This article reports on ways in which United Nations human rights treaties can be used as a normative framework for evaluating program outcomes. In this article, we conceptualize a human rights-based approach to program evaluation and locate this approach within the broader evaluation literature. The article describes how a rights-based framework…

This report finds that participation in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) has a number of short term and sustained benefits for students, regardless of family income level. DPIL participation was associated with lower retention rates in kindergarten, 3rd grade, and at any point from kindergarten through 3rd grade. Participants in DPIL also…

Years of cognitive research has shown background knowledge in key subject areas, like science and social studies, is essential to reading comprehension, helping students not only understand the meaning of a text, but also interpret new words and ideas. Failing to provide the opportunity to learn to read has devastating effects on children and…

Writing in the April 2020 issue of Kappan, Tim Shriver and Roger Weissberg address a recent spate of reports and articles that have offered "constructive criticism" of the movement to promote social and emotional learning (SEL) in K-12 education. Despite a number of concerns that have been raised about SEL programs' scope,…

From 2012 to 2018, the Exploring Engagement Fund of The James Irvine Foundation provided risk capital for more than 100 engagement projects conducted by California arts nonprofits. These organizations had innovative ideas and a readiness to take bold steps to engage groups often underrepresented among mainstream arts participants--specifically…

El Salvador is one of the most violent countries in the world, with one of the highest homicide rates among children and adolescents (UNODC 2019). Children's experiences have a profound impact on their development, and exposure to violence in their early years can lead to social, behavioral, learning, and emotional impairments. Caregivers play a…

Many colleges and universities today are reorganizing student affairs operations in ways that eliminate or reassign many of their functions to other university departments. In some drastic cases, student affairs departments and senior leadership positions have been eliminated. On some campuses, the chief student affairs officer does not report…

The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (CFTL) at WestEd led the Teacher Practice Networks (TPN) initiative for five years, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Initial rounds of Gates funding supported 21 education improvement organizations in disseminating standards-based resources around the nation. Later rounds…

The Roma are facing serious disadvantages in education in Romania, where segregated schooling and lack of quality education are two main factors contributing to de facto exclusion from the education system. In an effort to compensate for this missing commitment of the formal education system, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provide…

The Global Society of Online Literacy Educators (GSOLE) Basic Online Literacy Instruction (OLI) Certification is open to GSOLE members and is designed to help online literacy instructors, tutors, and writing program administrators learn foundational principles, theories, and practices of teaching and tutoring writing online and apply those to the…

This research brief is a new addition to an annual series of five briefs that provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child well-being in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This brief provides an overview of available evidence syntheses that may inform…

One of the most controversial and significant of contemporary education reforms has been the teacher accountability movement. From this perspective, low-quality teachers and teaching are a major factor behind inadequate school performance, and a lack of accountability and control in schools is a major factor behind the problem of low-quality…

The year 2015 was significant for the arena of international development, as UNESCO's "Education for All" agenda was replaced by "Education 2030", which would identify minimum standards of education quality. The OECD had been working on extending its existing PISA assessment into low- and middle-income countries through PISA…

In today's era of increased accountability and standards-based reforms within the United States educational system, Community Partner Organizations (CPOs) can offer essential support to teachers, schools, and districts. CPOs have the potential to have a positive impact in urban schools in particular, where high-stakes testing and accountability…

The William Penn Foundation launched Philadelphia's Informal Learning Initiative (ILI) to support the development of literacy-rich programming for families with children aged 3 to 9. The initiative was designed as a network of partnerships in which a cultural organization--usually a museum--paired with one or more, community-based organizations…