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Indigenous students often see higher education as a means by which they can meet their familial, community, and cultural responsibilities. Unfortunately, many collegiate institutions emphasize values and social protocols, a way of understanding, and a way of knowing that are unfamiliar and even hostile to Indigenous worldviews. To better understand the experience of Native and Indigenous STEM Students at our institution, we listened to students, alumni, faculty, and staff through a series of online forums modeled on the Indigenous tradition of Talking Circles. The discussion from participants in the Talking Circles resulted in 464 coded responses characterized as supports, barriers, and ideas in STEM. The results show how Indigenous students benefit from the integration of cultural wealth that resides in Indigenous knowledge, practices, and protocols. We have also gained insights into the importance of an Indigenized campus culture and have time-tested and effective programs that teach us how to promote such a culture. We review the major themes identified and provide recommendations to others interested in supporting Indigenous students in STEM.

Community colleges serve nearly half of all undergraduates, including a disproportionate share of African American and Hispanic students, and are a key point of access to higher education for students who face socioeconomic disadvantages or other obstacles to participation in higher education. Community colleges stand to play a pivotal role in strengthening the nation's workforce and increasing opportunity in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. However, a troublingly large fraction of community college students who complete advanced STEM courses ultimately leave college without postsecondary credentials. Utilizing data from the California Community College system, we investigated four hypothesized explanations for why students who have demonstrated potential to succeed in STEM fields by completing an advanced course in math, chemistry, or physics did not complete college. We found that students who left college tended to enter the STEM curriculum at lower levels of skills, struggled in non-STEM coursework, and did not take or were unable to pass STEM courses in other fields. They also were more likely to be White and more likely to be male. We conclude with recommendations for institutional policy and practice and for future research.

Background: Little is known regarding utilization of school-based health centers (SBHCs) during prolonged school closures, such as those that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to compare SBHC utilization before and after pandemic-related school closures across a network of SBHCs affiliated with a large Southern Californian urban school district. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of encounter data extracted from electronic health records from 12 SBHCs that remained open despite school closures, including patient demographics and diagnostic and billing codes. We used the Clinical Classifications Software Refined to group encounters for common primary care conditions. Utilization before and during pandemic-related school closures was compared using logistic regression with cluster-robust standard errors to account for clustering within clinics, after adjusting for month of encounter. Results: During the pandemic, study SBHCs conducted 52,530 encounters and maintained [approximately]4040 encounters/month. The frequency of encounters for annual preventative health exams increased for school-aged patients but decreased for other age groups while the frequency of encounters for mental health problems increased for all age groups. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity: Despite pandemic-related school closures, SBHCs appeared play a critical role in providing primary care to vulnerable communities. Conclusions: SBHCs may hold value beyond their co-location with academic instruction.

Native Americans are highly underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers; however, little research exists concerning how to promote Native Americans' participation in STEM. In this study, we address this gap by examining variables hypothesized to promote participation using the career self-management (CSM) model among Native American college students with STEM career goals. Results of stepwise regressions demonstrated that academic achievement along with the problem-solving aspects of career self-management (CSM) self-efficacy and instrumental assistance from parents, peers, and others in students' schools and communities predicts clearer, more specific, and more personally congruent goals; and that these goals along with self-efficacy and instrumental assistance predict career exploration. Contrary to hypotheses, neither STEM outcome expectations nor gender was related to goals or exploration. These findings suggest that CSM can be used to guide research regarding the STEM career development of Native American college students.

