Positive Youth Development, one of Advocates for Children of New Jersey's (ACNJ) newest initiatives, focuses on the intersection of safety, wellness, and education, elevating the strengths of youth and their community. ACNJ examined several data indicators that provide some insight into how youth in Newark are faring, including chronic…

In "Fix the Past or Invent the Future," acclaimed education expert Yong Zhao exposes the deep flaws in the one-size-fits-all policies and practices that have dominated classrooms for decades and left countless students behind. Zhao takes on some of the most popular and seemingly scientific practices and beliefs in education and shows…

Restorative justice has become a widely used intervention in urban schools to address the ways that students of color and students with disabilities disproportionately face punitive disciplinary action. As such, understanding the perspectives of teachers of these students is of the utmost importance. Using Dis/ability Critical Race Studies as a…

This study investigated the influence of a high intensity reading tutoring intervention program combining culturally responsive literacy (CRL) and science-of-reading (SOR) practices on primary grade students' literacy motivation. Participants included 10 university-trained tutors working with 38 kindergarten through third-grade students who…

Many researchers have acknowledged the benefits of the production-oriented approach (POA) in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing. However, the impacts of POA on students' foreign language writing anxiety and English writing performance were still under-researched. Therefore, this longitudinal quasi-experimental study investigated…

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the efficacy of cooperative learning integrated into self-management support in influencing adolescents' physical activity (PA) and cardiopulmonary fitness (CRF), and to examine retention following an experimental intervention. Design: Quasi-experimental design. Setting: Elementary school setting the…

A college degree offers a pathway to economic mobility for low-income students. Using a multi-site randomized controlled trial combined with administrative and survey data, we demonstrate that intensive advising during high school and college significantly increases bachelor's degree attainment among lower-income students. We leverage unique data…

Background: Dialogic reading (DR) is an interactive book reading method in which parents use scaffolded questions and responses by reading picture books to their children to foster their language ability development, enhance their reading interest and reduce their reading anxiety. However, little is known about the effects of parent-child reading…

Previous research has shown that responding to the appropriate and problematic speech of individuals diagnosed with developmental disabilities with interested and uninterested listener responses, respectively, can promote more appropriate conversational engagement. However, Fisher et al. (2013) also responded to appropriate speech with access to…

COVID-19 has presented a period of unprecedented challenge for schools in the United States. Thousands of school buildings across the country were closed in the spring of 2020 through the end of the school year to slow the spread of the global pandemic. Plans to reopen schools in many states remain uncertain as the virus continues to spread across…

Missing data are ubiquitous in studies examining preventive interventions. This missing data need to be handled appropriately for data analyses to yield unbiased results. After a brief discussion of missing data mechanisms, inappropriate missing data treatments and appropriate missing data treatments, we review the current state of missing data…

Given the high prevalence of communication deficits in developmental disorders, there is need for efficient early interventions. The aim of this pilot study is to examine benefits of pivotal response treatment (PRT) for improving language in young children with developmental disorders without autism spectrum disorder. Parents of 15 children with…

Despite the availability of effective early interventions, few preschoolers with mental health issues receive these services. This situation exists partly due to challenges in the identification of emotional and behavioral issues in young children. We developed the Brief Child and Family Intake and Outcomes System for Preschoolers, which is a…

Compassion refers to noticing, feeling and acting to alleviate suffering in others. Being one of the crucial socio-emotional and cultural skills, surprisingly little is known of early childhood education (ECE) teachers' compassionate behavior and their ability to teach it to children. Overall, research on compassion in early childhood education…

Knowledge exchange interventions are an important driver of research impact. This study examines 5 years of intensive knowledge-exchange 'reform labs' in the field of education policy. Using qualitative analysis and a regression analysis approach applied to rich case data and quantitative results, we find that the reform labs have a significant…