ELPS Presenters
Travis Miller
An Ecosystems Approach to Understanding K-12 Student Homelessness
Email: travismiller@ku.edu
This project will utilize a socio-ecological, ecosystem-based framework to investigate the ways in which student homelessness across Kansas districts varies with local housing contexts. Kansas has experienced fluctuations in student homelessness across districts over the past decade, with certain types of nighttime residence (such as staying at a shelter or temporarily at a hotel) varying at different rates across different geographic contexts. By using both Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) district-level and federal McKinney-Vento Program data on nighttime residence status from 2010 through 2023, the project sets out to design district homelessness “profiles” and attempts to conceptualize each of the four nighttime residence categories in terms of an interconnected ecological niche within broader housing trends. Tracing the path of social-ecological tradition (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Alford & Head, 2017), the analysis treats these nighttime residency categories not as nominal data, but rather as portraying specific adaptive responses to shifts in local resource constraints, housing patterns, and institutional capacities.
These socio-ecological niches are further developed by using Kansas housing indicators, specifically measures of rent burden and vacancy rates from the American Community Survey. This linkage will help examine whether districts experiencing certain ecological housing stressors reveal distinctive transitions across nighttime residence categories over time. By illuminating the ecological drivers that structure how Kansas students experience homelessness across districts, the findings will assist policymakers, educators, and community leaders with developing a clearer understanding of how local housing conditions shape educational stability.
Juan David
Martinez Zayas
Email:
jdelfos16@ku.edu
Heritage and Loss: Cultural Resilience and Linguistic Challenges of the Mopan an Endangered Language in Guatemala
In the multilingual and culturally diverse town of San Luis, Petén, Guatemala, the Mopan language occupies a marginalized position within both community life and formal education. Despite its deep historical and cultural roots, Mopan has experienced progressive displacement due to the dominance of Spanish and enduring structural inequalities. This qualitative case study examines how Mopan is positioned in local school settings and how community-based initiatives challenge linguistic hierarchies, negotiate cultural tensions, and promote language revitalization. Grounded in theories of language hierarchy and linguistic negotiation (Canagarajah & Silberstein, 2012), the study explores how language functions as a site of power, resistance, and identity construction within Indigenous contexts in Central America.
Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eight professionals affiliated with the Academia de la Lengua Maya Mopan, complemented by document analysis and site observation. Following a case study methodology (Yin, 2009), interview transcripts were coded thematically to identify patterns related to language hierarchy and education, racism and linguicism, and identity and community values. Findings reveal persistent linguistic tensions, particularly among younger generations who predominantly use Spanish in domestic and educational spaces. Participants highlighted the limited institutional support and insufficient government intervention as major barriers to sustaining Mopan within the education system.
Despite these challenges, the study documents the active role of the Academia de la Lengua Maya Mopan in developing community-driven strategies for language preservation, intergenerational collaboration, and cultural affirmation. The findings underscore the need for inclusive language policies, professional training in Indigenous languages, and stronger integration of Mopan into formal education. These dynamics reflect broader global patterns faced by endangered minority languages and contribute to discussions on linguicism, social justice, and Indigenous language revitalization.
Margaret Wachira &
Rocio Arasy Chamorro Jara
Navigating Uncertainty: KU International Students’ Lived Experiences of U.S. Policy Shifts
Recent research has demonstrated that shifts in visa and migration policies profoundly affect international students’ well-being and educational experiences. However, we know little about the specific impacts of policy changes introduced under current U.S. federal administrations beginning in 2025. This study examines the lived experiences of international graduate students at the University of Kansas (KU) amid evolving federal immigration policies, using policy pervasion and uncertainty as guiding analytical concepts. Through a qualitative case study design with purposive sampling, we conducted in-depth interviews with KU international graduate students to explore how they interpret policy shifts, how these policies shape their academic and personal lives, and the strategies they employ to cope with ongoing uncertainty. We triangulated interview data with institutional communications and federal policy announcements, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of the communication environment and its effects.
Findings reveal students’ heightened anxiety and uncertainty, particularly regarding legal status, financial stability, and future planning. In response, students adopted a range of coping strategies, including self-reliance through budgeting and contingency planning, reliance on trusted faculty mentors, participation in culturally grounded student organizations, and strict adherence to compliance guidelines. Access to supportive campus networks strengthened students’ sense of community and stability, while the absence of such support exacerbated uncertainty. These findings point to urgent institutional implications for KU and similar universities. Campus communications should move beyond warnings to include clear information on students’ rights and resources. Increased coordination between International Student Services and Legal Services, clearer institutional emails, and careful contextualization of federal updates may help mitigate unintended harm.
Keywords: international students; uncertainty; policy pervasion; legal precarity; higher education.
Nolan Schad
Email: nolanschad@ku.edu
Graduate Student Socialization and the
Digital Age
This qualitative comparative case study will analyze the socialization process of doctoral students from three different departments from the University of Kansas. Rather than focusing on the end goals of doctoral study (e.g., professorship, research, industry work, etc.) this study is concerned with how doctoral students experience the continual process of becoming a graduate student and conceptualizes the status of being a graduate student as both means and end – a simultaneous process and thing that one becomes. Furthermore, this study aims to contribute to existing doctoral student socialization scholarship by theorizing how advancements in technology impact the socialization process. In particular, this study will also investigate how online spaces shape doctoral student identity, such as the long-distance relationships that can be formed and maintained due to the affordances of modern technology, or the impact of developments like generative artificial intelligence (genAI) and large language models (LLMs), and how different departments react and establish socialization norms with regards to technology.