UCLA School of Education and Information Studies

Historically, scholars have researched and discussed Central Americans in fields such as sociology, migration studies, and anthropology. However, there is a limited amount of literature in the field of education and more so in higher education, that addresses the unique experiences of Central Americans in the U.S. educational system (Torres, 2004). As an part of a larger study, this paper documents and analyzes the testimonios of thirty-five first and second generation Central American youth who have attended high school and college in the U.S. By applying a Critical Race Theory (CRT) analysis (in conjunction with other frameworks) to the testimonios of the thirty-five youth, we find that amidst severe class, race, and gender discrimination in schools, the youth are able to be extremely resilient. Through their testimonios, we also argue that it is important for education systems to pay closer to attention to the heterogeneity of the Latinx population in the U.S. to not further marginalization already marginalized communities.

Guided by a phenomenological approach, this qualitative study examines the resilience and cultural wealth of Latino men as they navigate the transfer process at a two-year community college. This study conducted four semi-structured interviews to highlight how, despite facing difficult circumstances, individual factors along with their aspirational and navigational capital positively impact Latino men in higher education. Ultimately, this study aims for four things (a) to add to the limited amount of research of Latino men in community college (b) to display the success of Latino men in higher education (c) to challenge deficit notions of Latino men in higher education and (d) to provide findings that will inform the community college sector of the Latino men transfer experience.

U.S. Central Americans: Reconstructing Memories, Struggles, and Communities of Resistance is a critical anthology focusing on the narratives, experiences, and complexities of the Central American diaspora. Historically, scholarly work has addressed Central Americans through the eyes of “outsiders”, trauma, war, and violence; while this anthology highlights those very real and traumatic histories, it also centralizes the histories of Central American resilience and resistance. At a time when Central American youth are migrating to the U.S. alone and the presidential administration sees Central American youth and their families as bargaining chips in immigration policy, this anthology presents us with a critical examination of the U.S. interventions that have propelled migration to the U.S. Within a U.S. context, the contributing authors examine questions of identity, cultural production, gendered experiences, and transnationalism. Although the anthology is not grounded in the field of education, it is a valuable contribution to any scholar who is invested in Latinx student success and equity by providing the language and analysis necessary to understand the complexities and heterogeneity of Latinxs in the U.S.

EDUCACIÓN is a piece that brings my work as an artist, educator, activist, and scholar together. It is a re-interpretation of the original border crossing sign displayed on the Interstate 5 near the San Diego-Tijuana border.

Through in-depth archival research, David G. García offers a historical narrative on the educational inequalities in Oxnard, CA in between 1903 and 1974.

Adolescence involves extensive brain maturation, characterized by social sensitivity and emotional lability, that co-occurs with increased independence. Mid-adolescence is also a hallmark developmental stage when youths become motivated to reflect on the broader personal, ethical, and systems-level implications of happenings, a process we term transcendent thinking. Here, we examine the confluence of these developmental processes to ask, from a transdisciplinary perspective, how might community violence exposure (CVE) impact brain development during mid-adolescence, and how might youths dispositions for transcendent thinking be protective? Fifty-five low-SES urban youth with no history of delinquency (32 female; 27 Latinx, 28 East Asian) reported their CVE and underwent structural MRI first at age 14-18, and again 2 years later. At the studys start, participants also discussed their feelings about 40 minidocumentaries featuring other teens compelling situations in a 2-h private interview that was transcribed and coded for transcendent thinking. Controlling for CVE and brain structure at the start: (1) New CVE during the 2-year inter-scan interval was associated with greater gray matter volume (GMV) reduction over that interval in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a central network hub whose reduced volume has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, and across multiple additional cortical and subcortical regions; (2) participants transcendent thinking in the interview independently predicted greater GMV increase during the 2-year inter-scan interval in the ACC. Findings highlight the continued vulnerability of mid-adolescents to community violence and the importance of supporting teens dispositions to reflect on the complex personal and systems-level implications and affordances of their civic landscape.

