The Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program is a formula grant program maintained by the Office of Academic Improvement within the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the United States Department of Education (USED) to support the "creation of community learning centers that provide academic…

This study examined the impact of a classroom-level component of The Inclusive Skill-building Learning Approach (ISLA), an instructional and restorative alternative to exclusionary discipline, on student behaviors and school discipline practices in middle schools. Intervention implementation, classroom observations, and all other data collection…

This report provides a first look at how Illinois school districts' uses of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds were related to their test score outcomes in the years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using data on districts' ESSER expenditures as of November 2023, the authors analyze test score trends across…

This design case highlights how two instructional designers initiated, designed, and implemented a K-12 novice teacher training program to address three known challenges teachers face when understanding, designing, and implementing project-based learning (PBL). The design framework comprised three areas: trainees, training program design, and…

This design case presents a detailed account of how we navigated various ethical issues observed in a robotics program that aimed to engage underrepresented students in robotics and STEM experience. The ethical challenges we encountered revolved around uneven participant engagement and interpersonal tensions. We tackled these challenges by…

This study explored science and mathematics teachers' knowledge and beliefs about project-based instruction (PBL). Data included two focus groups, and a 12-item questionnaire administered to 138 teachers. The response rate was 70% (n=96). Results show strong teacher knowledge of PBL Gold Standard Design Elements/Teaching Practices, but low usage…

Nutrition education can improve nutrition and health for refugees. Extension program directors providing nutrition education to refugees were surveyed regarding successful program techniques, program challenges, and both the barriers refugees face and the strengths they possess concerning healthy eating. Researchers used grounded theory to explore…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

This research focuses on the critical components of caring relationships and how they relate to first-generation Black students' achievement in higher education. It will reveal how staff-led collegiate programming could benefit first-generation Black college students by allowing them to establish caring relationships and mentorships that allow…

Providing behavioural support to all students is increasingly recognised as an integral part of teaching and learning in schools throughout the world. This small-scale, qualitative study reports on the perceived challenges faced by staff in implementing school-wide behavioural support at two remote Indigenous primary schools in Queensland,…

The fundamental goal of the Third Grade Summer Reading Camp program in 2024 was to bolster the reading skills of struggling third grade students and to prepare them to demonstrate mastery of state standards needed to be promoted to the fourth grade. The Office of Program Evaluation undertook an evaluation to gauge whether students who completed…