As young people today are flooded with information from a multitude of sources, they must be prepared to perceive the potentially oppressive and nefarious nature of many texts. Critical literacy is a theory and strategy that allows young people, along with people of all ages, to achieve just this; however, teachers often experience difficulties implementing and guiding students in taking crucial action steps in the classroom. This exploratory action research case study was conducted to address these concerns, as a teacher utilized Twitter to implement critical literacy and guide 32 ethnically diverse eleventh grade students in applying critical literacy in an AP English Language and Composition class. The study was conducted within a unit on American Transcendentalist literature over the course of one month, and the teacher and students used their cell phones inside and outside of the classroom to access Twitter for purposes of research, communication, and interaction. Qualitative methods were used to collect data from student and teacher tweets, reflections, and interviews, which were analyzed with a qualitative conventional content analysis approach. Results showed that Twitter was effective in implementing critical literacy in the classroom. Additionally, multiple affordances included a transformation of teaching and learning in the classroom of study, amplified student voice, increased student engagement, and a potential for student action. Results are discussed in the context of students' achievement of critical action and approach to a state of critical consciousness and may be of interest to the teacher or administrator challenged by critical literacy implementation, curious about critical literacy, or seeking additional technology-infused literacy strategies.

This paper focusses on our concerns about revelations about sexual harassment in universities and the inadequate responses whereby some universities seem more concerned about their own reputations than the care and protection of their students. Seldom do cases go to criminal court, instead they mostly fall within employment relations policies where the use of non-disclosure agreements are double edged, such that some perpetrators remain nameless even if the person offended against wants details made public. Of course if the staff member does not resign or take retirement prior to potential dismissal, but remains in the institution, the grapevine still works. Universities too often become complicit in cover-ups at the expense of further potential victims of sexual misconduct. It has been with much dismay that we found that despite extensive training and writing about ethics some senior professors in philosophy fields have been accused and found wanting, disabusing us of the virtue assumption. Despite these recent instances where perpetrators have been named and been publicised in the media, we found that this is not in fact new, so not only does the paper look to the past, but also extensively it uses contemporary accounts, reports and documents from USA, UK, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. These seem to be the tip of the iceberg, so our hope is that all students and staff in universities (and in fact all institutions where there are inherent power imbalances) will not only feel safe, but that they will be safe as universities become genuinely ethical institutions.

Background: Prior research has shown that early alcohol experiences, such as age of initiation and speed of progression between drinking milestones, vary across racial/ethnic groups. To inform culturally tailored prevention efforts, this longitudinal study examined racial/ethnic differences in the associations of drinking firsts at home and with parental knowledge with alcohol use outcomes among underage youth. Methods: The study included baseline and five follow‐up surveys, collected every 6 months, from California adolescents (ages 12–16 years at baseline). The analytic sample was composed of the 689 adolescents who reported lifetime alcohol use at baseline or a follow‐up survey (5% Black, 37% Latinx, 46% White, and 12% other/mixed racial/ethnic group; 54% female). Participants who reported consumption of a full drink, intoxication, or heavy episodic drinking (HED) were asked ages and contexts of these drinking firsts, including whether the initiation was at their own home and whether their parents/guardians knew about this drinking event. Outcomes included past‐6‐month alcohol frequency, alcohol quantity, and number of alcohol‐related problems. Multilevel negative binomial regression analyses were conducted, controlling for demographics and age of initiation by type of drinking behavior. Moderation analyses examined racial/ethnic differences. Results: For consumption of the first full drink, both drinking at home and parental knowledge were negatively associated with all outcomes; associations did not vary by race/ethnicity. First intoxication at own home was negatively associated with the number of drinks for Latinx youth and with the number of problems for Black youth. For first HED, drinking at own home was positively associated with drinking frequency across groups, and for Black youth specifically, parental knowledge of their first HED experience was significantly associated with greater later alcohol frequency and quantity. Conclusions: Results suggest that the association of family contexts of drinking first with later alcohol outcomes among underage youth varied by stage of alcohol use and race/ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the relationship of predisposing, enabling, need, and immigration-related factors to tele-mental health services utilization among California adults, we conducted a secondary analysis of two waves of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) collected between 2015 and 2018 (N = 78,345). A series of logistic regression models were conducted to examine correlates and predictors to tele-mental health services use. Approximately 1.3% reported the use of tele-mental health services. Overall, health insurance status, severe psychological distress, perceived need for mental health services, and identifying as Asian, remained strong predictors for tele-mental health service use. When accounting for all factors, we found that being a non-citizen was associated with lower odds of tele-mental health service use (AOR = 0.47, CI = 0.26, 0.87, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that citizenship, resources to access, and perceived need for mental health care collectively are the most significant factors driving the use of tele-mental health services. There is a need to address inequitable access to tele-mental health services among immigrants who do not qualify for healthcare coverage due to citizenship status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to assess the health impact of professional quality of life and self-care on student services professionals. Results of an online survey indicate that health-related quality of life was negatively associated with compassion fatigue (secondary traumatic stress and burnout) and positively associated with mindful self-care. The latter association was insignificant after controlling for compassion fatigue. Organizations should develop policies to help mitigate stressors and foster an environment conducive to self-care.

