In 2017, the National 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies (PRKC) taxonomy was updated reflecting the current needs of 4-H youth development professionals. Knowledge and skill gaps of 4-H professionals need to be identified to optimize resource allocation for professional development on the state and regional level. We developed…

Public discourse often frames the value of undergraduate education in financial terms--credentialing and increased earning power. Students must prepare to be self-supporting, but are financial prospects their only important goals? We asked 1,500 students from 11 U.S. colleges to write about their goals, the reasons their goals were important, and…

In the past, parents of children with disabilities have spearheaded several policies for individuals with disabilities. However, little is known about their experiences with legislators. To address this gap, focus groups and surveys about legislative advocacy were conducted with 127 parents of individuals with disabilities across four states. The…

Objective: Adolescents' unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections have a significant impact on the individuals themselves and on society. Peer leaders are students trained to become role models and leaders who promote positive behaviour change in their schools and community. A few studies have examined the effects of taking the role…

Three authors describe a collaboration between a Massachusetts college and a nearby prison, which leveraged the volunteer efforts of a college professor by including incarcerated men who assisted in Spanish language teaching inside and outside the classroom.

A growing number of U.S. institutions are recognizing the importance of reaching out to and involving alumni in meaningful ways--so much so that it's encoded as a specific campaign goal. But, like fundraising goals, alumni engagement goals are not realized easily, overnight, or just because they're committed to paper. Lasting engagement takes…

This article discusses an audience-informed professional development model that combines audience research focus groups and staff training that includes interaction and direct feedback from visitors, in this case, visitors with low vision. There are two critical components to this model: one is that museums' programming decisions are informed by…

Contrary to popular understanding that the United States Peace Corps stemmed from a spontaneous idea generated on the campaign trail to appeal to young voters, John F. Kennedy's celebrated proposal for a federally sponsored, overseas volunteer training programme was drawn from models and theories circulated by American academics. This article…

The civic mission of American colleges and universities has received renewed attention over the last decade. From the "engaged campus" designation now offered by the Carnegie Endowment for the Advancement of Teaching to the growth of Campus Compact (from 782 institutional members in 2000 to 1150 in 2012) to major institutional…

In "Creating Learning Environments in the Early Grades that Support Teacher and Student Success," the National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) profiles three expanded-time elementary schools that leverage a longer school day to better serve young students. In particular, the report describes how a longer day opens up opportunities…

In whole report, a sentence presented sequentially at the rate of about 10 words/s can be recalled accurately, whereas if the task is to report only two target words (e.g., red words), the second target suffers an attentional blink if it appears shortly after the first target. If these two tasks are carried out simultaneously, is there an…

This report complements a national survey of outdoor arts festivals (see "Live from Your Neighborhood: A National Study of Outdoor Arts Festivals, Volume One: Summary Report") by focusing on seven case study festivals: Houston International Festival; Piccolo Spoleto; Lowell Folk Festival; Santa Fe Indian Market; Chicago Jazz Festival;…

The purpose of the present study is to summarize the research to date and report additional findings on a successful alternative model for urban middle level education that is incorporated in NativityMiguel schools. These schools, designed particularly to meet the educational and social developmental needs of young adolescents at risk because of…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

The paper examines the development of expertise and the multidimensional forces at work in the process. A qualitative study involving 12 participants at four museums found that expertise development is a cyclical and fluid process and impacted by content, context, and audience. Two areas comprised the focus of this research: (1) the process of…