The concept of cultural competency, its application, and impact on K-12 learning have not received much attention in the literature. Teachers need to understand the connection between culture and pedagogy when teaching minority and underrepresented students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine whether the skill sets in…

As mentoring is receiving increasing attention as a method to improve youth educational outcomes, it is important to continue to examine the effects of mentoring on these youth outcomes. This study uses secondary data from Waves I and III of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) and transcript data from the Adolescent…

The purpose of this study was to redress the paucity of research regarding superintendents and their role in implementing parent and community involvement policies. Another aim was to examine which types of parent and community involvement practices, if any, may be related to student achievement. A mixed methods inquiry was applied. The Measure of…

Colleges and university missions often espouse ideals such as creating an active and engaged citizen. The concept, principles and manifestation of citizenship can take many forms. One such form is that of prosocial behavior, or voluntary actions towards others. Philanthropy is one example of prosocial behavior. This study enhances our knowledge of…

When entering the Blind Childrens Center (BCC), what a person might not realize is that four of the five visually impaired children in a classroom share the same diagnosis of Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (OHN). ONH is the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment in young children. It is important that these children participate in an inclusive…

This meta-analysis assesses the effectiveness of volunteer tutoring programs for improving the academic skills of students enrolled in public schools Grades K-8 in the United States and further investigates for whom and under what conditions tutoring can be effective. The authors found 21 studies (with 28 different study cohorts in those studies)…

Adult conservation education is growing nationally. We investigated adults' motivations to take part in Michigan's Conservation Stewards education and volunteerism program. We used three theoretical frames (adult education orientations, volunteerism motivations, and leisure benefits sought) to understand learners' involvement. Adults' education…

High schools have recently become a popular source of mentors for school-based mentoring (SBM) programs. The high school Bigs program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, for example, currently involves close to 50,000 high-school-aged mentors across the country. While the use of these young mentors has several potential advantages, their age…

This paper was developed in the interest of extending the reach and benefits of national and community service programs to larger numbers of persons from disadvantaged populations. In particular, this paper is intended to increase understanding of both challenges and opportunities that may accompany efforts to increase the participation by…

Young people who live in rural areas are less likely to finish high school and to complete college than their urban and suburban peers. These adolescents are also more likely to use drugs and alcohol: rural adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have the highest levels of drug use in this age group. Out-of-school-time programs in rural areas…

Educators need to help kids help others so that they can help themselves. Volunteering does not involve competition or grades. This is one area where students don't have to worry about measuring up to the expectations of parents, teachers, and coaches. Students participate in charitable work to add another line to a college transcript or job…

Purpose: Research concerned with the relationship between volunteer activity and psychological well-being has typically reported higher levels of well-being among older adult volunteers relative to nonvolunteers. However, few studies have examined nonlinear associations between frequency of volunteer activity and well-being. We examined nonlinear…

This paper reports the results of two semistructured focus group interviews with 17 retirees that explore the issues these retirees perceived as central to their learning in later life (LLL). Focus is especially placed on the factors leading to their learning interests after retirement. A total of six themes (past experience in adulthood and…

Social enterprise and fair trade are seen increasingly as redefining capitalist relationships through revaluing social impact and ownership in enterprise activities. One of the dilemmas in such activities is the tension between operating a viable and commercially-sustainable enterprise and maximising social and developmental impacts. This article…

Two national in-home interview surveys conducted by the Gallup Organization and information from a national workshop conference attended by 70 teen volunteers from 28 states and 200 teachers and adult leaders indicate that about three-fifths of youth aged 12 to 17 volunteer an average of just over 3 hours a week. The most frequent volunteer…