Extension has long been successful at recruiting and serving diverse audiences, and with the rapid growth of Latino families across the United States, many Extension professionals are discovering an increased need to recruit and serve Latinos. This article shares successful recruitment strategies incorporated in a project that recruited low-income…

Lynette Brown-Snow, vice president of marketing and government relations for the Community College of Philadelphia, is one of several community college leaders across the country who have taken up one of the challenges proffered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) in its 2012 report, "Reclaiming the American Dream:…

School failure and early school dropout particularly affect members of certain minority groups such as the gypsy population. The obstacles that must be overcome for the members of these groups appear to be related to the discontinuities between the values and goals of community family life and those of the school. This article presents an analysis…

It is often noted that children spend most of their waking hours out of school. What they do during non-school hours is important, because access to high-quality learning, both in and out-of-school, is key to cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. In the United States today, demand for after-school programs outstrips supply: 8.4…

This article explores a faculty-facilitated consultation group that was created for MSW students in an academic setting as a response to the paucity of group work supervision and training available in many field placements. This study considers the context in which training occurs, the impact of systemic and professional factors, which includes…

This case study investigates the implementation of a virtual learning environment designed for language teachers for an institution-wide language programme in a UK higher education institution. This development has taken place over a 3 year period and included a pilot virtual learning environment for 300, followed by a full implementation to more…

This action research project examined how "Efficiency in Learning" ("EL") strategies, "Appreciative Inquiry" ("AI") and the "Interactive Model of Program Planning" ("IMPP") could be used to discern the content and preferred pedagogical approaches in the development of a pre-licensure…

The Baha'i Faith, which was founded in 1863, holds as its purpose the awakening of humanity to invisible possibilities, providing humankind with conscious direction and hope vis-a-vis the challenges and perplexities of time (Rosen, 2010). The Baha'i writings explain that spiritual forces are the foundation of reality and that the Word of God is…

Assessing program impact can provide useful program evaluation data. It also provides a basis for program development, marketing, and justification. This article discusses recent impact evaluation efforts and findings of a long-time Extension program; referred to as Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E). How such information can be…

Peer-based youth services provided by small non-profit community organisations have grown in number over the past two decades in response to an increasing need for informal, youth-friendly, accessible and confidential early intervention services. However, gaps in the evidence base and a general lack of evaluation capacity of service providers…

This study examined the current state of online occupational programs in community colleges and explored issues related to institutional, economic, and social indicators that influence (a) the offering of online programs and (b) the programmatic connection to workforce development needs. The study is based on a random sample of 321 institutions in…

In summer 2003, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation awarded a grant to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) to address the national need for community college leaders. An extensive data-gathering process, part of the AACC Leading Forward project, resulted in the creation of the AACC competencies for community college leaders. This…

Many undergraduates are interested in community-based programming, but at most land-grants undergraduates have little contact with Extension. This article describes a grant project that developed two undergraduate courses about Extension and community-based, experiential education. The academic-year course incorporates lecture, discussion, guest…

Akins High School is the newest and second largest high school in the Austin Independent School District in Austin, Texas. This report describes how the school has used small learning communities and the "HSTW" framework of Key Practices to improve the school culture, personalize the learning environment, improve student achievement and…

This comprehensive text helps prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to build and sustain family, school, and community partnerships that are vital to student success. Focusing on grades preK-8, and with a particular emphasis on diverse families and learners, this book helps teachers to overcome barriers, create action plans, and sustain…