Research suggests that children as young as 6 years old could begin to develop a negative attitude towards the STEM disciplines and this results in disengagement and loss of interest in these areas, particularly for girls. Finding ways to address this apparent lack of interest among young students is critical as reports highlight a lack of…

Graduate students often serve as a liaison between a university and its surrounding community through their participation in educational outreach programs. Astronomy graduate students' responses to openended survey questions about their experience volunteering with an educational outreach program were qualitatively coded to investigate how…

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of Reading for Ethiopia's Achievement Developed Community Outreach (READ CO) project intervention on students' oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, academic achievements, and listening comprehension. It also aimed at identifying the students and teachers' awareness and practices about the…

Books designed for beginning readers typically intermix text with illustrations in close proximity. Prior research suggests this standard layout may reduce literacy skills due to increased attentional competition between text and illustrations. The current study extends this work by examining whether manipulations to the book layout can enhance…

This report examines the population of Alaska Native students who are classified as English learner (EL) students and how EL policies function for these students, focusing on EL identification, classification, service provision, and reclassification as fluent English proficient. Alaska is one of several states where Indigenous students make up a…

Public libraries have long supported the literacy goals of public schools in their communities by providing access to printed and electronic resources that enhance learning and teaching. This article describes an ongoing collaboration between the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh's BLAST outreach program and the Pittsburgh Public Schools that has…

A sustainable plan for arts education is not allocated in the operating costs of many elementary school districts. Arts education is becoming expendable, as budgets become tighter and emphasis is placed on test scores in accountable subject areas. High stakes testing, pre-identified supposed outcomes, and public concern about school productivity…

This paper describes a subset of results from a large-scale two-year independent evaluation study conducted with the "Scientists in School" (SiS) outreach program and two large school boards in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, it explores the responses of elementary students (n= 811) from typically underrepresented groups in science…

The transition from 2nd to 3rd grade has received little notice in education research--yet the authors' experience in elementary school counseling convinced them that most students undergo a seismic shift during this period. Third grade is not only the first year students will encounter standardized end-of-grade tests, but also a year in which…

The Blind Childrens Center provides the ideal environment to educate young students. This year, Second Grade was added with a combined First/Second Grade class. Next year, the center will have a dedicated First Grade and Second Grade which will require a full new classroom. This paper presents the accomplishments and activities achieved by the…

Peer scaffolding was examined in the context of an ongoing community outreach program, in which children in the third grade were partnered with preschool-aged children once a month to do crafts and other activities. After each session, the experts wrote reflective journals on their mentoring experiences. Dyads were observed on one occasion for…