(M)othering Labeled Children

This book explores the experiences and identities of minoritized Latinx mothers who are raising a child who is labeled as both an emergent bilingual and dis/abled. It showcases relationships between families and schools and reveals the ways in which school-based decisions regarding disability, language and academic placement impact family dynamics.

Underrepresented racial minorities in biomedical informatics doctoral programs: graduation trends and academic placement (2002–2017)

Objective Biomedical informatics attracts few underrepresented racial minorities (URMs) into PhD programs. We examine graduation trends from 2002 to 2017 to determine how URM representation has changed over time. We also examine academic job placements by race and identify individual and institutional characteristics associated with URM graduates being successfully placed in academic jobs. Materials and Methods We analyze a near census of all research doctoral graduates from US-accredited institutions, surveyed at graduation by the National Science Foundation Survey of Earned Doctorates. Graduates of biomedical informatics-related programs were identified using self-reported primary and secondary disciplines. Data are analyzed using bivariate and multivariable logistic regressions. Results During the study period, 2426 individuals earned doctoral degrees in biomedical informatics-related disciplines. URM students comprised nearly 12% of graduates, and this proportion did not change over time (2002–2017). URMs included Hispanic (5.7%), Black (3.2%), and others, including multi-racial and indigenous American populations (2.8%). Overall, 82.3% of all graduates accepted academic positions at the time of graduation with significantly more Hispanic graduates electing to go into academia (89.2%; P < .001). URM graduates were more likely to be single (OR = 1.38; P < .05), have a dependent (1.95; P < .01), and not receive full tuition remission (OR = 1.37; P = .05) as a student. URM graduates accepting an academic position were less likely to be a graduate of a private institution (OR = 0.70; P < .05). Discussion and Conclusion The proportion of URM candidates among biomedical informatics doctoral graduates has not increased over time and remains low. In order to improve URM recruitment and retention within academia, leaders in biomedical informatics should replicate strategies used to improve URM graduation rates in other fields.

How does reserve capacity influences transition into upper secondary school among adolescent Finns?

Background Educational inequalities occur when differences in educational outcomes are more strongly related to students' background than their own academic efforts. During adolescence, psychosocial resources such as social support and self-efficacy, collectively termed “reserve capacity” may serve as a pathway to educational transitions and help reduce educational inequalities. We study how reserve capacity affects transition of adolescents into upper secondary school in terms of non-placement or placement into vocational or academic track. Methods We use data from 9th graders in 128 schools at the 14 municipalities of Helsinki Metropolitan region who participated in the MetLoFin follow-up survey in 2014 (n = 7,344 students). The data were linked with the national Joint Application Registry containing information on whether student was placed in academic (65%) or vocational (32%) track or had no placement (3%) for upper secondary schools. Multinomial logistic regression models, adjusted for sex and school, were fitted to analyse the effect of students' background and reserve capacity on type of educational placement. Results Students whose parents had low education were more likely to be in vocational than academic track compared to those whose parents had high education (OR = 2.5 95% CI: 2.1-3.0). Having a foreign background increased the risk of having no placement than academic placement (OR = 1.5 95% CI: 1.1-2.2) compared to native students. Low social support and low self-efficacy predicted vocational placement of students relative to academic track but not no placement compared to academic placement. Academic grades remained strongest predictor of placement. Conclusions Students' background still determine educational outcomes, but psychosocial resources could likely reduce educational inequalities and ensure successful educational transitions in adolescence. Key messages Social backgrounds impact adolescents’ educational transitions. Adding students’ psychosocial resources could reduce educational inequalities.

The Duplicity of Equality: An Analysis of Academic Placement in a Racially Diverse School and a Black Community

Background/Context For more than four decades, researchers have shown that African American students are overrepresented in lower-track classes, while their White peers tend to be in advanced courses. In the past twenty years, school districts have implemented detracking reforms that stressed self-selection policies as an alternative to separate academic paths, yet quantitative data still show that most African American students are not attending upper-level or advanced classes in racially diverse schools. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of study This study explores how African American parents come to terms with academic placement, and the mechanisms that impact their child's educational experiences in a racially diverse school while coming from a segregated high-poverty African-American community. Setting Research took place in a racially diverse suburban school and city. The suburban city is a microcosm of the United States, not only because of the racial and economic diversity of its school district, but also because its story encapsulates the plight of many African Americans in relation to the Great Migration, segregation, disinvested neighborhoods, and systemic inequalities. Population/participants/Subjects Participants included 26 African American parents, many of whom attended the same school district and experienced their own lower-track placement. Research Design Ethnographic methods, which include interviews and observations, were used to explore the research questions. African American parents were individually interviewed about their own educational experiences, children's academic placement, family background, interactions with the school system, community issues, and perceptions of the middle school and city. Findings/Results African American students and their parents were a product of intergenera-tional tracking. Parents and their children had experienced lower-track courses. In addition, the exposure of African American students and parents to systemic inequalities in their home and community heavily influenced their academic placement and overall educational experiences. Moreover, tracking in this school was not necessarily about abilities and skills but also about separating African American students and creating a formal semblance of equality that actually reinforced systemic inequalities, a reality captured in the phrase “duplicity of equality.”