Adults must continually learn to navigate the challenges of society and the job market. This lifelong learning is vital, particularly for vulnerable adults, and should be fostered in their living and working environment. In this article, we present a literature review exploring the conditions of conducive learning environments at meso-level, being…

The Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Support Program aims to reduce youth substance use by fostering multi-sector collaboration and implementing locally tailored strategies within the community. This study is among the first to evaluate the program's impact on youth development outcomes in the United States. Using the Callaway and Sant'Anna (2021)…

This article reports on initial findings from "Learning By Doing," a citizen science research project funded by a NSW DOE Strategic Research Grant. Our study aimed to understand the process of integrating citizen science into schools, the perceived outcomes and impacts for students, and ways to evaluate citizen science projects. In this…

Community-engaged approaches to addressing mental health concerns have reduced health inequities experienced by refugee communities. Problem Management Plus (PM+)--a brief psychological intervention developed by the World Health Organization--has shown effectiveness in improving mental health and well-being of adults experiencing distress. This…

This case study report is for people interested in funding, managing, forming, or improving community partnerships. It provides an in-depth account of strategies associated with success in Community Collaboratives for Early Learning and Media, or CC-ELM. A national network of thirty CC-ELM--local partnerships among public media stations and…

Background: School-based COVID-19 testing is a potential strategy to limit COVID-19 transmission among youth in congregate settings such as schools, sports programs, and summer camps. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of frequent rapid antigen testing at a supervised distance-learning setting for elementary…

This report evaluates the Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) four grant programs specifically designed to support library and museum services in Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (Kanaka Maoli) communities. Conducted by a combination of Kituwah Services, LLC (Kituwah Services), ICF, and IMLS, the evaluation examined…

The purpose of this study was to explore potential effects of a 12-week therapeutic mentoring program targeting social, emotional, and behavioral concerns in 52 children and adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age. Self-reported scores on a norm-referenced behavioral questionnaire were tracked across the span of a mentoring program, and then…

A method called multi-attribute utility analysis (MAUA) provides a decision-making framework that facilitates comparative analysis of multiple real-world decision alternatives with unique complex attributes. Utility analysis as a measure of effectiveness has been minimally used by educational researchers to date, despite clear relevance in complex…

As persistent inequities in health gained increased attention nationally due to COVID-19 and racial justice protests in 2020, it has become increasingly important to evaluate both the process and outcomes associated with coalition-based efforts to address health inequities. "The Two Georgias Initiative" supports coalitions in 11 rural…

This dissertation consists of two chapters that examine the impact of educational and positive youth development programs on students' academic and behavioral outcomes. In the first chapter, I evaluate the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a school meal provision allowing schools meeting the eligibility requirements to…

This dissertation presents two essays on econometric methods for program evaluation and policy choice. In Chapter 1, I develop a statistically optimal way of using data to make policy decisions when the performance of counterfactual policies is only partially identified. Specifically, I consider a class of statistical decision problems in which…

Program evaluation is important for assessing the implementation and outcomes of local, state, and federal programs. The Program Evaluation Toolkit provides tools and resources to support individuals responsible for evaluating and monitoring local, state, or federal programs. The toolkit comprises eight modules that cover critical steps in program…

Positive Behaviour Support is an applied behaviour analytic system of support that is utilised in schools and in residential care settings for children and adults with disabilities who engage in challenging behaviour. Implementation fidelity depends on appropriate staff training and organisational behaviour management. A systematic literature…

Objective: The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) is part of the cultural fabric of Irish society with a club in almost every community nationwide. The aim of this project was to carry out a pilot evaluation of the GAA Healthy Club Project (HCP), which is a unique effort by a national governing body to include health as part of the core business of…