'Why study the arts at school?' This book offers a fresh perspective on this question. Informed by rigorous research, the book argues that the arts help young people to develop key skills, knowledge and practices that support them to become both critical appreciative audiences and socially engaged cultural producers. Drawing on a three-year study…

As editors Sara L. Hartman and Bob Klein acknowledge, rural places have long experienced systemic inequities that decrease rural students' access to education, yet many rural schools and communities have found creative means to make up for the dearth of outside resources. "The Middle of Somewhere" brings to light a wide variety of…

Locally or individually, STEM programs provide additional opportunities to engage K-12 students, including those from marginalized groups, with the support of STEM outreach organizations through the co-construction and implementation of STEM activities during school, out of school, at home, and in the community. Research suggests that…

The Promising Practices Network (PPN) on Children, Families and Communities (www.promisingpractices.net) began as a partnership between four state-level organizations that help public and private organizations improve the well-being of children and families. The PPN website, archived in June 2014, featured summaries of programs and practices that…

In a recent issue of "Educational Action Research," Stephen Kemmis argued that action research should be participative in nature and involve "open communication" by engaging the voices and perspectives of others besides teachers, such as students, parents/caregivers and other community members. This article explores the…

This paper describes an innovative interdisciplinary course offered at the University of New Orleans (Louisiana) which involved community members as full-fledged partners with students and university faculty in service-learning-by-doing teams. Each student, with the assistance of a faculty member and a community partner, identified an opportunity…

This report describes a study of the dynamic between selected reform support organizations (RSOs) and the school districts they have partnered with to promote educational reform. The report is directed toward the needs and interests of district leaders and was designed to help them understand district/RSO relationships so they can make informed…

This paper explores the implications of an effort to promote service learning in two middle schools in the Palo Alto (California) Unified School District. The schools are grades six through eight with about 1,000 students in each. The paper describes seven service efforts and then analyzes the costs and benefits of these projects. The study…