College students ("n" = 846) enrolled in a general education course were randomly assigned to either an arousal (experimental) or no-arousal (control) group. The experimental group was exposed to a topic-relevant, 90-second external stimulus (a technique used to elevate arousal and focus attention). The control group listened to the instructor take roll. Both groups then listened to the same 30-minute lecture followed by an exam. An independent-samples t-test found a significant difference in exam scores measuring information retention between arousal (M = 13.36, SD = 1.5) and no-arousal (M = 12.85, SD = 1.4) conditions; "t" (844) = 5.20, "p" less than 0.001. Results suggest introducing a lecture with an external stimulus increases information retention.

Action research classes are being offered in many universities as part of the education curriculum. The definition and methods for conducting educational action research are as varied as the projects and people engaging in them. This paper seeks to define educational action research as it applies to one graduate program that incorporates action research classes into its Master of Education program as a requirement for the graduate degree. The university is a small private liberal arts university that graduates 50-70 teachers from it masters' program each year. The research is grounded in in-depth interviews with the two professors who organized, planned, and initiated the action research classes. In addition to defining action research the paper examines the rationale and formation of the classes. The analysis shows that while the action research classes can be empowering for the professors and the practicing teachers, the practicing teacher's research projects are greatly influenced by the prior research knowledge of the instructing professor and the university's institutional review board.

Vignettes, brief descriptions of fictional characters and situations, serve as a tool to study people's lives, perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes about specific situations. Although not widely used in library and information science (LIS) research, vignettes can depersonalize responses to controversial situations or behavioral responses related to abstract concepts when employed in focus groups, in-depth interviews, or surveys. We use two research projects, one focused on the Association of College and Research Libraries' "Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education" and one on the vocabulary used to describe library services, to discuss the strengths of vignettes and implications for LIS research.

People overhearing referential communication understand more when they listen in on dialogues rather than monologues. Some have proposed this is because entrainment selects better referential expressions. In a corpus analysis, we considered the role of addressees in contributing to entrainment and measured the degree to which particular perspectives were used across different speakers in dialogues and monologues. In a test of overhearer comprehension, we found that although descriptions from dialogues were more easily understood, the frequency by which perspectives were used also influenced comprehension across both dialogues and monologues. We conclude that entrained perspectives are not objectively better and cannot be used as the basis for explaining the benefit of listening to dialogues.

Background: Transgender adolescents face tremendous social stress in families and schools, which often leads to behavioral health disparities. This study assessed whether rates of substance use were higher among transgender adolescents when compared to nontransgender adolescents. Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of the 2013-2015 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) that examines whether rates of substance use are higher among transgender youth when compared to nontransgender youth. Participants included 4,778 transgender and 630,200 nontransgender students in middle and high schools in nearly all school districts in California. The study outcomes were lifetime, recent, and in-school use of cigarettes, tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy as well as nonmedical use of prescription painkillers, diet pills, Ritalin or Adderall, and cold medicine. Results: Transgender students were about 2-1/2 times more likely as nontransgender students to use cocaine/methamphetamine in their lifetime (odds ratio [OR] = 2.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.18-2.95) and about 2.8 times as likely to report past 30-day inhalant use (OR = 2.80; 95% CI = 2.41-3.26). Transgender students were more than twice as likely to report past 30-day prescription pain medication use (OR = 2.19; 95% CI = 1.90-2.53) and more than 3 times as likely to use cigarettes in school (OR = 3.37; 95% CI = 2.84-3.99). Conclusions: The study's findings indicate a need for community- and school-based interventions that reduce substance use among transgender youth.

