This study examined evidence of equity for English Learners-one of the three targeted student groups--in the early implementation of California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) across data sets from seven studies. We used social justice inquiry methods and data integration analytic approaches that included purposeful sampling of districts'…

In 2013, the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) was enacted to replace the previous California school finance system. The purpose was to stream various funding sources (e.g., basic revenues, categorical funds, block grants) such that districts could engage in comprehensive planning to support all students. Additional monies designated for…

English Learners (ELs) represent critical mass of K-12 students in public schools across the nation. However, states have failed to improve EL student academic outcomes, including college readiness. In 2013, California altered its school funding policy, providing additional support for English learners. Drawing on Vertical Equity and a Critical…

Understanding why and how stakeholders become involved in education governance, and with what consequence, is critical to the success of any equity-minded participatory policy. This area of inquiry is especially salient to California's education law called the Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP). LCAP requires local district officials to…

A substantial proportion of Latina/o college students enroll at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) and emerging HSIs. Utilizing data from the University of California, Los Angeles Cooperative Institutional Research Program, this study quantitatively examines the choice process of Latina/os enrolled at 4-year HSIs, emerging HSIs, and non-HSIs.…

We examine how district administrators' conceptions of equity relate to the implementation of finance reform. We use sensemaking theory and four views of equity--libertarian, liberal, democratic liberal, and transformative--to guide a case study of two districts, finding evidence of two conceptions of equity: (1) greater resources for students…

Although persisters now represent the largest group of non-graduating high school students, they have received little attention in the research literature, leaving unanswered the question of how persisters differ from dropouts in terms of demographic characteristics, academic preparation, and key life outcomes. Using statewide…

Prior research has documented how current policies and practices reinforce deficit perspectives of multilingual students at the secondary level, particularly students who have been labeled as long-term English learners. At the same time, scholars have argued for a need to collect detailed, individualized information about multilingual students'…

Field experiences are an important element of paleontological knowledge building. However, there is little information about the effects field experiences have on science stewardship and personal growth in high school learners. This pilot study analyzed the reflections of a group of female and male 9th grade U.S. high school students (N = 72) on…

Lesson study, especially when conducted with support from targeted resources, is often identified as a potentially effective means to support teacher learning. In this study, 80 school-based teams of educators, representing 80 classrooms of third- or fourth-grade students in the US, were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: lesson study…

This study examined the impact of an in-school dance curriculum on the social-emotional development of at-risk preschoolers in a southern California public preschool program. The preschoolers (N = 69) participated in dance for thirty minutes, once a week, over an entire academic year. We compared the Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP)…

Purpose: The Women in Leadership Development (WLD) Initiative is a year-long, multifaceted co-curricular leadership development opportunity created to support the unique developmental needs of emerging women leaders. WLD was intentionally designed around the context of second-generation gender bias with a firm grounding of research and theory on…

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions…

In an era of expanding global educational privatization and shifting policies on how to fund educational facilities in many states in the US, this study engages the lenses of critical policy analysis and fiscal sociology to examine educational privatization in the school facilities industry in California. Employing critical policy document…

While there has been a proliferation of interest and research into work-family studies we know little about how employees who study while working manage their multiple and sometimes conflicting roles. This research focuses on non-traditional students (NTS), whose representation in the general student population has increased, and explores how they…