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The global educational landscape has grappled with unprecedented challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting a seismic shift from traditional instruction to ubiquitous online learning. This study, employing an exploratory mixed-methods approach with 890 participants from Saudi and United States (U.S.) higher education institutions, scrutinizes and compares the perspectives of undergraduate students on online learning during the pandemic. Multiple regression analyses reveal divergent associations between U.S. and Saudi participants, highlighting varied attributes such as interactivity, learning environment, time management, cost, flexibility, and resource accessibility. Despite these differences, commonalities emerge in participants’ views on teacher roles, learning quality, academic success, and social interaction in the online milieu. Thematic analysis uncovers challenges related to the swift transition, including resource inadequacies and perceptions of online teaching quality. Nevertheless, positive aspects of online learning, such as cost-effectiveness and flexibility, are emphasized, underscoring its growing importance in higher education amid the pandemic’s challenges.

In this Book Review on Dumbing us down: The hidden curriculum of compulsory schooling, Gatto shares some of his ideas concerning the American education system, inviting the readers to reexamine it, particularly its formal school settings. The author highlights common school practices that often go unnoticed that comprise the hidden curriculum. By unveiling these practices, Gatto affirms that the current school curriculum is designed to serve economic and political interests, instead of students' needs for learning. In his view, schools' aim to teach students rules of behavior that safeguards their obedience to abide by corporate capitalism demands. Gatto also presents harsh criticism explaining that the present crisis on education is related to an identity loss by American community values. Therefore, this publication aims to broaden the understanding about the hidden curriculum for those who wish to develop a critical examination of this topic.

The aim of this study was to investigate the conceptualizations and early childhood education (ECE) leadership practices among teachers and administrators. A case study was conducted at a community ECE center that mainly serves Hispanic and Haitian immigrant children and families in Southwest Florida. Three administrators and four ECE teachers were interviewed about their views and experiences with ECE leadership. After aggregating the data into clusters, five themes emerged: (1) vision-driven leadership, (2) inclusive leadership (3) practice-focused leadership, (4) freedom and ownership vs. close supervision, and (5) advocacy for ECE. The findings indicated that the participants held a shared vision of collaborative and inclusive ECE leadership, which was expanded to include culturally and linguistically diverse children and families. Also, the teachers highlighted a pedagogical leadership style that directly impacted their everyday classroom practices to facilitate children’s and parents’ leadership experiences. All participants advocated ECE programs in which quality early care and education are ensured through inclusive leadership. Both teachers’ and administrators’ willingness to invest in leadership training and practices indicated their commitment towards a shared and democratic leadership model which is a pathway toward social justice.

The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed several challenges to education, especially with the shift from traditional face-to-face to distance learning, affecting teaching and learning worldwide. While distance learning seemed to favor children of affluent families, students of low socioeconomic families faced additional challenges, like the lack of adequate resources to attend online classes and continue their education. Thus, in this study, schoolteachers’ experiences adapting their instructional strategies to distance learning were investigated. A qualitative case study examined and compared the experiences of a public-school and a private-school teacher with distance learning in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic school closures. The cases give insight into the strategies used and challenges experienced by the participants while attending to different student populations’ needs: marginalized and more affluent. Thematic analysis of the aggregated data indicated the participants’ similar distant teaching and learning experiences (disconnected interactions with their students) and distinct perspectives and commitments to teaching and their use of technology in education. Recommendations and implications for educators, administrators, and policymakers are included.

Yearly, thousands of international students seek the United States to further their education, bringing cultural and financial capital into the country. Though previous studies have examined international students’ experiences adapting to the receiving country, research is needed to investigate their lived experiences in a predominantly White institution (PWI). Thus, a narrative inquiry was applied to explore international students’ life stories at a PWI in Southwest Florida. Data collection comprised in-depth individual interviews with 12 participants that resulted in four themes: multiracial identities, otherness, self-representation in the dominant society, and perceptions of the dominant culture. The narratives revealed challenges related to isolation, segregation, and feelings of inferiority, contributing to understanding the value of diversity and global education in higher education. Recommendations are included to better serve international students in higher education institutions.