February is a natural time to teach students that love involves more than hearts and candy--it also means giving of oneself. According to Terri Kennamer, a third-grade teacher at West Elementary School in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, it is the responsibility of educators to help students recognize that they are citizens of the world. Children have such compassion for others, teachers need only to encourage their compassion and guide their response. In this article, the author presents the stories of four teachers who helped their students learn the true meaning of love by leading classroom or schoolwide outreach projects, plus takeaways for brainstorming and launching one's "own" effort.

Our understanding of community college pathways to baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) is remarkably incomplete, despite growing recognition of the sizeable role that community colleges stand to play in increasing the number of students who enter STEM baccalaureate programs, particularly underrepresented students. Here, we drew from data on nearly 3 million students to analyze participation in and navigation of the STEM transfer curriculum in community colleges, while focusing primarily on the fields of math, chemistry, and physics. We found that a large number of students enrolled in college-level STEM coursework, and many of these students were of demographic groups that are underrepresented in STEM fields. Yet, comparatively few students progressed into advanced STEM coursework. Moreover, the contribution of community colleges to resolving longstanding demographic inequities in STEM is constrained by pronounced gender and racial/ethnic differences in points of entry into the STEM curriculum, pathways through STEM, and manner of exit from STEM. As a result, much of the considerable potential of community colleges to improve STEM baccalaureate production and equity of opportunity in STEM remains largely unrealized at this point. We conclude with practical recommendations and a detailed research agenda to guide future inquiry on this subject.

Changes in climate conditions can have cascading repercussions for organismal performance and survival, altering the productivity of aquatic systems. While numerous studies have examined the direct effects of temperature on species fitness, fewer studies have analyzed how individual impacts may translate to downstream primary consumers. Temperature-induced changes in the nutritional quality of seaweed may cause critical shifts in energy and nutrient availability for these consumers. A multifaceted experiment was conducted to assess the indirect impacts of California's coastal climate conditions on abalone growth. This experiment fed juvenile red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) of two different size classes in ambient water conditions with the seaweed dulse (Devaleraea mollis), conditioned at 13°C, 15°C, and 17°C for 92 days. Nutritional analyses revealed significantly higher protein and nitrogen content in the 17°C dulse culture than in the 15°C and 13°C cultures, and no significant differences in carbohydrates. Furthermore, analyses on body weight ratio and condition factor indicate that juvenile red abalone of smaller size display significantly better growth and condition when fed dulse cultured at higher temperatures. Differences between size classes suggest that temperature changes, and subsequent shifts in the nutritional composition of dulse, may have greater impacts on smaller, younger red abalone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To examine plans for postpartum cannabis use among pregnant individuals who used cannabis during early pregnancy. Materials and Methods: Eighteen virtual focus groups were conducted from November 17, 2021, to December 17, 2021, with 23 Black and 30 White pregnant adults in Kaiser Permanente Northern California, who self-reported prenatal cannabis use during early pregnancy. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: The sample (N = 53) had a mean age of 30.3 years (standard deviation = 5.2) at recruitment; 70% reported daily, 25% weekly, and 6% ≤ monthly cannabis use at entrance to prenatal care. Some participants viewed cannabis as critical for coping with postpartum mental and physical health challenges, while others questioned whether cannabis use would fit with their parental lifestyle, and some planned to abstain altogether. Most planned to use cannabis postpartum, but with lower frequency than before pregnancy, and in ways consistent with harm reduction (e.g., smoking outside to avoid secondhand or thirdhand smoke exposure). Many were motivated to abstain from cannabis while breastfeeding, and some desired more data on the safety of cannabis and breastfeeding, or intended to "pump and dump," believing it would reduce potential transfer of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) to their infant. Responses from Black and White participants were generally similar, but White participants were more likely to report plans to use cannabis while breastfeeding and to want information about cannabis and breastfeeding. Conclusions: Pregnant individuals with prenatal cannabis use had varied plans for cannabis use postpartum. Many were motivated to abstain or use cannabis less frequently than pre-pregnancy, especially during lactation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research suggests that underrepresented minority (URM) college students, and especially first-generation URMs, may lose motivation to persist if they see science careers as unable to fulfill culturally relevant career goals. In the present study, we used a mixed-methods approach to explore patterns of motivation to pursue physical and life sciences across ethnic groups of freshman college students, as moderated by generational status. Results from a longitudinal survey (N = 249) demonstrated that freshman URM students who enter with a greater belief that science can be used to help their communities identified as scientists more strongly over time, but only among first-generation college students. Analysis of the survey data were consistent with content analysis of 11 transcripts from simultaneously conducted focus groups (N = 67); together, these studies reveal important differences in motivational characteristics both across and within ethnicity across educational generation status. First-generation URM students held the strongest prosocial values for pursuing a science major (e.g., giving back to the community). URM students broadly reported additional motivation to increase the status of their family (e.g., fulfilling aspirations for a better life). These findings demonstrate the importance of culturally connected career motives and for examining intersectional identities to understand science education choices and inform efforts to broaden participation.

