Scientific advocacy and outreach programs are encouraged to increase public understanding of scientific knowledge and generate interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. However, evaluation of these events' effectiveness is difficult and somewhat rare. This study's purpose was to better understand how effective…

This paper reports on the first nationwide census examining sustainability uptake in policy initiatives in Canadian K-12 education. Included in the study are each of Canada's 13 provincial and territorial ministries of education, and all 374 public school divisions across the country. Sustainability was defined as including, at minimum,…

To realize California public education's vision of fostering an environmentally literate citizenry, students will require a strong foundation in environmental education, especially during their elementary years. Yet, many students are not exposed to the foundational knowledge and authentic experiential learning necessary to develop environmental…

The Voices of Youth Count initiative's systematic evidence review is the most comprehensive synthesis of evaluation evidence on programs and practices related to youth homelessness to date. Herein, evaluations of outreach interventions for youth experiencing homelessness are summarized. Outreach is a set of activities in which service providers…

This study explores undocumented Latinx students' college access experiences through a racist nativist framework to understand how the ideologies of racism and xenophobia underlie the possibilities of pursuing college aspirations. This article describes five particular ways in which racist nativism underlies undocumented Latinx college access…

Community college students are more likely to be low-income, people of color and first generation in their family to attend higher education than their four-year peers. For a combination of these reasons, they are more apt to be housing insecure. This article discusses how some community colleges are providing new solutions for residences for…

The development of informal science learning programs (ISLPs) is a growing strategy among scientists seeking to engage communities. However, little scholarship exists on higher education ISLPs, limiting best practices for program development. This article explores the perceived impacts for student learners and scientist instructors of an…

Computational thinking is an essential skill in the modern global workforce. The current public health crisis has highlighted the need for students and educators to have a deeper understanding of epidemiology. While existing STEM curricula has addressed these topics in the past, current events present an opportunity for new curricula that can be…

An authentic, interdisciplinary, research and problem-based integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) project may be ideal for encouraging scientific inquiry and developing teamwork among undergraduate students, but it also presents challenges. The authors describe how two interdisciplinary teams (n=6) of undergraduate…

The Smithsonian Science Education Center (SSEC) serves K-12 students and teachers, school districts, state education agencies, and ministries of education throughout the world with curriculum materials, digital resources, professional development, leadership development (through our Leadership and Assistance for Science Education Reform [LASER]…

A wide range of efforts has been explored to fill the United States' need for professionals in the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Understanding the factors that influence student persistence in out-of-school educational spaces such as outreach programs is important to meeting this demand. Outreach programs are…

This doctoral research study examined how nontraditional students from different generations experience returning to college to gain insight into their media and technology usage habits and determine how those differences might influence enrollment marketing practices. The study was designed and administered using relationship marketing as a…

Duplicating processes and procedure with anticipation of deviating outcomes is the defining trait of insanity as attributed to a quote by Albert Einstein. It is the antithesis to innovation, which is what is needed in higher education to create impactful changes in the outreach we should be providing to the community. What is important for those…

A growing body of research indicates that proactive outreach from high schools and college access organizations about college preparation tasks, and specifically focusing on completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), results in increased college enrollment. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the role of colleges…

The purpose of the study is to understand the challenges and opportunities of urban outdoor education centers in partnership and programming. The context for this study involves efforts by all-season outdoor education centers, Outdoor Campus (OC), in two urban areas in South Dakota (SD). Outdoor education scope and social-ecological framework were…