into specific advantages in academia.

This study is based on the narrative, phenomenological approach, which has been applied in working-class studies and higher-education research. The empirical material comprises the collection of 25 narrative interviews conducted and analyzed according to the biographical narrative interpretive method (BNIM).

This paper looks at the experience of working-class academics from a holistic perspective, including both the downsides and upsides of being an “outsider within,” or “insider without.” It uncovers four assets of a working-class background – referred to as “navigational capital,” “revolutionary potential,” “wisdom” and a distinct “working-class pedagogy.”

The working-class pedagogy can be turned into support programs for working-class individuals. Their navigational capital can foster evolutionary changes and small improvements for the benefit of the entire academic community. Their revolutionary dispositions can trigger major reforms, and their unique experiences can be utilized as case studies in teaching.

This paper engages with the literature on the cultural mismatch and cleft habitus in the academic context. It analyzes the positive but rarely discussed aspects of being an upwardly mobile academic with a working-class background. By recognizing these unique assets, it engages with the literature on inclusive universities and can help make higher education more inclusive and sustainable.

This chapter focuses on academic freedom in the experiences of Black/African American doctoral students and presents an examination of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) Joint Statement on Rights and Freedoms of Students (https://www.aaup.org/report/joint-statement-rights-and-freedoms-students) based on research and practice on the marginalized doctoral student experience. Discussion addresses AAUP policy Statements: Section I (freedom of access to higher education), Section II (freedom of expression in the classroom), and Section III (freedom of inquiry and expression). The purpose of this work is to increase awareness of issues serving as barriers to student rights and freedoms related to self-expression, cultural bias, and student activism at the doctoral level. Strategies that disrupt, minimize, and/or eradicate barriers to actively maintain and pursue student rights and freedoms will be addressed to emphasize their importance to supporting and/or hindering academic success, doctoral degree completion, and creating/sustaining pathways of transition into the career pathways.

Black and Latino males face challenges to college-going that may alter their decision to attend college. However, many Black and Latino males have successfully enrolled and matriculated through college. This study aims to explore the precollege factors that influenced the college enrollment and persistence for first generation Black and Latino male collegians (N = 5) at a predominantly white institution located in the Northeastern area of the USA. Two major themes (i.e., pre-college barriers and pre-college facilitators) along with several subthemes emerged from the data. The authors discuss recommendations for teachers, school counselors, and administrators in assisting Black and Latino males prepare for enrollment and persistence in college.

A qualitative approached was used for this research study. A focus group was incorporated because it enabled participants to discuss their experiences in a single setting with other participants with similar backgrounds and thus through contrast and group dialogue vital insights related the phenomena of interest can be identified (Kitzinger, 1995). Individual interviews were conducted to engage in a more in-depth data collection process with the participants in a one-one-setting.

Pre-college barriers and pre-college facilitators were the major themes of this research study. The subthemes originated from the frameworks of Community Cultural Wealth (Yosso, 2005) and Constellation Mentoring (Kelly and Dixon, 2014).

The paper will contribute to the research literature, as the authors are exploring the experiences of Black male collegians from a Northeastern PWI. There is a dearth of literature in this area of research.