While education scholars have discussed differing perceptions of students’ academic skills by race, little is known about differences in perceptions due to developmental disabilities. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, First Grade Waves, this study pushes forward what is already known about teacher perceptions by exploring whether a diagnosis of ADHD leads to differing teacher evaluations in science, math, and reading. Results do indicate that teachers are more likely to perceive students with ADHD as lower performing than their peers without ADHD. This pattern remains significant despite the addition of control variables. These students with ADHD are being rated worse even when this assumption is not warranted. This paper also discusses implications for education scholarship, and the study of developmental disabilities in an academic setting.

This dissertation explores the identity development of Muslim American women (N=25) in higher education, utilizing intersectionality as both a methodological and theoretical framework. First and foremost, it centers the lived experiences, agency, and autonomy of Muslim women throughout the findings. Second, it takes into account the intersecting identities of participants and how they relate to their place in larger systems of oppression. I explore their religious identity, alongside their race, ethnicity and gender. I offer the hijab as an added facet of Muslim women’s identity, as—when it is worn—it serves as a physical marker of being Muslim. The study finds that Muslim women carry the burden of maintaining their family’s reputation and thus must strategize ways to attain their goals despite the gendered constraints they encounter. These familial expectations then place Muslim women in double binds when they enter higher education, as their families simultaneously expect high academic achievement as well as a strict maintenance of one’s religious identity. While navigating these conflicting expectations, the women in this study redefine and reclaim their Muslim identities independent of familial and societal influences.

Children continue to suffer consequences of victimization from bullying in school despite prevention efforts by the U.S. educational system. Many bullying prevention programs do not account for sociological processes affecting the prevalence of bullying victimization, or examine specific forms of bullying independently. This paper uses intersectional theory and relies on nationally representative data of fourth grade students to inform my approach to the study of bullying. I find that different race and gender subgroups experience different forms of bullying. Simply controlling for gender and race does not account for the unique vulnerabilities of particular groups. I also show that certain school contexts put youth at greater risk of bullying. I conclude by suggesting that bullying programs should be developed with these insights in mind. I also suggest that future research should consider the intersection of race, class, and gender, and examine how particular types of students fare in particular types of school contexts.

One of the factors which perpetuates gender inequality is the inequitable division of household labor, and particularly the division of child caretaking labor. Even when women are employed outside the home, many remain primarily responsible for household duties and child caretaking. This research utilizes individual interviews (N=40) with heterosexual, married or cohabitating parents of children 5 and under where fathers do the majority of child caretaking. I explore how lead-dad households are similar to and different from those with a traditional lead-mother arrangement, as well as what motivates lead-father families to choose this arrangement, and how they explain it to others. This project also considers the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on lead-dad households and whether it has disrupted household roles in these families. This project uses atypical or negative cases to better understand the issue of gender identity of both mothers and fathers in atypical households.

While previous research suggests that the school experiences of students diagnosed with ADHD are often negative, less is known about the relationships that diagnosed students develop with their teachers, as well as what might be contributing to these relationships. ADHD diagnosed students are likely to have much different classroom experiences and relationships with their teachers than their non-diagnosed peers. This dissertation seeks to understand the experiences of ADHD diagnosed students in the classroom and the relationships that they create with their teachers. This project thus addresses four primary research questions: (1) How does the ADHD label impact teacher’s perceptions of their relationships with their diagnosed students?, (2) How do teachers understand and perceive an ADHD diagnosis?, (3) How do teacher’s treat their ADHD diagnosed students in comparison to their non-diagnosed students?, and (4) What expectations and beliefs do teachers hold for guardians of ADHD diagnosed students? Over the next six chapters, you will find an exploration and discussion of each of these questions utilizing a mixed methodological approach. Firstly, through the analysis of the ECLS-K:2011 longitudinal data, it discovers that ADHD diagnosed students are perceived as having poorer student-teacher relationships. In attempt to understand what might be contributing to these poorer student-teacher relationships, the qualitative chapters focus on exploring what teachers and school personnel understand and believe about ADHD. The qualitative data, which consists of 153 hours of classroom observations in middle school classrooms and 30 interviews with teachers and school personnel, reveals three main findings: (1) that most teachers and school personnel know very little about ADHD, (2) ADHD diagnosed students are treated the worst in their classrooms, and (3) that teachers and school personnel have very strong opinions and judgements about how parents should parent their diagnosed students. These findings provide more information on how pervasive negative stigma is for ADHD diagnosed students and has implications for the types of classrooms and policies that schools develop and implement.

Students can integrate into their higher education institution through their ethnoracial identity. Although some scholars see attachment to one’s culture and ethnic or racial group as a deficit, it has been suggested that having a positive relationship with one’s ethnic or racial identity is beneficial for students socially and academically. Many studies have looked at development of ethnoracial identity at predominantly white institutions. However, this study examines how Southeast Asian Students use the institution to form or maintain their ethnoracial identity at a predominantly nonwhite Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) and non-AANAPISI school. I find that students form or maintain their ethnoracial identity using three outlets at both Minority Serving Institutions: 1) Asian American Studies courses or related courses, 2) cultural organizations, and 3) cultural events. Those that used one or more of these outlets were more ethnoracially aware and used less colorblind language. Those that did not use these outlets used more colorblind language and did not see race or ethnicity as an identity that affected them or their peers. I found no differences in the processes among students between these two universities. The AANAPISI designation did not matter in the parameters of this study.

In this study, I examine how low-income Hmong, Chinese, and Mexican American students decide to pursue graduate school or not as well as the resources and networks they have for doing so at two public research universities. I ask the research questions: 1) What factors influence low-income and racially marginalized students’ aspirations to pursue graduate school?, 2) How does the formal and informal infrastructure of their educational institution influence their aspirations?, and 3) How are students racialized within this process? Through in-depth interviews with 48 students, I find that these students are independent in their decision-making of graduate school and other post-baccalaureate pathways. Because they are first-generation students and professionals, many of them lack mentors or family members whom they could ask about these pathways. Instead, they decide on what would be best for them and their future. Some do have university mentors who help them and steer them in new directions but very few have that support. Family members, especially parents, do aspire students to do better but do not pressure them into graduate school or certain career paths. I also find that students who are embedded in the research and academic networks are more likely to learn about graduate school than those not embedded in these networks. Lastly, I find that students use a transformational capital process to help them gain access to information, opportunities, and resources for graduate school or other post-baccalaureate goals. They transform the capital through seeking out mentorship, modeling what others are doing, and taking self-initiative to do things themselves. These findings show how underrepresented students create agency and capital in ways that benefit them. They also indicate how universities may fall short in helping these students prepare for graduate school or other post-baccalaureate pathways.