This study utilized a quantitative approach to compare extension employee perceptions across organizational structures in the West region on the following issues: program delivery, program evaluation, funding, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The three extension structures characterized in this study were county-based, area-based, and a…

For decades, most states have made a practice of giving citizens returning from prison or jail a small amount of money, called "gate money," to cover the cost of transportation and other immediate needs. Many legislatures have considered increasing the dollar amount of their cash assistance and offering this kind of support more widely.…

Despite the surging interest in introducing lottery mechanisms into decision-making procedures for science funding bodies, the discourse on funding-by-lottery remains underdeveloped and, at times, misleading. Funding-by-lottery is sometimes presented as if it were a single mechanism when, in reality, there are many funding-by-lottery mechanisms…

The purpose of this study was to understand how fine art teachers viewed the quality of their programs within public school settings. The purpose was to also learn how funding can potentially affect the quality of a fine arts program from the stories of public high school fine arts educators. Goodson's theory of educational change was used to…

This chapter reviews the extensive literature to date on CCTs for education. Section 2 provides background on the origins and expansion of CCTs globally, and describes basic design features and variation in characteristics across programs. Section 3 presents a theory of change and an economic household decision-making model highlighting key…

State school safety centers (SSSCs) aim to provide a wide range of services to enhance school security. Still, more information is needed to understand how the centers should operate and what factors determine their success. In 2021, the WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center received funding from the U.S. National Institute of Justice to…

Purpose: To evaluate pluralistic Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) systems performance and outcomes, and share the experiences made with applying a participatory semi-quantitative approach allowing for cross-country comparability. Design/methodology/approach: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) developed the…

"Building Successful Extracurricular Enrichment Programs" is a must-read for educators or administrators who want to develop, implement and maintain engaging out-of-school programs. Accessible and easy to use, this book focuses on four basic approaches to building enrichment programs: grassroots, semi-structured, franchise and fully…

In June 2021, the Department for Education (DfE) announced the Early Years Education Recovery funding, a £180m package of support to help the sector recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It comprised training programmes, qualifications, guidance and targeted whole setting support, delivered through a series of complimentary work programmes. This…

In 2022, the Center for the Study of Social Policy and Project SPARC conducted research to better understand the barriers experienced by parenting students participating in CalWORKs, California's cash assistance program for families with children. This brief highlights findings from the research on who parenting students are and their experiences…

Distance education (DE) has a unique potential to ensure continuity of education in extraordinary circumstances such as pandemics and earthquakes, in addition to its advantages such as flexibility in terms of time and space and self-paced learning options. Institutional support provided for instructors engaged in DE programmes is one of the…

This study addressed gaps in research on understanding the preparedness status of emergency management programs within Florida College System (FCS) and State University System (SUS) institutions. The quantitative assessment involved 21 institutions (51% response rate). A survey instrument was developed from prior studies and measured programmatic…

This research explores the suitability of system-based simulation analysis for higher education (HE) policy-planning. A dynamic system model of the Finnish university funding system covering bachelor-level students is presented. The results show that the model captures the nature of the current funding system, which can be considered a zero-sum…

Rather than imposing more school after school, out-of-school-time (OST) programs can integrate literacy into their program activities--just as literacy is integrated into every aspect of everyday life. Program activities give participants opportunities to put literacy, math, and science skills to use in authentic contexts. However, OST staff…

The condition of food insecurity and malnutrition for school-aged children and adolescents remains one of the most influential determinants of learning outcomes. Healthy and well-nourished students learn better, have a prodigious opportunity to thrive and fulfil their potential as adults, and increase their earning potential. The purpose of this…