Global trends in the rich world, filtered through America’s unique two-party system, have transformed each party’s coalition and reinforced contrasting views of expertise. Although the rise of social issues and the rising importance of education are transnational, they raise unique challenges for each major American party. Each side has responded by shifting its agenda and public image. Democratic politicians have balanced their instinctive reluctance to alienate culturally traditionalist voting blocs against internal pressure from party members for a socially progressive, intellectually erudite, and demographically diverse party leadership. Republicans have been compelled to defer to a popular conservative media apparatus that promotes aversion to social transformation and hostility to claims of expertise by nonconservative authorities. Barack Obama (the wonky advocate of social change) and Donald Trump (the plain-spoken, nostalgic nemesis of experts) both personify their respective parties. These party leaders repel as well as attract, reinforcing our two-sided politics.

The Conservative effect is notable in education, with several reforms at the department, beginning with the most (and only) successful Education Secretary Michael Gove and continuing throughout the ten Education Secretaries over the remaining ten years. The rapid churn made for inconsistent policymaking, and a lack of long-term planning. It ends with the Conservatives’ role in guiding the education system through Covid, and the return to ambitious plans under the final PM, Rishi Sunak. The chapter will also scrutinise Conservative higher education and university policy, and whether there was an opportunity wasted with universities.

Using both the Petcoff and Palaganas studies as a point of departure, this chapter looks at the more general educational implications of bringing emoji into pedagogical practices. The underlying premise is that emoji not only are highly understandable images, aiding learning but also can create a positive environment, making teaching and interaction congenial and open to all learners, no matter their backgrounds or learning capacities, since emoji give them an equal voice. Emoji allow for a destigmatized approach, especially for disadvantaged learners who might not be able to adequately speak for themselves. Emoji are a psychological conduit that can easily open up lines of interaction to virtually everyone. Once this is achieved, any subject matter, from English to mathematics, can be imparted broadly through any type of learning style.

Chapter 1 offers an in-depth, historically based discussion of the research on emoji and on matters of general concern regarding this unique type of visual character, along with a rationale for the need for a comprehensive treatment of emoji in education. The authors describe the reasons for focusing on higher education, particularly health professional education. They begin by examining the background work on emoji theory and research and offer initial insights into the discourse and semiotic functions of the emoji code. Such functions form the basis for considering the emoji code as a teaching tool that may be used to craft hybrid literacy-focused instruction (textual and visual). The discursive and recursive properties of emoji form the basis of semioliteracy, a theory that one of the authors (Petcoff) contends offers a basis for emoji use in developmental reading and writing and across several higher education academic fields. Specifically, the chapter addresses the potential use of emoji as a literacy instruction tool in both higher education and healthcare professional education.

The children of Afghan refugees provide important insight into the way that universities can be crucial sites of racial formation. This chapter explores how second-generation Afghan American college students navigate their racial and ethnic identities and build community on a college campus. The results are drawn from a qualitative study conducted at George Mason University, located in Northern Virginia, which is home to one of the largest Afghan diaspora populations in the country. Findings revealed the disparate impact that the withdrawal of the US military and subsequent arrival of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees into the United States had on students, the role of family and collectivist culture in their decision-making, how ethnic student organizations were a method of ethnic preservation and co-ethnic support, and how attending a university with a large Afghan student population exposed internal conflicts within the community. This chapter provides important insight for universities aiming to create inclusive environments and support the diverse experiences of second-generation immigrants, Muslim, and Afghan American students.

This chapter aims to provide recommendations for how colleges can best support working college students of immigrant origin. It examines which challenges these students encounter when juggling full-time studies with working 20 or more hours a week during the academic year. Drawing on findings from qualitative, semi-structured interviews with twenty-four undergraduate students of immigrant origin in the northeastern United States, we show that these students face a confluence of challenges. The participants experienced academic, emotional, and social difficulties resulting from a time deficit and found the unpredictability of work hours and schedules challenging. They reported stress, anxiety, emotional depletion, sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and a lack of faculty support. We offer program and policy suggestions for higher education administrations and faculty to stem this confluence of challenges. These include gathering institutional data about the labor force engagement of their student population, vetting jobs on and near campus for their “student friendliness” (set time schedules and predictable, limited hours), and educating students about which jobs are student-friendly.

This chapter seeks to investigate the impact of culturally competent mentoring on college readiness for students of immigrant origin through qualitative data. Drawing from fifty-four interviews with undergraduate students at a 4-year, Minority Serving Institution, this chapter investigates how varied mentoring experiences with college preparation, at both institutional and individual levels, impact the transition into college for students of immigrant origin. We find that students identify positive experiences with both individual and institutional culturally competent mentoring. This support provides the tools to navigate from high school to college. Additionally, interview participants identify specific behaviors and practices of their mentors that align with culturally competent pedagogy. However, students who navigate through high school with culturally competent support do not necessarily find those same conditions translate to their experiences at a four-year institution. Therefore, we argue that culturally competent individual mentorship and institutional/programmatic support are critical for preparing students to enter college as well as during their higher education journeys.

Since the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, Black immigrants have migrated to the United States in increasing numbers (Tamir & Anderson, 2022) and have helped transform the Black population (Kent, 2007) in the United States broadly and within higher education (George Mwangi, 2014). Despite their racialization, experiences, and collective interests among Black students, Black immigrant collegians’ histories are distinct from Black students who are descendants of enslaved Africans. Even though they have specific educational and cultural supports to address their needs, Black immigrant collegian experiences are often understudied or excluded from immigrant scholarship (George Mwangi, 2014; Hutchinson, 2018). Further ignored are the impacts of colonialism and marginalization in US culture that shape Black immigrant student experiences (Kasinitz, 2008). This chapter analyzes institutional forces that impact Black immigrant experiences on US campuses, with particular attention to broader histories of colonialism and marginalization. We utilize an emergent framework, Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (Museus & Smith, 2016), to explore how Black immigrants navigate higher education.

Drawing upon interview data from a yearlong study with fourteen children of Latinx immigrants applying to college, I explore how students’ visions of their futures shape their college decision-making processes. I utilize possible selves theory as a guiding framework, which speaks to how people imagine who they may become in the future and can guide their actions (Markus & Nurius, 1986). I explore the following research questions: (1) how do children of Latinx immigrants conceive of their possible futures, both within higher education and beyond?, (2) what is the connection between student and familial pasts in the conceptualization of educational futures, and (3) how do students’ conceptualizations of the future shape their higher education decision-making? What I find is that students think about various possible versions of themselves simultaneously in their decision-making. This chapter contributes to current research on college choice/decision-making, the application of possible selves theory to postsecondary education, and increased insight on the role of immigrant origins in the construction of higher education aspirations among the children of Latinx immigrants.

This chapter explores the legislative history of immigration and higher education, shedding light on the challenges faced by undocumented students in the US education system. Using findings from a qualitative study with undocumented students who left higher education, the chapter examines the barriers faced by students that affected their decisions to leave higher education, including financial need, imposter syndrome, and disclosure of identity. It also looks at the impact of interactions with peers, family pressure, and changing campus resources on student persistence. This chapter offers recommendations for support and retention of these students, including guidance during the transition from high school, advising, fostering a sense of community, and direct support services.