This article explores the effect university widening participation activities have had in improving access to university of students from rural government-run schools in New South Wales, Australia. An effective effort to evaluate the success of widening participation programs in rural Australia, specifically New South Wales, has not been achieved…

The American Chemical Society's Chemistry Festivals, or "Festivales de Química," are community events where chemistry professionals, professors, teachers, and students use hands-on activities to engage the public and demonstrate how chemistry appears in our everyday life. The Chemistry Festival Organizers received training from the ACS,…

Every family deserves access to the information they need to understand the quality of their community's schools and to make the best decision about their child's education. School report cards are the primary way that states communicate the information that families want and need about schools, but too often, the report cards are more focused on…

When many of today's parents were students, the process of applying and enrolling in school was fairly simple and involved few choices. In many cases, a family visited the neighborhood public school at the start of the school year and enrolled the child at the school's office. But now, the proliferation of school-choice policies in districts…

This briefing paper aims to inform European Institutions as well as national policy and decision makers on the issue of integrated and holistic approach to lifelong learning. It also provides the context at a high level and share a few recommendations on ways to establish lifelong learning systems at local, regional and national level. It helps…

What's in Our Waters Jr. (WOW Jr.) is an environmental outreach program designed to teach fourth grade elementary students about watershed protection. This program is unique because of the partnership that brings together students, teachers, scientists, and water resource professionals to promote science education and environmental stewardship in…

Although many have suggested the use of games to motivate active learning, studies that evaluate the learning outcomes of games with high school students are scarce. Here, we present the evaluation of the board game "Taphonomy: Dead and Fossilized" as an active learning tool to teach fossilization and Earth systems thinking with rising…

Since the 1990s, scientists and Indigenous peoples have worked together across Inuit Nunangat (Inuit homeland in Canada) to conduct research on contaminants in ringed seals ("Pusa hispida"; "natsiq," "natchiq" or [foreign characters ommitted] in Inuktut), a species of high cultural, economic and nutritional importance…

The need to diversify the teaching workforce is well documented. However, there are few resources outlining specific models to carry out this work, and even fewer examples that describe a community college academic pathway into teacher education. Because community colleges serve a high percentage of diverse students, a community college pathway…

Climate change is a timely topic and offers an overarching theme that can include a variety of STEM disciplines and technologies. In response to the pandemic, we developed and implemented an online science-based summer youth program in Climate Change Resiliency (CCR) for 11th and 12th graders in July 2020. Two sessions differing in content level…

The recent COVID-19 pandemic required schools around the country to shut their doors to student and teacher learning, impacting both formal and informal education. STEM outreach programs scrambled to revise their programming to reach the "new normal" needs of teachers and students. STEM Outreach directors from Vanderbilt University and…

The COVID-19 pandemic has both widened and exacerbated student equity issues in Australian higher education, just as it has increased economic and social disadvantage in the general population. This article identifies the immediate impacts of the pandemic on existing equity structures, mapping potential areas for research analysis and policy…

Mentorship has been shown to have a positive influence on mentees but less research is available on the impacts for mentors, particularly those involved in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) outreach. As we work to enhance STEM engagement through outreach programs that include mentoring, understanding the impact on mentors that…

The Latino population in the United States is large and growing. As a whole, however, it has been challenged with inequitable educational attainment rates compared to other groups, meriting the attention of public agencies, postsecondary institutions, and advocates. Latino economic and career success -- and the success of our overall economy --…

The academic achievement gap has been present in the United States since the start of public education. Different factors have been noted as key contributors to the achievement gap, including the lack of parent involvement. This study investigates the impact that parental involvement has on student achievement, with specific focus on how a parent…