The National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) is a 10-year-long study of the characteristics, experiences, and outcomes of a nationally representative sample of youth with disabilities who were 13 to 16 years old and receiving special education services in grade 7 or above, under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in the…

The challenges facing public health today are too vast, complex, and urgent to be met by public health professionals alone. To improve the health and wellbeing of diverse communities around the globe, public health leaders are developing tools that engage communities in research and action, most particularly community-based participatory research…

The quality of life is a relatively new concept, which is continually changing and for which there is not yet a wholly satisfactory definition. The quality of life involves human, social-economic and health characteristics. The manifold nature of the quality of life led to the development of various patterns for measuring it. The quality of life…

Policymakers target educational accountability primarily at public school administrators and teachers, rather than also include the broader society in which schools are housed and where poverty thrives. This article proposes a process through which community members can develop a report card to determine the educational capacity of a region and…

Three women of color--a professor and two students--describe the role that community engagement has played in helping them gain a sense of belonging in a predominately white, liberal arts college environment. They discuss how engagement with one another within these three domains assists in their adjustment and retention, as well as how their…

This study evaluates the impact of a community-based information campaign on school performance from a cluster randomized control trial in 610 villages. The campaign consisted of eight or nine public meetings in each of 340 treatment villages across three Indian states to disseminate information to the community about its state-mandated roles and…

Complementary education programs have emerged as a useful tool for addressing the educational needs of marginalized communities in the developing world. The literature attributes the success of these complementary education programs to innovative school organization, curriculum development, and community participation. This article is based on a…

Participation in the natural settings of home and community is one of four major goals for families receiving Part C early intervention services. While participation has been formally recognized as an important service-related outcome, there is a need to build knowledge about its key features to adequately apply the concept in practice. The need…

This publication builds on the "Making a Difference Through Strategic Business Partnerships: A Guide for Faith-Based and Community Organizations" guidebook by providing a series of snapshots of partnerships between employers and faith-based and community organizations (FBCOs). FBCOs bring unique assets to the task of assisting…

Municipal leadership can make an enormous difference in expanding the range of high school options and ensuring that more students graduate prepared for work and life. This report draws upon lessons learned from a 2005-07 project on "Helping Municipal Leaders Expand Options and Alternatives for High School," managed by the National…

Over the last 15 years, a variety of efforts to transform American high schools have gained both public and private support. Significant among these efforts are initiatives to implement small learning communities (SLCs). Like other reform efforts, SLCs have several goals, including "downsizing large schools, meeting the needs of at-risk students,…

Power can be equated to the possession of a particular language used to navigate the world. In Mali and Burkina Faso, two former colonies of France, language choice for instruction in mainstream primary schools remains a struggle between the powerful and the powerless. Fifty years after independence from France, both countries continue to…

Sense of Community (SoC) is a key theoretical construct in community psychology. This study validated a SoC scale for adolescents (SoC-A) in Italy. The scale comprises 20 items and five components: satisfaction of needs and opportunities for involvement; support and emotional connection with peers; support and emotional connection in the…

The present project analysed the use of participatory models during the process of application of a prevention program with preschool-aged children in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Relevant phases in achieving community collaboration are delineated and challenges are discussed. Results indicate that participatory models provided an effective means of…

This report summarizes 2010 Profiles data. For each middle or high school that was sampled, the principal and the lead health education teacher (i.e., the person most knowledgeable about health education at the school) each completed a self-administered questionnaire. This report presents information from 47 states, 19 cities, 4 territories, and 2…