Despite music education being endorsed by researchers as an effective tool to improve the social-emotional competence of students who live in poverty, African American students, who are overrepresented among the population of students who live in poverty, often fail to take advantage of music education programs (Elpus & Abril, 2011; Hoffman…

This dissertation explores teacher preparedness to engage with a diverse Westo, Georgia, student population effectively. The study emphasizes the pivotal role played by teacher training and ongoing professional development in shaping this preparedness. Employing a quantitative research approach, the investigation evaluates the preparedness levels…

Extension program participants tell story after story of the impact of Cooperative Extension on their lives, their families, and their businesses. Despite huge amounts of qualitative data, very little quantitative data exist showing the aggregated public value of Extension programs--especially across program areas. The lack of data leaves…

The CPI Mid-Term Assessment provides insights from the first two years of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF)® Career Pathways Initiative (CPI). The authors derived insights from a comprehensive view of the experience of UNCF's Institute for Capacity Building (ICB) and the network of institutions implementing the program. To facilitate continuous…

At-risk students' participation in after-school programming is one-way schools are responding to the lagging literacy scores in the U.S. This program evaluation attempted to inform after-school program stakeholders by examining the relationship between participants' attendance in a 21st Century Community Learning Center after-school program…

In this study, we assessed the feasibility and social validity of an adapted approach to positive behavior interventions and supports (PBIS) implementation in secure juvenile facilities. The authors developed a comprehensive model of facility-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (FW-PBIS) for use in secure juvenile correctional…

Professional Development School Partnerships have the potential to provide unique experiences for teacher candidates and also provide important professional development for the K-12 school personnel involved in the relationship. According to the National Association of Professional Development Schools (2008), a key essential to a successful…

Bullying continues to be a major concern in U.S. schools and is the focus of myriad prevention and intervention efforts. Researchers have recently cited school-wide positive behavior interventions and supports (SWPBIS) as a prevention framework for reducing school-based bullying. Therefore, we examined the effect of universal SWPBIS implemented…

Flexible grouping aims to divide students into groups according to their strengths and abilities. This will allow teachers to tailor instruction to meet the needs of students, allowing them to thrive within their current environments. Quantitative research was used to investigate whether flexible grouping had a positive effect on student…

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe program is a residential, quasi-military program that serves young people ages 16 to 18 who are struggling to complete their high school credential. This is the ninth report in an annual series that RAND researchers have issued. The prior annual reports cover 2015 through 2022. Each annual report documents the…

College stops before it really begins for far too many students. These students enroll in college only to be told that they are not ready for college-level coursework. Historically, colleges and universities have attempted to close this gap by placing these students, who are disproportionately Black, Latinx, or experiencing poverty, in…

The federal Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) created the Behavioral Interventions for Child Support Services (BICS) demonstration in 2014. The goals of the demonstration were to use insights from behavioral science to develop interventions that could improve child support services and increase parent engagement, and to encourage the…

Boosting literacy among school-age children remains a national priority. Nearly one third of students in the United States have not developed the foundational reading skills needed to succeed academically, with students living in poverty, students with disabilities, and English learners especially at risk. Starting in 2010, Congress invested more…

This exploratory case study reports findings on 20 middle-level science and mathematics teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of a one-year project in which teachers engaged in using robotics and engineering design inquiries in their classrooms. Principled by Bandura's Social Learning Theory (SLT) and using mixed methods approaches, the study…

This study explored the effects of School-Wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (SWPBIS) on school suspensions and behavioral incidents for elementary and intermediate schools in Georgia implementing with fidelity by comparing results with a propensity score--matched comparison group of schools that never received SWPBIS training.…