Today, more than half of the world population is under the age of 25 years and one in four is under age 18. The urgency of expanding access to Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) notably for children and young people in Africa and Asia is greater than ever before. However, many challenges to the implementation and delivery of CSE in resource…

This paper examines the "ecological validity" of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted in 42 high schools to measure the impact of a content literacy program. This study of comparable schools implementing the same program in different contexts highlights characteristics that are often not attended to in rigorous effectiveness…

In a Mid-Atlantic school district, the administration of standardized assessments begins in third grade. Over the past 3 years, these assessments revealed that an average of 37% of third graders in the local district did not possess necessary reading skills, although over 86% of this group received intervention support in second and third grade.…

While literacy interventions can be implemented in any grade, focusing on prevention and intervention in kindergarten through grade 2 is optimal because reading difficulties become expensive and challenging to remediate as students become older. The Individuals with Disabilities Act of 2004 allows districts to do just this, with 15 percent of…

The Response to Intervention initiative is in danger of failing and being thrown on the ash heaps of countless education reform initiatives, but not because it is poorly structured, rather on account of poor implementation. Among the implementation mistakes are seven that can be watched for and avoided. (Contains 3 tables.)

Schools are increasingly adopting tiered models of prevention to meet the needs of diverse populations of students. This article outlines the steps involved in designing and implementing a systematic Tier 2 behavior intervention within a tiered service delivery model. An elementary school example is provided to outline the identification,…

Within a response to intervention framework, Tier 2 is commonly conceptualized as a supplemental, 30-minute intervention that is provided in addition to the core instructional program. Given the resource constraints that many schools face, this type of model might not be feasible. However, in the light of data that suggest a need for a…

Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices in schools and classrooms, and their own social-emotional competence and wellbeing strongly influence their students. But when teachers poorly manage the social and emotional demands of teaching, students' academic achievement and behavior both suffer.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the social validity of the Social Skills Improvement System--Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) for teachers in the primary grades. Participants included 45 first and second grade teachers who completed a 16-item social validity questionnaire during each year of the SSIS-CIP efficacy trial. Findings…

Summer learning loss--decreased academic performance following an extended school break, typically during the period after one grade ends and before another grade starts--is a well-documented phenomenon in North America, but poorly described in sub-Saharan African contexts. In this article, we use the term "grade-transition break" loss…

Social Perception Training (SPT) is a program focused on changing the perceptual and cognitive processes involved in suboptimal social interactions. It is administered with whole class of pupils over ten weeks. No previous studies have evaluated its efficacy. The present study investigated the outcome benefit of the program in 18 primary and…

This paper reports on the findings in the first phase of a design-based research project as part of a large-scale intervention study in Dutch kindergartens. The project aims at enhancing differentiated instruction and evaluating its effects on children's development, in particular high-ability children. This study investigates relevant…

The purpose of this study was to examine the social validity of the Social Skills Improvement System-Classwide Intervention Program (SSIS-CIP) for teachers in the primary grades. Participants included 45 first and second grade teachers who completed a 16-item social validity questionnaire during each year of the SSIS-CIP efficacy trial. Findings…

In this qualitative case study the researcher examined educators' perceptions of an RTI/MTSS model of instruction and how staff perceptions relate to fidelity of implementation. The purpose of this research was to investigate educators' understanding of the critical components necessary to support implementation of RTI/MTSS framework. The…

New to the "Elementary and Secondary Education Act" of 1965, as amended by the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA) of 2015, is specific language supporting state and local educational agencies in implementing schoolwide positive behavioral interventions and supports (SW-PBIS). According to U.S. Department of Education…