The purpose of the current investigation is to analyze existing research examining the impact of play therapy on the development of language skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). As rates of ASD diagnoses continue to increase, families and educators are faced with making critical decisions regarding the selection and…

Education is associated with improved health outcomes. However, fewer non-Hispanic Black Americans earn high school diplomas, baccalaureate, or advanced degrees than White Americans, placing them at higher risk for poor health outcomes. Racial disparities in education have been linked to social injustice and structural racism. Through the…

An important part of STEM education is students' acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities needed for career success, all of which emerge from a combination of classroom and co-curricular activities. Work-related experiential activities (WREAs) offer the opportunity for students to engage in experiential activities before degree completion,…

In this study, we examined the long-term effects of ASSISTments, an educational technology platform that enables formative assessment. The intervention was implemented in schools in one U.S. state for 12-13-year-old students (7th grade). Students' math achievement was measured at the end of the following school year (8th grade, ages 13-14 years),…

This study employed integrative data analysis techniques to examine the long-term effects of the family check-up (FCU) on changes in youth suicide risk using three randomized prevention trials, including one trial initiated in early childhood and two initiated in early adolescence. Data were harmonized across studies using moderated nonlinear…

Background: Belongingness is an important predictor of academic and psychological outcomes in college students. Team-based learning (TBL) includes a number of explicit structures that should increase students' perceived belongingness (compared to other teaching approaches), including permanent team membership, and activities that encourage team…

Although higher education is becoming increasingly diverse, the widespread adoption of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) remains limited. UDL provides a curricular framework designed to reduce barriers, account for learner's intersectional identities, and address variability. Using quantitative and qualitative measures, this research showcases…

The number of students choosing to study abroad has steadily increased over the past 25 years. Immediately prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, 10.9% of all undergraduates in the US studied abroad at some point while pursuing their degree. This rapid expansion has largely been welcomed on college campuses due to globalization and the sense that…

Promoting teachers' well-being through interventions within childcare environments has been associated with children's social-emotional development, teacher behaviors, and job-related factors. The current study aimed to examine whether individual and contextual factors differentially impacted well-being outcomes among teachers who participated in…

African Americans (AAs) have higher prevalence of uncontrolled hypertension than Whites, which leads to reduced life expectancy. Barriers to achieving blood pressure control in AAs include mistrust of healthcare and poor adherence to medication and dietary recommendations. We conducted a pilot study of a church-based community health worker (CHW)…

Background: Implementation quality is a significant factor in determining whether a program has its intended impact (Durlak and DuPre, 2008; List et al., 2021). Therefore, when studying a program's efficacy, researchers must ensure that the program is implemented as intended to estimate its impact. To evaluate whether a program is being…

Substance use in adolescence is a significant public health issue, particularly in early-to-mid adolescence, which represents a window of risk in the etiology of substance abuse and dependence. Substance use during this development period often results from affiliation with deviant peers, who model, facilitate, and reinforce use. Existing…

Introduction: This study tested the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of Coping and Emotional Development for Adolescents to Reduce Stress (CEDARS) a positive psychological intervention (PPI), tailored for adolescents and administered in a classroom setting, in boosting CEDARS skill use and emotional well-being. Method: Adolescents (N = 102,…

Publicly funded prekindergarten (pre-K) has received substantial investments in recent decades. A robust literature base has shown that pre-K, in general, tends to be associated with shorter-term rather than longer-term impacts. Yet, these findings are not definitive across varying state contexts and student demographic groups. The current study…

Objectives: To describe the participants of a university-based COVID-19 contact tracing course and determine whether the course changed knowledge, attitudes, and intention to participate in contact tracing. Participants: Faculty, staff, and students were eligible. Methods: Surveys evaluated the impact of the course on participant intentions to…