Background: This study evaluated the impact of a school-based nutrition program on preventing overweight and obesity in children in Thailand from 2014 to 2019. Methods: We used difference-in-differences with matched comparison group to evaluate program impact. Treatment schools were categorized into those that participated in phase 1 only, and…

Recently there has been an expansion of the literature on creative arts therapy (CAT) interventions in the United States (U.S.) school system. However, findings across studies in the field have yet to be systematically investigated on a national level. The present review is an integrative systematic review of empirically evaluated CAT intervention…

Outcomes from a large cluster-randomized study of "Second Step"©, a commonly adopted universal SEL program, have previously demonstrated small, teacher-reported effects on social-emotional competencies for subgroups of students. Given the size of investment in large RCT studies, and in SEL programming, replication attempts are warranted,…

Background: There are known health disparities in adolescent substance treatment access and engagement. The purpose of this project is to compare outcomes from school- and clinic-based substance treatment and to evaluate if providing school-based substance treatment reduces disparities in treatment access and engagement. Method: This quality…

The purpose of this review is to highlight the differences in the new contextual statement and standards from past editions, as well as to discuss and provide examples of how CAS Standards can be utilized by Campus Activities Professionals.

The prevalence of mental health and emotional well-being difficulties in children is increasing, and schools play a key role in addressing this. Whole-school approaches have been suggested as an effective way of supporting children's mental health and well-being; however, there appears to be no consistent approach to their evaluation, and…

In this paper, we present insights from the qualitative data collected during a process evaluation of a reading intervention project carried out in primary and secondary schools in West Yorkshire, England. Commercially available reading interventions, financed by the Strategic School Improvement Fund, were delivered by school staff to…

During 2019 the accreditation of a Catholic school serving students in special education, the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools report recommended implementing a Positive Behavior Intervention Supports program (PBIS). This qualitative case study aimed to build on the growing research on Positive Behavior Intervention Supports and…

In response to calls on physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to better prepare teachers for a broadened role in school-based physical activity promotion, the University of Northern Colorado has recently established a Master of Arts in teaching physical education and physical activity leadership (MAT PE-PAL) degree. The…

The authors describe social validity assessment of mindfulness education and practices among high school students (N = 84) participating in a 10-week instructional program. The participants rated their satisfaction with and acceptance of several program components, content areas, and outcomes, as well as their engagement in specific mindfulness…

This article describes the conceptual design and evaluation strategies used in the NFL PLAY 60 FITNESSGRAM® Partnership Project, a large participatory research network focused on building effective school physical education programming. The article summarizes the unique participatory design, recruitment methods, programming strategies, and…

Despite growing interest in data visualization and graphically aided reporting, the evaluation literature could benefit from additional guidance on systematically integrating visual communication design and marketing into comprehensive communication strategies to improve data dissemination. This article describes the role of targeted communication…

Faculty and staff at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed several tools to assess campus civic engagement initiatives. This chapter describes the IUPUI Faculty Survey and the Civic-Minded Graduate Scale, and reports on findings from campus-based assessment and research.

Minority children and adolescents living in rural areas, below poverty guidelines, are less likely to engage in healthy food choices or a healthy lifestyle, and this contributes to obesity issues. Providing children with the skills and knowledge to lead healthy lives is a way to combat this epidemic. Focus groups were conducted at three Extension…

This paper reviews literature on the rationale, challenges, and recommendations for choosing a nonequivalent comparison (NEC) group design when evaluating intervention effects. After reviewing frequently addressed threats to validity, the paper describes recommendations for strengthening the research design and how the recommendations were…