In winter 2011, I traveled to 12 communities located throughout the state of Idaho to moderate focus groups with teachers, parents of kindergarten-to-12th-grade (K-12) students, and community members with no children in K-12 education. The focus groups were conducted the first year of a 5-year study using multiple methods to explore the cultural…

Background: In Ohio, levy campaigns are a burdensome task for district administrators and stakeholders alike. To date, there is little research on the districts' role in crafting school budget referenda campaigns. Purpose: This study asked three research questions: How did the macropolitical contexts shape stakeholders' decision making in terms of…

Background: Children in northern Uganda have undergone significant psychosocial stress during the region's lengthy conflict. A Psychosocial Structured Activities (PSSA) program was implemented in 21 schools identified as amongst those most severely affected by conflict-induced displacement across Gulu and Amuru Districts. The PSSA intervention…

Developed for an NIH training institute, this volume is organized around the most frequently asked questions by researchers starting their careers in applied research in child and adolescent development. With contributions from the leading scholars in the field, actual research experiences highlight the challenges one faces in conducting such…

This study investigated school administrators' perceptions of school improvement policies in a high-impact policy environment by measuring the impact of accountability, site-based management, professional development, and scheduling reform on the three dependent variables of a) academic outcomes, b) staff morale, and c) parent and community…

Background: The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006 examined 8 components of school health programs: health education, physical education and activity, health services, mental health and social services, nutrition services, healthy and safe school environment, faculty and staff health promotion, and family and community…