Early adolescents often hear messages like "Don't spend too much time on your phone!" Yet little is known about how middle school youth regulate their smartphone usage. To help fill that gap, the authors held a week-long summer workshop to explore early adolescents' perspectives on positive and healthy social media usage. A…

Out-of-school time academic/STEM programs provide educational enrichment to a myriad of student populations with some designed to assist those underrepresented and at-risk who desire to purse post-secondary studies. One such program in West Virginia (WV) is the Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA), which provides hands-on, in person and…

New Jersey's state grant program delivers the highest level of need-based aid per student in the country. And the state's major grant program, the Tuition Aid Grant (TAG), funds all eligible students, rather than excluding students when the funding runs out. But different levels of grant aid for enrollment in different institutions within sectors,…

This action research study explored implementing a remote summer bridge program that was offered in a synchronous format to comply with the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the action research study was to address the problem of a high attrition rate of Educational Opportunity Program students through the…

Background: To build research capacity for early-career faculty conducting HIV/STI research with minoritized communities and to enhance diversity in the scientific workforce, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Center for AIDS Prevention (CAPS) conducts a training program for visiting professors (VPs), begun in 1996. VPs are in…

During four intensive summer weeks, 28 students were exposed to the daily life of top political leaders (ministers and city mayors), acting as their political advisors. Real-life assignments were planned in cooperation with liaisons from the personal offices of these political leaders. The cases brought the hectic, complicated and uncertain life…

For many people, the word "summer" evokes easier days, a time when life slows down. So does the term "summer break," a time parents, teachers, and students alike value as a well-deserved respite from the labor of the school year. Unfortunately, a growing body of evidence shows that summer is far from a time to recharge for many…

The high attrition rate of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) majors is a main concern in education. A number of factors may account for students' departure, among which preparedness for STEM learning in college is a crucial determinant. Extensive work has been done to enhance students' preparedness through efforts such as…

The purpose of this study was to provide a qualitative case study analysis of the soft skill development of summer camp staff members at the Kentucky FFA Leadership Training Center and to look at whether or not the leadership development focus of the camp program had an increased impact on the development of the staff members' leadership skills.…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool to third-grade initiative designed to boost literacy skills and ensure that children are reading proficiently by the third grade. First launched in 2012 by the County of San Mateo, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the San Mateo County Office of Education, Big Lift comprises more than 300…

Despite higher education becoming more accessible for students with disabilities, these students are often still unable to accomplish one of the most basic goals for obtaining a college degree: successfully obtaining gainful employment after graduation. This article provides an overview of a qualitative study which examined the experiences of…

This mixed-methods research was conducted to understand the impact of learning and player growth in a League of Legends summer camp. Eighteen adolescents engaged in a three-day sleep-over summer camp with various team building activities. Data collected included API metadata from pre- and post-camp as well as semi-structured interview data with…

"Al Éxito" supports the leadership development, post-secondary education, and civic engagement of Iowa Latina/o youth. In the summer of 2015, it piloted "Movimiento Al Éxito," a "pop up" summer program. In this article, we detail the innovative components and curriculum and describe our journey with "new…

In 2017, 53,716 refugees entered the United States; the state of Michigan ranks sixth in refugee resettlement numbers. Each year, nearly 600 new refugees settle in Newtown, Michigan, which is now home to more than 20,000 newcomers who represent diverse language and ethnic groups. In this ethnographic case study, the authors investigated the ways…

In recent years, many journalistic exposés and research reports have raised concerns about the quality of credit recovery programs, which are available in about 75 percent of US high schools and serve about 6 percent of students. Stories relay how schools from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, have used the system of makeup courses to boost…