This study examined variables hypothesized to influence behavioral intentions of visitors to frontcountry areas managed by the USDA Forest Service. Data were obtained over a stratified 12-month sampling period (n = 281). Analyses revealed that visitor attitudes toward perceived effectiveness of Leave No Trace practices and perceptions of…

Museums frequently default to simple attendance measures to define success, measures that fall well short of the mission impact these institutions seek to have. Mixed methods studies can integrate quantitative and qualitative findings to paint a robust picture of the impact a museum's educational programming is capable of having, although this…

Research Findings: This is an evaluation study of the effectiveness of an online early mathematics professional development program for early childhood teachers. The eight online courses, along with the Math at Home: Early Math Matters website and resources, introduce early childhood teachers to mathematical concepts such as math literacy, number…

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contracted with three child welfare providers that operate transitional living (TLP) or independent living (ILO) programs (or both) to implement LifeSet, an intensive case management program developed by Youth Villages, for youth in care who are 17.5 to 21 years old. LifeSet helps…

Similar to national trends, in Illinois, fatal opioid overdoses have risen. Black men (35+) outrank all other racial subgroups for the highest rate of fatal opioid overdoses in the state. To address this, Prevention First and the Illinois Department of Human Services developed a public health education campaign to support increasing enrollment in…

Although many young children face risk factors for academic failure, most research about family interventions do not focus on at-risk children. For example, although Parents Interacting with Infants Model (i.e. PIWI) and Baby TALK programmes are widely used family interventions, no empirical research has been conducted about PIWI or Baby TALK…

With growing interest among higher education faculty and administration in adopting open educational resources (OER), several nationwide and statewide OER initiatives are attempting to increase the awareness and encourage the implementation of OER. In the exploration of OER resources for career and technical education (CTE) in Illinois community…

The Agricultural Act of 2014 authorized $200 million for the development, implementation, and evaluation of up to 10 pilot projects to test innovative strategies to reduce dependency on and increase employment among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants. The 10 States that received grants were California, Delaware, Georgia,…

Developing and releasing a user-friendly school report card site is a process for ongoing engagement and improvement. This report describes the continuous improvement efforts of three states--Georgia, Illinois, and Virginia--to make their school and district report cards more user-friendly. The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has…

Preschool Development Grant (PDG) grantees and Head Start programs are funded to provide high-quality preschool education and comprehensive services to families meeting federal poverty guidelines. The overlap of program standards and services across these two programs provides unique opportunities for partnerships. This document provides examples…

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville's multiple techniques for assessing its Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities program seek to address both bigpicture concerns (e.g., are students learning?) and more pragmatic questions (e.g., are there barriers to participation?). The benefits and challenges of the quantitative and qualitative…

Illinois advanced landmark reforms in recent years to improve instruction for its 2 million students. Built upon the bedrock of new, rigorous Common Core State Standards, Illinois education leaders stepped up student expectations, championed educator evaluations intended to provide feedback and improve instruction, redesigned school report cards…

The Striving Readers program aimed to raise the literacy levels of middle and high school students reading below grade level and to build a strong research base on effective adolescent literacy interventions. This report summarizes the results of a systematic review of evaluations of the ten different interventions funded by the Striving Readers…

The purpose of this project was to determine the effectiveness of the Helping Administer to the Needs of the Student with Diabetes in Schools (H.A.N.D.S.?) continuing education program in improving the level of experience and competence in performing services associated with diabetes care. This program is a live course for school nurses providing…

The importance of pre-service teacher training regarding environmental education (EE) has been vastly demonstrated. This systematic review examined the existing evidence from studies evaluating and analysing the relationship between EE, including environmental competences and pre-service primary school teacher training. The literature review…