Best-practices pedagogy in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) aims for inclusive excellence that fosters student persistence. This paper describes principles of inclusivity across 11 primarily undergraduate institutions designated as Capstone Awardees in Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) 2012 competition. The Capstones…

Policy scoping reviews are an effective method for generating evidence-informed policies. However, when applying guiding methodological frameworks to complex policy evidence, numerous, unexpected challenges can emerge. This paper details five challenges experienced and addressed by a policy trainee-led, multi-disciplinary research team, while…

Career development events develop career and life skills in youth, but limited work has been done to assess the motivation of students who participate in these events. The purpose of this study was to validate an instrument developed to measure youth motivation to participate in career development events. An instrument grounded in expectancy-value…

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a text-based (TB) English structured language development programme and a teacher-designed standards-based (SB) English instructional model. The sample of this study comprised of 500 Samoan children, in Kindergarten (K) and Grade 1 (G1), on the island of American Samoa attending eight…

Teacher education programs focus on preparing teachers to instruct students, but they usually do not focus on preparing teachers to manage students' behavior, which may prevent teachers from providing effective instruction. This project study evaluated a classroom behavior management model, CHAMPS, designed to help teachers manage student behavior…

In 2011, the Arizona State Legislature adopted a law creating the first education savings account (ESA) in the United States. Following Arizona's lead, several other states, including Florida Tennessee,Mississippi and Nevada, have implemented ESA policies. Typical eligibility requirements include conditions such as a pupil's diagnosed disability,…

Although engineering graduate programs rarely require academic writing courses, the indicators of merit in academic engineering, such as journal publications, successful grants, and doctoral milestones (e.g. theses, dissertations) are based in effective written argumentation and disciplinary discourse. Further, graduate student attrition averages…

The applied dissertation project focused on the development of a comprehensive onboarding program and Trainer's Guide specifically developed for charter school management employees. Charter school education has grown significantly in the last several decades with over 6,100 charter schools that are currently serving students nationwide. Formal or…

This report describes common and unique approaches that Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest Region states have adopted in developing and implementing their quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs). A QRIS is a method for assessing, improving, and communicating the quality of early childhood education and care providers. The study…

Community colleges that are exploring ways to dramatically improve outcomes for their students frequently seek a better understanding of the relationship between two "branded" approaches receiving significant publicity: Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) and guided pathways. ASAP was created by the City University of New York…

Simulations have been widely used in crisis and emergency communication for practitioners but have not reached classrooms in higher education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects that simulations using social media have on the learning of crisis communication among college students. To explore the effects, a real-time crisis…

This report summarizes the findings of a long-term evaluation of Opportunity NYC--Family Rewards, an experimental, privately funded, conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to help families break the cycle of poverty. Family Rewards was the first comprehensive CCT program in a developed country. Launched in 2007 by New York City's Center for…

In an era of significant disinvestment in public higher education by state governments, many public universities are moving toward a "progressive tuition model" that attempts to invest approximately one-third of tuition income into institutional financial aid for lower-income and middle-class students. The objective is to mitigate the…

Launched in 1965, Upward Bound (UB) is one of the oldest and largest of the federal college access programs targeted to low-income students and those who would represent the first-generation of college completers in their families. Currently, UB serves more than 60,000 high school students at a cost of about $4,300 per youth and offers an array of…

According to the Texas Education Code §29.121 and the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board Policy, Gifted and Talented (G/T) students are "those identified by professionally qualified persons, who perform at, or show the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age,…