BACKGROUND: Interventions facilitated by caregivers have gained popularity among those caring for young children with autism. Instructing caregivers on specific techniques to foster social communication skills in their at-risk or diagnosed autistic children has the potential to alleviate concerns about their childrens development. Moreover, it can offer a more intensive early intervention compared to what community providers alone can deliver. This study seeks to explore the correlation between caregiver strategies employed prior to participating in a caregiver-mediated intervention and the caregivers fidelity to the intervention, as well as its sustainability during the follow-up period and child outcomes. This study constitutes a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial that compared the joint attention, symbolic play, engagement, and regulation (JASPER) and Psychoeducational Education Intervention (PEI), revealing significant advancements in childrens social communication skills with the JASPER intervention. METHODS: Eighty-six children (average age 31.5 months) with ASD and their primary caregivers enrolled in the two armed randomized trial evaluating the effect of JASPER versus PEI. Generalized linear mixed models were used to model the longitudinal trajectories of the outcomes. RESULTS: Results indicated that caregivers in the JASPER intervention made more gains in overall JASPER strategies and individual domain strategies (environment, prompt, communication, mirrored pacing) compared to the caregivers in PEI (ps < 0.01) from baseline to exit. While both groups regressed some in overall and subdomain strategies at follow-up, caregivers in the JASPER intervention maintained more overall, and specifically in communication, and mirrored pacing strategies compared to PEI group (ps < 0.05). Further, baseline caregiver strategies moderated the treatment effect of childs joint attention skills from exit to follow-up (p = 0.002), where JASPER dyads with high caregiver strategy use at baseline continued to improve in JA skills post exit, whereas all other children did not. CONCLUSION: In summary, understanding caregiver style of interaction before intervention on caregiver fidelity and maintenance from exit to follow up and child progress is important to improving intervention uptake and child outcomes.

While laboratory and school playground-based independent evaluator (IE) rated measures of intervention outcome have been used in some clinical trials for autistic individuals (Dawson Pediatrics 125:e17-e23, 2010), IE ratings of children's behavior in their home environments are virtually nonexistent in published clinical trials in autism. In the present study, IE-rated measure of children's social isolation in the home setting pre and post intervention is utilized to evaluate treatment effects from a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment for school-aged children on the autism spectrum (Wood et al. J Consult Clin Psychol 89:110-125, 2021). Twenty-nine of the 68 families of participants from a CBT intervention for autistic youth (Wood et al. J Consult Clin Psychol 89:110-125, 2021) who recorded home-based videos at pre-treatment also did so at post-treatment. Two measures were used by IEs to rate pre- and post-treatment home video recordings on children's social isolation (Children's Household-Environment Engagement Rating Scale; CHEERS, (Wood et al. Br J Clin Psychol, 2024) and Social Interaction Rating Scale (SIRS; Ruble et al. Topics Early Childhood Special Educ). Children in the CBT condition had a statistically significantly greater decline in CHEERS Solitary scores than did children in the Enhanced Standard Community Treatment (ESCT) condition. An increase in SIRS Responsive Parenting scores from pre- to post-treatment was statistically significantly linked with a decrease in Solitary scores. This study suggests that CBT-based interventions may be able to facilitate a positive impact on children's social engagement in their home environment. This study provides an informative lens for considering the contextual validity of interventions for autistic children with IE-rated measures.

The quality of care in public schools and other community settings for school-aged youths on the autism spectrum is variable and often not evidence-based. Training practitioners in these settings to deliver evidence-based practices (EBPs) may improve the quality of care. We developed a free internet-based training and clinical guidance system synthesizing multiple EBPs for youth on the autism spectrum addressing a range of mental health needs and autism-related behaviors, entitled Modular EBPs for Youth on the Autism Spectrum (MEYA; meya.ucla.edu). A multiple baseline study was conducted with seven practitioners recruited from mental health practice settings across the United States who were providing services to children on the autism spectrum (aged 6 to 17 years). Practitioners were randomly assigned to undergo baseline conditions of 2 to 8 weeks. Once online training in MEYA commenced, practitioners engaged in algorithm-guided self-instruction in EBPs for autism. Participants video-recorded sessions. Independent coders used the MEYA Fidelity Scale (MEYA-FS) to rate adherence and competence in EBPs for autism. Practitioners also completed measures pertaining to implementation outcomes and parents rated youth outcomes on personalized target behaviors. Five of seven practitioners increased their adherence to MEYA practices (i.e., MEYA-FS scores) following MEYA training. Findings for competence were similar, though somewhat less robust. Practitioners generally viewed MEYA as feasible, understandable, and acceptable. Most youth outcomes improved during MEYA. A randomized, controlled trial of MEYA would be helpful in characterizing its effectiveness for supporting practitioner EBP implementation and youth outcomes in school and community service settings.