The widespread adoption of research-supported treatments by mental health providers has facilitated empirical development of quality assurance (QA) methods. Research in this area has focused on QA systems aimed at assuring the integrity of research-supported treatment implementation, while examination of QA systems to assure appropriate…

Introduction: Coexistence in schools inevitably implies conflicts among peers, which can have a negative impact in both the students' well-being and their academic achievement. In this sense, the main objective of the present article is to introduce and describe the evaluation of the Training Program in Emotional Management Happy 8-12. This…

Communities of practice, which enable sustained collaboration among fellow practitioners, have potential for advancement of faculty development, but traditionally employ face-to-face meetings with inherent economic and geographical limitations. Our virtual community of practice (VCP) model exposes engineering instructors from across the country to…

An extensive body of research has demonstrated that the use in a K-12 classroom of technology, such as the Internet, computers, and software programs, enhances the learning of mathematics (Cheung & Slavin, 2013; Cohen & Hollebrands, 2011). In particular, growing empirical evidence supports that certain types of technology, such as…

The State of Wisconsin's YoungStar system was created by the Legislature and Governor in 2010 to "drive quality improvement in child care throughout the state." YoungStar uses a five-star system to rate child care providers based on several measures of quality, including staff education levels, learning environment, business methods, and…

This study investigates the effects and feasibility of an intervention for first-grade students at risk for reading difficulties or disabilities (RD). The intervention was provided by general education classroom teachers and consisted of 15 min whole-class comprehension lessons (Tier 1) and 30 min Tier 2 intervention sessions in word reading,…

This article highlights the capacity of an Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander Institution (AANAPISI) to serve as an institutional convertor--by addressing challenges commonly associated with marginalized students--for low-income, Asian American and Pacific Islander students entering college. Through an in-depth case study, we…

"INSPIRE" is an Investing in Innovation (i3) development grant funded by the Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education. "INSPIRE" provides an innovative integrated K-12 STEM pipeline approach focused on STEM course content and instructional redesign. The INSPIRE model was implemented in Cabarrus County…

Novice teachers often lack effective teaching strategies and exhibit poor classroom management, which creates disruptions in the classroom that lessen the quality of instructional time for students. The purpose of this program evaluation was to examine a teacher-mentor training program and the experiences provided to participants to gain a deeper…

Patients' health and health needs are influenced by categories of difference like sex, gender, ethnic origin and socioeconomic status (SES). To enhance awareness of this diversity among patients and to provide holistic care for them, health professionals should first be aware of the relation between dimensions of diversity and patients' health and…

Federal social programs are rarely evaluated to determine whether they are actually accomplishing their intended purposes. As part of its obligation to spend taxpayers' dollars wisely, Congress should mandate that experimental evaluations of every federal social program be conducted. The evaluations should be large-scale, multisite studies to…

The Utah State University Sound Beginnings program originated in 2007 as a laboratory school to serve children with hearing loss from birth to age 6 years old living in Northern Utah. Sound Beginnings offers an interdisciplinary listening and spoken language educational option for families through the following services: toddler and preschool…

Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting legislation permits states to fund "promising practices"--with the understanding that these models will have a rigorous evaluation component. This article describes an innovative, low cost paraprofessional home visiting model developed in Pennsylvania by the Maternity Care Coalition. In…

Purpose/Objectives: The US Department of Agriculture created its Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) to address poor nutrition and rising obesity among children. The FFVP allocates funding for selected elementary schools with at least 50% free/reduced price school meal enrollments to provide free fresh fruit and vegetable snacks to students.…

This chapter is a case study of one institution's effort to institutionalize a process through which student development is promoted through active engagement with the community.