Recent research and federal legislation highlight the importance of family engagement and support. However, meaningful and effective family engagement does not always come to fruition in public schools. Developing and maintaining relationships with families can be especially challenging in an inclusive school setting, given the difficulty of…

Students increasingly borrow money to attend postsecondary education. Yet, little attention in the literature has been paid to the repayment of student loans, aside from failure indicators like default. This study examines a nationally representative sample of bachelor's degree recipients and the time it takes to reach different repayment…

Single mothers have the lowest rates of degree completion of any demographic group when they pursue higher education as a path out of poverty. This article explores the obstacles student mothers face when they pursue higher education. The lived experiences of participants add context to data about low rates of degree completion. Findings are based…

Early Head Start (EHS) programs provide a comprehensive array of two-generation, family-centered services to infants, toddlers, pregnant people, and their families. These include child development services, child care, parenting education, case management, health care and referrals, and other family support services. EHS provides comprehensive…

The Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project conducted 15 randomized controlled trials of behavioral interventions across eight states, in the domains of work support, child support, and child care. BIAS used a systematic approach called "behavioral diagnosis and design" to develop the interventions and their…

Over the past 150 years, schools in America have been governed by various legislations geared toward increasing learning. One recurring theme across the various acts is that of parental involvement. This led to the broad question, "How does parental involvement impact student progress for primary students in Tier 2 and Tier 3 reading…

The market-based funding model more commonly known as direct student aid, which was adopted by the federal government during the late 1960s and early 1970s, has created a series of unintended consequences that threaten educational equity and the future of public higher education. The economic and societal impacts of the privatization of US public…

Head Start monitoring assesses recipients' compliance with requirements governing Head Start programs, including those specified in the Head Start Act (original authorizing legislation in 1965 and its subsequent amendments, most recently in 2007); HSPPS; and other applicable federal, state, and local regulations. HSPPS include provisions…

Policymakers at the state and federal levels have expressed concern over the emerging "skills gap"--the mismatch between the job skills employers are looking for and the skills that applicants in the labor market possess. The skills gap is most acute for middle-skilled jobs; that is, jobs that require training beyond high school but less…

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they…

About 19 million people submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) each year, making it one of the most commonly experienced federal administrative processes. The widespread reliance on the complicated form and underlying calculation of financial need have spurred efforts to simplify and improve the application process and…

The problem that was addressed in this study was that Title I high school teachers, in Southeastern Michigan, are unclear about how to accommodate their students, who experience parental incarceration and without the intervention of appropriate strategies, these students face a high risk of never completing their high school education and a high…

Adequately preparing for retirement requires planning and knowledge about available savings and investment options. Teachers participate in a complex set of plan designs, and many do not participate in Social Security. While teachers represent a large part of the public workforce, relatively little is known regarding their knowledge and…

High-impact practices (HIPs), such as undergraduate research, first-year seminars, and learning communities, have been shown to generally advance college student success. However, there are often disparities in access, participation, and outcomes between white and racially/ethnically minoritized students. While scholars have critiqued HIPs and…

The well-being of Head Start teachers is essential to ensuring high-quality early care and education (ECE) and supporting children's development. The COVID-19 pandemic raised unique challenges to teachers' well-being. In this brief, the authors explore Head Start teachers' health, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, stress, and job…