Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership at Old Dominion University and Faculty Affiliate in the Office of Community College Research and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
About
Mauriell Amechi, PhD is a social scientist, professor, scholar-activist, and speaker committed to educational equity and improving college outcomes and opportunities for marginalized learners. Amechi's scholarly interests and advocacy center on issues of educational equity, intersectionality, college access, transitions, and persistence to degree completion for underserved student populations. His latest research examines the experiences and educational pathways of transition-age young adults with foster care experience. The National Resource Center on the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition, National Association for Campus Activities, and the ACPA Foundation have generously sponsored his scholarship.
Current Work:
Dr. Amechi's upcoming project will explore issues of intersectionality within the foster care population. The study aims to explore the college pathways of students of color with disabilities and involvement in the foster care system and how they navigate to and persist through higher education. The knowledge gained from this study will allow practitioners and policymakers to consider how to provide appropriate supports to enhance student success and engagement. Dr. Amechi seeks to publish on the results obtained and add to the limited scope of empirical research on college student populations who emerge from foster care backgrounds and have a disability.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Educational equity, foster youth, intersectionality, college access, college transitions, persistence, critical theory, qualitative inquiry
