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…

In pursuit of Academic Excellence, MCPS allocated funds for school year 2022-2023 to ensure every elementary school had a full-time reading specialist to serve as a literacy coach. This evaluation focused on understanding how the reading specialist position supported teachers' increased capacity to implement the MCPS literacy program, including…

Since the transition mandates were introduced, multiple models, instructional programs, and published curricula to promote student involvement have been developed and evaluated that are evidence- and research-based practices. The federally funded "National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: The Collaborative" (NTACT:C) has…

Increasing instructional quality in higher education is a key goal of educational development (ED) work, yet demonstrating complex outcomes remains challenging and lacks practical guidance. Evaluating ED services often relies on a reductionist approach characterized by linear assumptions of causal pathways to measure the extent to which…

A consistent criticism from the emergent literature on children's career development has been that career-related learning in primary schools has received limited attention. A particular gap in the literature is the application of careers theory applied to pedagogy and employer engagement within primary schools. This article examines an innovative…

The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) High-Risk List identifies government operations with vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or in need of transformation. GAO added the area "Improving Federal Management of Programs that Serve Tribes and their Members" to its February 2017 biennial update of high-risk…

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…

Despite the growing body of literature investigating education abroad programs, there remains very limited empirical research examining the perspectives of local community members who interact with visiting students. The purpose of this qualitative case study is to explore the varying perspectives of residents within a community in Costa Rica that…

The challenge of creating reliable technology-based resources for science learning is a perennial challenge in Philippine education, with limited learning materials accessible to all learners. This study is about the development of a videocast embedded with physics education technology (PhET) simulation that served as supplementary learning…

Purpose: This study provides insight into the nature of peer-mentoring opportunities for teacher candidates, including common challenges and benefits that can be used to inform best practices for implementing peer-mentoring programs by higher education institutions. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative interviews were conducted to glean…

From September 2021, the role of the Virtual School Head (VSH) was extended to include the strategic oversight of children subject to a Child in Need (CIN) plan or Child Protection (CP) plan or having been subject to such plans over the previous 6 years. The duty is not statutory. Non-statutory guidance was first published by the Department for…

This annual report of College Credit Plus (CCP) reflects data from the beginning of the program in 2015-2016 through the 2022-2023 academic year. The data for this year show that more than 80,000 students participated in College Credit Plus. Ohio's dual enrollment program has provided tuition savings for students and families of over $193 million…

Findings from a synthesis of technical assistance models and frameworks were used to code the use of 25 core elements of technical assistance in studies and evaluations of implementation interventions to affect program, organization, and systems change. The 25 core elements were group into five components: preparation for the provision of…

This research investigates organizational change in six Canadian universities framed as "prioritization," which is a ranking method using predefined metrics for the comprehensive review and evaluation of academic and administrative programs. Our research found the following: (a) no prioritization process reached the implementation stage;…

South African democracy was born in 1994 after years of oppression and dehumanisation. Through the implementation of Child Safeguarding Policies from 2012, deep unhappiness in schools was uncovered and the use of corporal punishment which was abolished in 1996 became apparent. Teachers were adamant that corporal punishment was the only means of…