In 2012, Canadian media coverage on Bill 13--an Ontario legislative proposal to require all publicly funded schools to support Gay-Straight Alliances as a means of addressing issues concerning bullied lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students--instigated a divisive exchange among representatives of the Ontario Catholic school sector.…

Traditionally, journalism majors gain professional experience before graduation through internships, part-time or summer jobs, and campus media. Those avenues are often insufficient to adequately prepare them for the professional workplace and professional standards. This essay explores two of a journalism school's practice-based programs that…

Families influence their children's health in two ways that are amenable to public policy- through their financial and other investments in children, and through the quality of care that they provide. In general, children who receive more resources or better parenting are healthier than those who don't. Public policies, therefore, might improve…

Above all else, the American creed is one of liberty and opportunity. In the 21st century, whether the topic is economic opportunity, responsible citizenship, or political engagement, the role of education is more significant than ever before. That means political and civic leaders committed to a vision of opportunity--and especially to equal…

"Career Academies" is a dropout prevention strategy for youth considered most at risk of dropping out of high school. Students in the program take both career-related and academic courses and acquire work experience through partnerships with local employers. "Career Academies" integrate rigorous academic curricula with career…

Community engagement (CE) is a core function of the university in South Africa. In the field of education, the imperative to pursue and promote CE provides an exciting opportunity for researchers to work with school communities to address the many challenges that threaten the quality of teaching and learning. Yet, relatively few researchers in…

This article recounts how a university-community collaborative challenged prevailing assumptions about parents as barriers to the provision of gender and sexuality information to their children, allowing for the recognition of parents as critical stakeholders and partners in sexual literacy work with youth. We provide evidence that parents'…

"A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future," commissioned by the U.S. Department of Education, was published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities in 2012. Representing the work of the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012), the report builds a strong case for higher…

This article describes the story of resilience of a mother who achieved multiple successes despite challenges that included child abuse and homelessness. The factors that contributed to her success included consistent support from a team of staff of the family Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) Program. This agency serves mothers from 18 to 25…

Nationally, many resources are spent on programs to ameliorate poor educational and economic outcomes for our children and families, in particular for urban and immigrant families. Programs like the federally funded Head Start, Community Development Block Grants, and thousands of nonprofits across the nation provide out-of-school-time academic and…

Background: Many states provide public funding to facilitate school readiness for community-based pre-K and preschool programs for 4 year old children and "at risk" 3 year old children. Little research exists on the school readiness gains of children participating in these "garden variety" community-based programs. Objective:…

This report describes several linked empirical studies that examine the activities of public libraries in increasing the financial literacy of their service population. A qualitative field study examines librarians' perceptions of the challenges in offering information and services in this domain; a second set of interviews centers on the…

Using a sample of 284 sexual minority youth and young adults, this paper examines the relationships between mental health variables, the absence or presence of a gay-straight alliance, and membership status in a gay-straight alliance. The results suggest that the presence of a gay-straight alliance in a school or college, rather than actual…

When planning and evaluating community-level initiatives focused on policy and environment change, it is useful to have estimates of the impact on behavioral outcomes of particular strategies (e.g., building a new walking trail to promote physical activity). We have created a measure of estimated strategy-level impact--"population dose"--based on…

Background: There has been little evaluation of school-located vaccination programs that offer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in US schools without health centers (ie, extramural programs). This article summarizes lessons learned from such programs. Methods: In July to August 2010, 5 programs were identi?ed. Semistructured, in-depth telephone…