State K-12 assessments may soon include measures for college readiness, as California's already do. We seek to understand how California's Early Assessment Program (EAP, designed to assess high school juniors' college readiness in English and math) may have influenced overall school-level college readiness and state accountability outcomes. Using administrative data, we first examine variation in EAP participation across California's public high schools and what accounts for the variation in the early years of the program. Second, we ask whether different levels of EAP participation have influenced school outcomes. Finally, we ask whether the EAP has led to changes in schoolwide accountability measures by increasing eleventh-grade students' testing performance. We find that schools with higher participation in these aligned assessments witnessed small improvements on the state's primary accountability metric, but not through raising individual stakes for students. Results have important consequences for policymakers and education leaders designing and implementing Common Core State Standards with college-readiness assessments.

The representation of Asian American teachers in schools is a unique asset in promoting diversity and advocating for social justice. However, they also face various barriers that negatively affect their work experiences. The diverse nature of the Asian American population is likely to yield different assets and barriers among teachers from different ethnic groups. To gain insight into how Chinese and Korean American teachers perceive their cultural identity in their teaching practices, we utilized a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with nine teachers who identified as Chinese and/or Korean American in K-12 public schools in California. Findings based on thematic analyses of the interview data revealed several assets, including empathy and understanding towards minority groups, more exposure to diversity, increased representation, and shared language skills. However, there were also identified barriers, including internalized model minority beliefs, cultural expectations of being passive observers, internalized racism, an overemphasis on education, and a savior complex. Based on our findings, we provide practical suggestions for recruiting and retaining Chinese and Korean American teachers in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social capital is increasingly recognized as a key component of adolescent development, providing important opportunities to grow and strengthen their social networks while increasing access to resources such as jobs and social support. Objectives: This study explored how youth-serving organizations (YSOs) across California address social capital development and assessed need for a social capital curriculum or measurement tools. Methods: The sample for this study was drawn from the 2019 IRS Business Master File from the National Center for Charitable Statistics Data Archive. We contacted a random sample of 169 California YSOs and implemented a 15-item survey to capture organizational perspectives on the importance of social capital, tools to measure this construct, and the use of programming related to social capital. Results: Among 41 YSOs completing the survey, only 24 (59%) had heard of the term "social capital," but when the term was described, 88% felt it was a highly important asset for youth. Thirty YSOs (73%) provided programming designed to promote social capital. Most respondents (68%) said being able to measure social capital would be very important and nearly all said they would be interested in adopting a tested social capital curriculum. Conclusions: Strong interest from YSOs for additional social capital tools highlights the need for additional work in this area. With support, YSOs can connect young people to institutions and influencers significantly outside of normal social circles, thus creating an increasingly sustainable and diverse range of resources available to youth as they navigate life milestones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]