This study examines the experiences of 17 teacher candidates who participated in a literacy-focused service-learning initiative in the aftermath of destructive tornadoes in their community. In response to the natural disaster, the Literacy Ambassadors, composed of university literacy faculty and teacher candidates, sought to address the critical…

Purpose -- Balochistan, which makes up roughly 44 percent of Pakistan's total land area, is home to 6 percent of the nation's inhabitants. Due to long distances and low population density, service delivery is particularly challenging. The province's educational services are impacted by natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, droughts, and…

We propose the formal inclusion of the K-12 education system as a critical step to achieving the National Weather Service's (NWS) vision of a Weather Ready Nation (WRN). The WRN is a NWS initiative to build resilience within the U.S. population to extreme weather, water, and climate events, and includes considerable research investments in science…

In August 2017, the Houston area was ravaged by one of the costliest natural disasters in history--Hurricane Harvey. In this brief, the first in a two-part series, the authors examine the effects of Harvey on student homelessness in the Houston Independent School District (Houston ISD). The authors find that student homelessness in Houston ISD…

Background: The threat of a disaster or potential for a disaster is something that may be experienced by individuals globally. Schools are places of daily mass gatherings which make them an ideal target for mass casualty, natural disasters, and biological incidents. Methods: An integrative review using Whittemore and Knafl's model was conducted to…

Simplified, reductionist approaches to curriculum design and delivery are pervasive in science education. In ecological curricula--particularly in, but not limited to K-12--biomes, ecosystems, habitats, and other units of study are simplified and presented as static, easily identified and described entities. Characteristics, components, and…

In dealing with wicked problems, such as pandemics, war, economic inflation, refugee influx, plus natural disasters such as earthquakes or floods, culture is seen as playing a strong role in determining peoples' responses. While school science education seeks to promote an awareness of, and even a preparedness toward, dealing with wicked problems,…

Disasters, such as floods, fires, and storms, can devastate communities and the lives of people who live in them. After disasters, displaced families long to return to a sense of normalcy, so reconnecting children to school is especially important during this time. By providing the structure of an education setting, schools can help children and…

This Semiannual Report presents the activities and accomplishments of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General (OIG) from October 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023. The report highlights audits, investigations, and related work issued during this time frame. Sections include: (1) Pandemic Relief Oversight; (2) Disaster Recovery…

In times of crisis, schools are expected to help students deal with the situation and any help offered should consider the social and emotional problems arising from the critical event. Therefore, school-based activities enabling children to recognize the experience and work through it are essential to sustain their normal development and prevent…

In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey ravaged the Houston area, causing the homelessness of nearly 24,000 students in the Houston Independent School District (Houston ISD) alone. Additionally, nearly all Houston ISD schools sustained damage of some kind, resulting in school closures, campus relocations, and even the delaying of the start of classes for…

Laura A. Schifter and Jonathan Klein highlight the many ways in which K-12 schools and students have tremendous potential to advance solutions on environmental issues, and they provide frameworks for enacting change, in "Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment." Schifter and Klein demonstrate how the effects of climate change intersect…

Pollution issues, anthropogenic climate change, and biodiversity declines, formerly local in scope, accumulate to threaten crossing planetary boundaries and tipping Earth's system to an uninhabitable state. The human-environment identity is an unsung cornerstone of geography that can educate upcoming generations of citizens about trends over time,…

The Journey of Hope (JoH) is an evidence-based behavioral health prevention intervention model designed for disaster-affected children and youth. While the in-person JoH model has been extensively delivered and studied, the virtual implementation of this intervention, specifically tailored for the unique needs of children and youth during the…

School counsellors who work with children and young people within the education system and have experienced trauma themselves can be significantly affected by challenging events. The current research focussed on understanding the post-trauma needs of school counsellors who continue their work in earthquake-affected regions. A phenomenological…