A Note from the Editorial Team

This issue of the Journal of College Reading and Learning provides a small taste of the diverse issues of importance to members of the College Reading and Learning Association, spanning multiple student populations and subject areas. In terms of student population, we include papers focusing on students from specific cultural (Sarker & Paulson) and linguistic (İhtiyaryer & Altun) backgrounds, as well as (potential) students who are currently incarcerated (Lollar, Mueller, and Anthony). In terms of subject area, the papers of the issue cover mathematics (Ray, Herron, & Bullock), developmental literacy (Sarker & Paulson), and English language learning (İhtiyaryer & Altun). We hope you find something that piques your interest and informs your practice in this varied issue. We begin this issue with “Students in Correctional Education: Developmental Education’s Forgotten Population,” by Jonathan Lollar, Carol Leah Mueller, and Wes Anthony. Using previously published data, the authors compare prison and household samples to identify potential differences in educational aspirations and attainment, use of basic skills (reading, writing, and math) activities, first-generation status, and literacy and numeracy proficiency scores. They found that incarcerated individuals tended to have lower educational attainment, lower numeracy and literacy proficiency scores, and a higher likelihood of having first-generation status. Nevertheless, many in the prison population had educational aspirations. The authors argue that increased developmental education supports in prisons have the potential to help incarcerated individuals reach their educational goals. On July 1, 2023, around the time of this issue’s publication, incarcerated individuals will become eligible to receive Pell Grants to support their learning through eligible prison education programs (“Eligibility,” 2023), making this a particularly timely issue. In “Exploring Mathematics Vocabulary Alignment in a Future Elementary Teacher’s Trajectory: A Case Study,” Amy Ray, Julie Herron & Emma Bullock conduct a qualitative analysis of an elementary foundations mathematics course and the mathematics vocabulary encountered by pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they engage with the curriculum at various stages of course preparation. Guided by tenets of constructivism, the authors took a semester at a mid-sized university to answer two research questions: 1) What is the key vocabulary that elementary PSTs need to know? and 2) How is the key vocabulary JOURNAL OF COLLEGE READING AND LEARNING 2023, VOL. 53, NO. 3, 167–169 https://doi.org/10.1080/10790195.2023.2222564