While the COVID-19 pandemic challenged educators, parents, and students to adapt to online learning, it significantly impacted Asian Americans, especially the Chinese immigrant families, with increased anti-Asian acts of racism and xenophobia. The case study investigated a Chinese immigrant family's experiences transitioning to online learning in the climate of anti-Chinese rhetoric in the United States. The case comprised a Chinese immigrant woman and her twins, a boy, and a girl, who were middle school students in a Northern California school district that transitioned to online learning in March 2020. Narrative interviews were conducted online and via telephone and analyzed using content analysis. The findings indicated the challenges in engaging students in online learning that impacted their interactions with classmates and their learning experiences. The findings also revealed the family's coping mechanisms for dealing with anti-Asian discrimination and prejudice against Chinese immigrants, an issue that the twin's school, teacher, and classmates seem to have ignored, according to their accounts. These mechanisms were grounded in their Chinese culture and parental involvement styles. The study emphasizes the need to educate teachers on the use of technology and online teaching to middle school students, the value of Chinese parental involvement in their children's education, and the dangers of bias, discrimination, and microaggressions to promote inclusive classrooms. The results will benefit the development of online teaching and learning and touch upon students' diversity, policy makers' strategies, and the quality of the learning environment.

Intercultural competence reflects higher education institutions’ commitment to the internationalization of campus, programs, and curricula and results in attracting/retaining international students. Numerous studies explore international students’ challenges adapting to the receiving country; however, limited research investigates their experiences with intercultural competence. Thus, a phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the lived experiences of 12 international students with intercultural competence at a Southwest Florida university. The constant comparison method identified three dimensions of the participants’ lived experiences: institutional, curricular, and interpersonal. The findings indicated a lack of intercultural competence in each dimension, significantly impacting students’ academic and social experiences.

Intercultural competence reflects higher education institutions' commitment to the internationalization of campus, programs, and curricula and results in attracting/retaining international students. Numerous studies explore international students' challenges adapting to the receiving country; however, limited research investigates their experiences with intercultural competence. Thus, a phenomenological study was conducted to investigate the lived experiences of 12 international students with intercultural competence at a Southwest Florida university. The constant comparison method identified three dimensions of the participants' lived experiences: institutional, curricular, and interpersonal. The findings indicated a lack of intercultural competence in each dimension, significantly impacting students' academic and social experiences.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of graduate students about the need for a multicultural education course at doctoral level in a mid-sized higher education public institution in Southwest Florida. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study method was applied with multiple sources of data collected, including semi-structured interviews, observations and students’ written papers, online discussions and assignments that aimed to prepare educators to teach culturally diverse students and challenge their own perceptions about culture, race and other multicultural education-related topics. Findings The findings indicate that, even though the multicultural education course promoted an eye-opening transformational experience for students through their interactions and learning from each other, the students still need further training in multicultural education because of their limited culturally responsive teaching skills. Research limitations/implications Limitations of the study are that both the researchers were deeply involved with the material and the class, as the class professor and one of the students, which might have affected the authors’ perception about the students’ journey in learning about multicultural education. The researchers’ dual-role (as researchers and course professor and graduate assistant) might have influenced the participants’ responses, as they knew they were part of a research project. Thus, the participants’ spontaneity in sharing their opinions and beliefs about multicultural education may have been hampered, perhaps responding what the researchers expected rather than with their authentic perspectives on the topics. Practical implications The implications of this study to teachers, educators and practitioners are that it invites the readers to reflect on their academic preparedness to work with culturally diverse students. For policymakers, the study indicates the need for creating standards that aim to examine in-service graduate student teachers about their self-efficacy, readiness and dispositions to work with culturally diverse students. Originality/value Because of the limited publications on doctoral students learning multicultural education, the authors’ study offers an important insight into the transformational experience of doctoral students learning multicultural education and the implications for improving graduate courses in multicultural education.

Culture and heritage language (HL) preservation are crucial to developing children of immigrants' ethnic and social identity, creating a sense of belonging, and fostering family and ethnic community support. However, numerous challenges permeate the experiences of underrepresented ethnolinguistic groups like Brazilian immigrants who are largely invisible in the United States. Therefore, this study investigated the lived experiences of second-generation Brazilian adolescents with culture and HL preservation. In-depth interviews and a focus group were conducted with 13 participants. The findings highlighted the participants' embrace of their Brazilian ethnic identity and rejection of their American citizenship, and emphasized HL in affirming their identities and confronting discrimination.