Youth are natural scientists at birth, discovering and exploring their world and trying to make sense of it (Bers, 2008). A child's education is not limited to just the time they spend in the classroom. Children learn at home with their families, in public libraries, or through out-of-school-time (OST) experiences provided at community centers and…

As policymakers and school communities work to address underlying causes of achievement gaps and access to quality early childhood education, this study considers the use of 21st Century Community Learning Centers to address early childhood education needs on western U.S. state, Idaho. The study sought to understand the relationship between…

An extensive faculty partnership at the University of Connecticut (UConn) that reaches across college and departmental lines is engaged in a project that seeks to enhance, expand, institutionalize, and study a new model for community engagement. The model, called the Environment Corps (E-Corps), combines the familiar elements of classroom…

The objectives of this research were: 1) to develop a model of promoting the potential of people in the digital field towards the development of digital villages (PDG) in Mahasarakham, Thailand; 2) to develop a course of promoting PDG in Mahasarakham and the learning multimedia; 3) to promote PDG in Mahasarakham; 4) to monitor and evaluate the…

This phenomenological study used individual interviews with ten graduate students in school counseling and school psychology to understand their experiences in a University-Church service-learning partnership to support PreK-12th grade youth in response to COVID-19. Most graduate participants identified as White/Non-Hispanic, and all youth served…

Introduction: This article investigates an early STEM family engagement program offered during the pre-kindergarten (pre-k) year. Pre-k is an important juncture for community organizations to support children's STEM engagement and parental involvement in informal STEM learning. We evaluated a program called Teaching Together STEM, which offers a…

To facilitate rigorous research on community programs to promote positive intergroup relations among youth, 2 studies were conducted to establish the psychometric properties of the Youth Diversity Acceptance Scale (YoDA). In Study 1, a unifactorial structure was identified for the YoDA using data provided by 126 high school youth involved in a…

Innovation that benefits children does not always come from formal institutions. Communities around the world are finding creative ways to fill in the gaps in services and enrichment when the schools or other government-backed programs fall short.

The Exploring Making Through Mobile Emergent Technologies (EMMET) program sought to disrupt the trajectory from rural high school to factory floor by introducing STEM and computational thinking (STEM+C) skills through mentorship training and hands-on activities involving creative production--often referred to as "making." The program…

Inspired by the Nebraska social justice pioneer Grace Abbott, a leader in the struggle to improve life for children, immigrants, and women and Chief of the U.S. Children's Bureau in the 1930s, the Quilted Conscience project has brought together refugees and quilters for ten years.

Objective: This study compared physical activity (PA), physical function and quality of life in elderly individuals with coronary artery disease (CAD) and their non-CAD peers participating in community-based, maintenance cardiac rehabilitation (CR). Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Community-based maintenance CR programme. Methods: A total…

Background: Gay, bisexual, and transgender youth (GBTY) experience sexual health inequities and contend with intersectional oppression. The Michigan Forward in Enhancing Research and Community Equity (MFierce) Coalition formed as an intergenerational, collaborative, multisector partnership with a focus on implementing community-identified policy,…

Background: The implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) in community settings appears to result in reduced benefit relative to controlled trials. This difference in outcomes may be attributable in part to engagement challenges therapists encounter when delivering EBPs to low-income ethnic minority youth and families. Objective: The…

In 2017, 53,716 refugees entered the United States; the state of Michigan ranks sixth in refugee resettlement numbers. Each year, nearly 600 new refugees settle in Newtown, Michigan, which is now home to more than 20,000 newcomers who represent diverse language and ethnic groups. In this ethnographic case study, the authors investigated the ways…

For agencies that deliver high-stakes Second Language (L2) proficiency exams, a research agenda has been undertaken for years to examine the role of rater, task, and rubric as sources of variability into their performance assessments (Lee, 2006; Sawaki & Sinharay, 2013; Xi, 2007; Xi & Mollaun, 2006). However, these challenges are more…