In 2001, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation launched the SPARK initiative to improve early learning and transitions into elementary school for vulnerable children. Eight programs were funded, each of which anchored their work in their local communities by forming partnerships with parents, schools and a variety of local organizations. Seven of the eight…

The Edison School of Applied Technology, a comprehensive public high school, has long had a reputation for producing top-notch crafts workers, tradespeople, project managers, estimators, and industry leaders. The school's graduates helped build the city and many currently have successful, productive careers in the public and private sectors. But…

Many schools use service-learning on their campus to enhance their classroom content. According to Learn and Serve Clearinghouse, "Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility and strengthen…

Increasingly across the United States, institutions of higher education (IHE) are offering a wide array of postsecondary educational (PSE) opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities (ID). As more students with ID aspire to college, it is incumbent upon IHEs to engage in rigorous program evaluation to assess student outcomes and…

High school guidance counselors have a tremendous job of balancing their administrative responsibilities and providing students with career and college guidance. However, collaborative efforts that bring together guidance counselors, institutions of higher learning, and local community members can provide students with the guidance needed to set…

This article discusses the educational attainment status of racial and ethnic minorities, specifically African Americans and Hispanics as compared to their Caucasian peers. In addition, the authors describe the U.S. Department of Education's educational initiative, Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) that is…

It started with a dream: to create a national best practices teaching and learning center that would not only provide the best available care and education to children ages 0 to 5 years old, but would also serve as a model for adult learners and like-minded entities and individuals in the early education arena. Committed to elevating the quality…

In this article, the authors describe a cultural transformation to embrace community-engaged scholarship by faculty members in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the University of British Columbia-Vancouver. They describe a transition from community-inquiry faculty projects to community-engaged action research projects achieved through…

The purpose of this article is to share results of an exploratory qualitative research study designed to shed light on experiences of an interdisciplinary group of elementary school staff and graduate students in a school-based services project. A researcher conducted 20 interviews with staff and graduate students who represented the fields of…

The efficacy of the "Chase Charlie Races" (an experiential learning activity) was demonstrated via program assessment. This was achieved via post-event evaluations of race participants and student club members, and with fitness assessments of 76 elementary students who participated in an eight-week training program. Paired sample t-tests revealed…

This article explores service learning via the lens of activity theory. Through this lens, it is identified as a form of "boundary work" in higher education, with educators identified as "boundary workers". Drawing on the data from a recent study, this paper analyses service learning as an often contradictory and tension-filled practice. The…

The idea that communities need to be inclusive is almost axiomatic. The process, whereby, community members engage in inclusive practices is far less understood. Similarly, UK universities are being encouraged to include the wider community and extent campus boundaries. Here, I suggest a particular theoretical lens which sheds light on engagement…

As a means to involve the public in research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) established the Partners in Research Program and solicited research grant applications from academic/scientific institutions and community organizations that proposed to forge partnerships: (a) to study methods and strategies to engage and inform the public…

Some researchers believe that collaboration between schools and community stakeholders--including families, educators, community organizations, and businesses--is the key to improving public education. However, broad and inclusive community-school partnerships are rare. Instead, we frequently hear about friction between communities and their…

If learning is a journey between worlds, school governing bodies have a crucial role to play in mediating them. By establishing a public space for the voice of different communities to be expressed and deliberated governing bodies enable schools to understand and engage the cultural sources that motivate young people to learn. This article draws…