The Institute for Multi-Sensory Education's (IMSE) mission of "empowering districts, schools, teachers, and parents to be agents of change toward equitable literacy instruction for all learners that is driven by research" is reflected in the organization's structured literacy approach to the Orton-Gillingham (OG) curriculum and their…

While multiple studies have examined the impact of school turnaround, less is known about reforms under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). To advance this literature, we examine North Carolina's Restart (NCR) model. NCR aligns with ESSA by giving school leaders increased flexibility. Also, NCR differs from previous turnaround models by…

Student-staff partnership, understood as the situation when students and staff work together on a project, contributing equally but in potentially different ways, is an innovation that is gaining traction on university campuses worldwide. This case study details my first foray into the partnership arena. I invited undergraduate students from the…

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 study explored children's perceptions of a canine-assisted social-emotional learning program developed within the framework of a canine therapy program at a mid-sized Canadian university. Data collection made use of interviews, field notes, and observations. Children (N = 8, 5-11 years) from an after-school program participated in a six-week…

Background: The goal of the study was to develop and verify a pathway model (or theory of change) for STEM Scouts, an out-of-school time (OST), positive youth development program for elementary through high school-aged youth. Pathway models include connections between hypothesized activities to short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes. STEM Scouts is…

The concept of educational recovery is relevant to many systems, both those that experience some form of sudden disruption as well as those that historically have been prone to disruption. Our involvement in developing a curriculum framework for displaced learners in the Learning Passport project (UNICEF, 2020) made us more aware of the field of…

This study examines the extent to which the New York City Teaching Fellows (NYCTF) has delivered on its promise of improving mathematics teacher diversity, preparedness, effectiveness, and retention in hard-to-staff city schools. As a program theory evaluation study, it articulates the theory of action for selective alternative route programs and…

Continuous improvement has a prominent place in California's approach to educational accountability. But while there are proof points that show the potential of continuous improvement, currently there is not evidence that continuous improvement efforts are consistently leading to sustainable improvement in student outcomes and system functioning.…

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contracted with three child welfare providers that operate transitional living (TLP) or independent living (ILO) programs (or both) to implement LifeSet, an intensive case management program developed by Youth Villages, for youth in care who are 17.5 to 21 years old. LifeSet helps…

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…

Education decisionmakers need access to the best evidence about the effectiveness of education interventions, including practices, products, programs, and policies. It can be difficult, time consuming, and costly to access and draw conclusions from relevant studies about the effectiveness of interventions. The What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)…

In the 21st century, the demand for proficiency in mathematics has escalated, as it underpins critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation in various fields. Recognizing the significance of mathematics education, after-school programs have emerged as potent supplementary platforms to enhance students' mathematical skills and achievement.…

This report presents the results of an evaluation of the Partnership in Enhanced and Blended Learning West Africa Programme (PEBL-WA). The programme was implemented by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) working in partnership with Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA), the Commonwealth of Learning (CoL), The National…

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of utilizing a program based on post-constructivism to develop adult learners' English language fluency. The study started with the literature review and previous studies handling post-constructivism and English language fluency. The researcher nominated a group of pre-intermediate to…