The purpose of my research was to understand LAUSD counselors' perceptions related to professional development around crisis response before and during COVID. The goal of this project was to learn how we can best support prevention efforts for students. I learned about counselors' understanding of the suicide preventative measures the district…

Literacy in the 21st century includes multiple modes of communication that include culturally and linguistic diverse representation. It also includes multimodal texts that use visual, audio, and technological elements to create meaning. The new changing technologies have expanded literacy to more than print and written forms. Literacy instruction…

My dissertation addresses three studies which ask broadly: What are the predictive metrics of functioning AS-CTE pathways? Can students' perceptions of these pathways be changed? Are these pathways equitable for female students? In my first study, I take a step toward better understanding the metrics that explain functioning AS-CTE pathways.…

This multimodal/multimedia discourse analysis explored institutional practices regarding native and non-native English speaker teachers in five language centers in Medellín, Colombia, as reflected in interviews with coordinators and teachers, language centers' websites, social media, and recruitment materials. Data were analyzed using content and…

This qualitative study applied the concept of Institutional Neglect to a higher education setting and explored how federal Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements, along with the implementation choices at a public university, facilitated Institutional Neglect for financial aid dependent students, especially Students of Color. This study…

Assessment is a core competency in student affairs, but scholars in the field of higher education and student affairs know little about how practitioners perceive and approach learning about assessment. In this study with 20 students in a student affairs master's program, I found they perceived assessment as the "wild card" and had…

Given the large proportion of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) in special education, there is a great need to understand and learn from the literature and the experiences of Latino immigrant parents of children with disabilities. It is important to conduct qualitative studies, systematic reviews, and quality reviews to…

This article develops a framework for the causal analysis of critical events in case study research. A critical event is defined as a contingent event that is causally important for an outcome in a specific case. Using set-theoretic analysis, this article offers definitions and measurement tools for the study of contingency and causal importance…

In higher education, educators establish complex learning outcomes for students to achieve during their collegiate studies. These outcomes, given their complexity, necessitate an advanced approach to studying the teaching and learning process as it unfolds in real time. We brought together extant literature and our own research experience studying…

While many student affairs departments are committed to addressing equity issues, they face limited capacity and lack institutionalized frameworks to implement equitable change at all levels on a cyclical and proactive basis. Equity Tank, a four-phase interactive model, allows all members of a department to question its policies, practices, and…

Equity-minded teaching entails intellectual and emotional labor that can create challenges and tensions for the instructors as well as the students. Equity-minded teaching requires problematizing disciplinary norms that center and uphold white, patriarchal, middle- and upper-class norms. This article discusses some of these challenges and tensions…

Out-of-school time (OST) programs in affordable housing communities address some of the persistent issues with OST participation among low-income families. The author conducted research on affordable housing organizations, including her own, that provide OST programs. She aimed to identify similarities and differences between these programs and…

During the Spring semester of 2020, due to a global pandemic caused by the widespread of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, a sudden swift shift to remote instruction radically shook student experiences. Unplanned and disruptive, new struggles ("luchas") emerged. Inspired by Castillo-Montoya and Torres-Guzmán, who sought to reclaim the lived…

Increasing diversity on college campuses suggests faculty need to develop ways of teaching diverse students. This study describes the teaching strategies of two sociology professors at a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Through observations, syllabi analysis, and interviews with the faculty and 18 racially and ethnically diverse first-generation…

Teaching is a selfless profession. Although many teachers find great satisfaction in their work, most educators would probably say they are driven by the desire to help and inspire students. Too often, educators sacrifice their own well-being to support students' social, emotional, and academic needs. Teacher wellness influences school culture and…