The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a local afterschool program in helping underserved elementary school students improve their reading achievement. The study followed a cohort of students with 28 participants who were low-income, ethnic minority children in the 1st-6th grades between the ages of 6 and 12. Data on…

Outreach efforts directed toward improving STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) literacy are vitally important to ensure that all of our citizens are prepared to fully participate in an increasingly complex and technology-driven world. Attempts to maximize the effectiveness of STEM outreach has focused on younger populations,…

This article offers an analysis of how refugee youths from Africa used and shifted languages and discourses in the United States. Drawing on sociocultural theories of language and utilizing ethnographic discourse and classroom observation data, the author illustrates the varied ways in which three high school--aged refugee youths used languages to…

This article focuses on extended education supported by parents and the community at school and its impacts on schoolteachers' perceptions towards their work in Japan. A national survey using random sampling on elementary schoolteachers was conducted by the author; the results were used to analyze the relationships between the following variables:…

This study examined the Community Super Investigators Club, through which we aimed to apply mathematics and literacy skills by using project-based learning (PBL) to investigate elementary students' interest in learning how to improve the environment for animals. PBL is a teaching method used to improve critical thinking skills around a project…

This paper explores the identity construction of multilingual and multidialectal middle school students in a semester-long youth participatory action research (YPAR) project. In particular, it moves beyond an emancipatory discourse that views youth identity development from a point of marginalization by drawing on Foucauldian notions of discourse,…

Interest in the professionalisation of childcare workers is growing, as the responsibility for children's upbringing and development is extended from the family area to early childhood education and care institutions. This sector is subject to intensified guidelines, where the overprotective tendency in society towards children has resulted in…

This paper results from programming of Indigenous Logix: Mathematics|Culture|Environment (IndigiLogix). IndigiLogix's intention is to increase Indigenous students' love for mathematics as well as college access and success. Through IndigiLogix, it was transparent that the mathematics knowledge imparted to our Indigenous students derived from a…

Science education as a part of STEM education is becoming important not only for the future success of the individual but also for the economic development of the nation. This study explores the global pattern of extended education and its impact on learning outcomes in the area of science. First, the study found substantial national differences…

National research shows that students attending arts-rich schools have higher levels of motivation and better academic and social success. This two-page research brief summarizes key points from the full report (published separately), the first in a series of three on the Creative Learning Initiative, is used to track the progress of our…

The ubiquitous use of social media by children offers a unique opportunity to view diverse funds of knowledge. Connecting learning to students' funds of knowledge is particularly important for non-dominant learners, who experience tensions between home, community and school science cultures. This study is embedded in a research project which…

Preparing today's students for careers that are emerging or not yet developed is a significant challenge for educators within the U.S. education system. In reaction to this challenge, there is a growing shift that focuses on ensuring that students have transcending and transferable skills, including academic, technical, and employability skills.…

Funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) Ready to Learn project, "Hero Elementary," has an emphasis on reaching Latino communities and supporting the needs of children with disabilities. The project embeds the expectations of kindergarten to 2nd grade science standards into a series of…

In 2019, Policy Studies Associates conducted an evaluation of the Free Library of Philadelphia's Literacy Enrichment Afterschool Program (LEAP), focused on identifying program strategies to support early literacy development. The recommendations that emerged from this evaluation for the Free Library can also inform the efforts of other public…

This study explores the conditions that limit social participation for children with physical disabilities, and in particular, how school segregation practices affect participation in formal and informal after-school activities. In a sample of 491 children, to varying degrees, a majority of the children were taken out of ordinary classroom…