North Carolina's education model is based on an agrarian calendar when it comes to time spent in school and on an industrial, factory model for the process of how students are educated. Educational models structured around the agrarian calendar and industrial model served the state well during a time period in the state's history, but that time…

Autism spectrum disorder is characterized as a complex brain disorder that impacts the life of an individual (Autism Society, n.d.; Autism Speaks, 2013). The prevalence of autism is on the rise (Baio, 2012; CDC, 2012), impacting the stress of the family (Haimer, 2012; Hall & Graff) and the need for services (Haney, 2012). This capstone study…

Based on a review of previous research, the paper describes the distinctive characteristics of rural areas and communities and the factors typically associated with shaping students' learning experience in rural contexts. Data from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 and the Teaching and Learning International…

What does it take to transform a large, bureaucratic institution with a fractured culture and a compliance orientation into a nurturing, collaborative, vision-directed organization? This report and the accompanying research brief endeavor to answer that question by examining a humanistic and systems thinking approach to cultural change that took…

Minimal effects found across youth physical activity (PA) interventions, and increased attention to circumstances that impede adequate delivery of program components, has highlighted the importance of learning from staff what is needed to foster staff comprehension and engagement for developing, adopting, and successfully implementing PA-based…

Low-income urban youth of color often face challenges in their transition to early adulthood. High school out-of-school time (OST) programs that promote positive youth development may help youth to better negotiate this period. However, little research exists on the long-term impact of such programs on young adults. The authors conducted a pilot…

Schooling transitions are often challenging experiences for students with intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder (ID/ASD), their families, and their teachers. Transition processes, particularly planning, can facilitate successful transitions from primary to secondary schools, and to postschool settings. Bronfenbrenner's ecological…

Informal learning is often treated as simply an alternative to formal, didactic instruction. This chapter discusses how the organization of informal learning differs across distinct settings but with important commonalities distinguishing informal learning from formal learning: Informal learning is nondidactic, is embedded in meaningful activity,…

This report presents findings about the Afterschool Intensive Strings Program in 2015-16, which provides instruction to students with limited access to music education. The evaluation examines how participation in the program affects students' academic achievement, non-academic skills, and musical skills and knowledge.

It was a hot summer day. Naomi and her cousin walked into the community center. She said, "Miss Jones, our moms need to work. They told us to come here and stay for couple hours." This is a common occurrence in communities with low socioeconomic status during the summertime; parents need to go to work, but children are on summer break.…

The Robert Bowne Foundation for out-of-school time (OST) supports the development of quality programs that offer literacy education in the out-of-school hours to children and youth of New York City, especially young people from disadvantaged communities. The foundation's networking meetings, now in their 10th year, offer quarterly forums in which…

With 8.4 million children in the U.S. spending an average of eight hours a week in afterschool programs, afterschool providers are an important part of the network of caring adults who can help to keep children safe. In addition, afterschool staff are "mandated reporters." Whether or not the laws specifically mention afterschool staff,…

Youth service providers recognize that involving families in children's learning is critical to academic achievement and overall healthy development. Yet youth service providers face ongoing challenges engaging families in out-of-school time programs. The authors, administrators of a nationally recognized youth development program, share their…

In this article a background to the growing need of establishing school-age educare as a field of research in Sweden is presented. Firstly a short review of the history of the school-age educare is given, followed by a description of how the activity is organized today. Some examples of studies produced within this field are presented. Both…

It is the position of the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) that the registered professional school nurse (hereinafter referred to as school nurse) has the educational and clinical background to coordinate the necessary school health services to provide students with the same health, nutrition, and safety needs while attending…