In the Spring of 2019, the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University launched the National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences. This overview describes NCRERN's mission of expanding the use of evidence-based decision-making in…

The Georgia 4-H program is the largest youth organization in the state and empowers youth participants to become autonomous and productive members of society. 4-H involvement has been linked to positive youth development outcomes, including leadership and vocational skills, increased self-confidence, and meaningful relationships. The focus of this…

The Green River Regional Educational Cooperative (GRREC) and its partners administered the STEM-CS intervention to support the professional learning of middle and high school STEM teachers in rural southcentral Kentucky counties. The goals of the STEM-CS intervention were to improve teacher STEM-CS knowledge, practice, implementation, and…

We study whether visits to a college campus during eighth grade affect students' interest in and preparation for college. Two cohorts of eighth graders were randomized within schools to a control condition, in which they received a college informational packet, or a treatment condition, in which they received the same information and visited a…

A fit-for-purpose, functional program is the vehicle that guarantees the relevance of an education system by ensuring the sustainability of the society. Failure of a program to be relevant has the potential to cause crisis in a society. This basic qualitative research study explored the experiences of the beneficiaries of a skills development…

"Rural Education in America" provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the diversity and complexity of rural communities in the United States and for helping rural educators implement and evaluate successful place-based programs tailored for students and their families. Written by educators who grew up in rural America and…

Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) invited 10 districts to participate in a community of practice designed to increase understanding of how to braid and blend federal funds. District teams composed of principals, superintendents, business managers, and other district leaders participated in four 90-minute virtual sessions. The purpose of…

This policy brief summarizes and critiques the findings of the US Department of Education's Section 5005 Report on Rural Education. In September of 2018, the Department of Education released the "Section 5005 Report on Rural Education: Final Report." The report was written in response to a provision of the Every Student Succeeds Act of…

On Dec. 10, 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (P.L. 114-95) became law. ESSA primarily reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), but includes other provisions as well. Among these, Section 5005 requires the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) to "review the organization, structure, and process…

Research shows that transition planning for students with disabilities is an ongoing process that requires the collaboration of students, families, and teachers to ensure a successful adult life for students after graduation (Clark, 1996; Clark & Unruh, 2010; Gil, 2007; Kellems & Morningstar, 2010). This study examined the insights of the…

This 2016 cross-sectional inquiry used quantitative and thematic content analysis to determine the organizational climate (OC) with empirical and theoretical relation to the teachers' performance (TP) and management competencies (MC) of a rural, K-12, private school in the Philippines. Analyses from a focus group discussion (FGD) was done using…