2 research outputs found
Creating Equitable Access Pathways For All Students In South Carolina? A Study Of SC International Baccalaureate Diploma Programs
This case study adds insight to the idea of equitable access as it relates to advanced coursework available to students in public high schools in South Carolina. The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP) has become a viable choice since secondary-level magnet programs in SC have taken root for over thirty years. The IBDP originally developed in SC to attract the global elite, however in the recent decade, the IBDP has morphed into a program meant for all students. The concept of IB for All is marketed as a college readiness program within South Carolina IBDP schools. Access is multidimensional; it includes educational policies, leadership, and practices heavily shaped by the local-school policy actors. However, my analysis demonstrates that access is also a socio-cultural construct, formulated, or redefined, year after year in schools. The perspectives of IBDP coordinators from across the state of SC generated the central insights analyzed in this dissertation. Based on their responses to an initial questionnaire, coordinators were interviewed individually providing rich details about the patterns of change throughout the state. Then, focus groups and further one-on-one interviews were conducted with other key participants providing an historic and broader perspective from the state and national levels. This inquiry adds insight to the idea of what access to the IBDP looks like in relation to school reform, choice, integration, and giftedness. This case study presents the multidimensionality of access and will inform choice implementation through leveling the field for equitable opportunities for SC students to choose the IBDP option for college readiness
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Host factors are associated with vaginal microbiome structure in pregnancy in the ECHO Cohort Consortium
Using pooled vaginal microbiota data from pregnancy cohorts (N = 683 participants) in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program, we analyzed 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences to identify clinical and demographic host factors that associate with vaginal microbiota structure in pregnancy both within and across diverse cohorts. Using PERMANOVA models, we assessed factors associated with vaginal community structure in pregnancy, examined whether host factors were conserved across populations, and tested the independent and combined effects of host factors on vaginal community state types (CSTs) using multinomial logistic regression models. Demographic and social factors explained a larger amount of variation in the vaginal microbiome in pregnancy than clinical factors. After adjustment, lower education, rather than self-identified race, remained a robust predictor of L. iners dominant (CST III) and diverse (CST IV) (OR = 8.44, 95% CI = 4.06–17.6 and OR = 4.18, 95% CI = 1.88–9.26, respectively). In random forest models, we identified specific taxonomic features of host factors, particularly urogenital pathogens associated with pregnancy complications (Aerococcus christensenii and Gardnerella spp.) among other facultative anaerobes and key markers of community instability (L. iners). Sociodemographic factors were robustly associated with vaginal microbiota structure in pregnancy and should be considered as sources of variation in human microbiome studies