Search

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms affect 40-60% of autistic children and have been linked to differences in adaptive behavior. It is unclear whether adaptive behavior in autistic youth is directly impacted by co-occurring ADHD symptoms or by another associated feature of both autism and ADHD, such as increased irritability. The current study examined relationships between irritability, ADHD symptoms, and adaptive behavior in 3- to 7-year-old autistic children. Results suggest that, after adjusting for co-occurring ADHD symptoms, higher levels of irritability are associated with differences in social adaptive behavior specifically. Understanding relationships between irritability, ADHD, and adaptive behavior in autistic children is critical because measures of adaptive behavior, such as the Vineland Scales of Adaptive Functioning, are often used as a proxy for global functioning, as well as for developing intervention plans and measuring outcomes as primary endpoints in clinical trials.

Classroom research has demonstrated the capacity for significantly influencing student learning by engaging students in evaluation of previously submitted work as an intentional priming exercise for learning; we call this experience "Learning by Evaluating" (LbE). Expanding on current LbE research, we set forth to investigate the impact on student learning by intentionally differing the quality of examples evaluated by the students using adaptive comparative judgement. In this research, university design students (N = 468 students) were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups; while each group evaluated previously collected student work as an LbE priming activity, the work evaluated by each group differed in quality. Using a three-group experimental design, one group of students only evaluated high quality examples, the second only evaluated low quality examples, and the third group of students evaluated a set of mixed-quality examples of the assignment they were about to work on. Following these LbE priming evaluations, students completed the assigned work and then their projects were evaluated to determine if there was a difference between student performance by treatment condition. Additional qualitative analysis was completed on student LbE rationales to explore similarities and differences in student cognitive judgments based on intervention grouping. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of achievement, but several differences in group judgement approach were identified and future areas needing investigation were highlighted.

In design courses, reviewing how others have solved design problems or completed projects is common practice and often encouraged by educators. Using student work as examples can provide context for assessment criteria and help students approach new design problems. While studies have explored the use of exemplars in various disciplines, little research has focused on which exemplars to use (e.g., high-quality, low-quality) in design, technology, and engineering fields. To address this gap, researchers conducted a literature review of 33 articles on exemplar use in secondary and post-secondary education. The analysis revealed nine themes related to exemplar use and their impact on student learning, including (1) Clarity of instruction, (2) Learner focus, (3) Motivation for learning, (4) Student reflection on learning, (5) Building student self-efficacy, (6) Identifying instructional challenges, (7) Providing contrasting cases, (8) The relationship between exemplar quality and student work quality, and (9) Raising the bar for learning outcomes. Findings suggest that simply providing an exemplar is not enough and that the selection of an exemplar can have positive or negative impacts on student motivation, understanding, and application. Carefully selecting exemplars and engaging in dialogue with students can help them identify expectations, recognize quality work, and identify potential misconceptions. These findings have implications for those involved in design, technology, and engineering education. Educators can use these findings to guide their selection of exemplars and engage students in meaningful dialogue to aid their learning. Researchers can also use these findings to further investigate the use of exemplars in these fields.

The numerous stressors and strains of the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to growing numbers of college students experiencing disabilities and needing support. This practice brief explores the challenges faced by disability resource professionals (DRPs) during the pandemic in reaching and supporting students potentially needing accommodations, but who had not formally disclosed a disability with the disability resource office (DRO). Findings highlight the challenges and areas for improvement to better engage students considered within the "pre-disclosure" status--students potentially needing accommodations and disability-based support who have yet to formally disclose to their institution's DRO. Study participants echoed previous findings that there are more students experiencing a disability who have yet to disclose.

The options for Artificial intelligence (AI) tools used in teacher education are increasing daily, but more is only sometimes better for teachers working in already complex classroom settings. This team discusses the increase of AI in schools and provides an example from administrators, teacher educators, and computer scientists of an AI virtual agent and the research to support student learning and teachers in classroom settings. The authors discuss the creation and potential of virtual characters in elementary classrooms, combined with biometrics and facial emotional recognition, which in this study has impacted student learning and offered support to the teacher. The researchers share the development of the AI agent, the lessons learned, the integration of biometrics and facial tracking, and how teachers use this emerging form of AI both in classroom-based center activities and to support students' emotional regulation. The authors conclude by describing the application of this type of support in teacher preparation programs and a vision of the future of using AI agents in instruction.

Learner-Centered Teaching (LCT), as opposed to teacher-centered practices, actively engages students in the learning process. In this paper, we discuss the importance of adopting LCT strategies in family science courses to improve student learning outcomes. Family science is particularly apt for LCT because of the interpersonal focus of the discipline. To help fill an important gap in the literature, seven LCT strategies are articulated within the specific context of family science. We highlight the following seven approaches: small group activities, questioning, think-pair-share discussions, gaming, in-class writing, low-stakes quizzes, and flipped classroom design. In addition to describing the approaches, we discuss class size, adapting the techniques for online courses, and working with students who require accommodations. Finally, we share evaluation data from students that speaks to four of the seven LCT strategies. Our hope is that this paper will offer ready-made ideas that family science instructors may adopt. To conclude, we discuss implications, challenges in implementing LCT, and areas of future research.

Across multiple countries the term "big ideas" of mathematics has become a construct advocated as important for teachers' mathematical knowledge. Indeed, several policy or position statement documents about math learning in the United States (U.S.) have stated that "big ideas" of math is a crucial construct for teacher knowledge. With this study we sought to determine if there was consistency about this "big idea" construct that teachers of mathematics in the U.S. are advised to know. To this end, we conducted a content analysis of resources for U.S. teachers of preschool through grade 12. We determined that few resources defined a big idea and those that did lacked agreement with each other. Although most resources delineating big ideas cited Charles (2005) as the basis of their use of the construct, our analysis of the actual big ideas in each resource revealed inconsistent implementation of Charles' theoretical perspective. Thus, to move research and practice forward by more precisely defining and prioritizing this abstract construct we (a) clarified a definition, (b) specified five criteria, and (c) constructed a scholar- and teacher-friendly framework: The Big Ideas Framework. This framework consists of three ordinal levels to distinguish and prioritize the importance of big ideas based on relative size and power: Mighty Mega Math Ideas, Power Math Ideas, and Strong Math Ideas. Moreover, the big ideas construct has focused on Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching (MKT), whereas we urge the field to shift its theoretical perspective to value the entire construct or at least the two most powerful levels of the framework as aspects of Common Content Knowledge. In other words, we urge teachers and mathematics teacher educators to foreground Mighty Mega Math Ideas and Power Math Ideas with P-12 students and families to empower those we serve. Furthermore, given the dearth of peer-reviewed research about big ideas, we encourage a new branch of scholarship to analyze the impact of the practical recommendations we offered here.

This qualitative study reports on the experiences of international students enrolled in a Health Professional Education program at a large Australia university. International students have long contributed to Australia's economy. However, the sustainability of international students' contributions to Australia's economy is questionable. Challenges for international students have been widely reported in Australia. Students enrolled in Health Professional Education having unique challenges of their own. In total, 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2020 and the data were thematically analysed. The findings uncovered numerous challenges for international students and those unique to international students enrolled in health- related degrees. Although all identified challenges may not be feasible to address, this study highlights recommendations for strategies that could be implemented by universities and policy makers to reduce challenges and to enhance graduate outcomes for this student population.

The abrupt shift to online instruction that occurred in spring 2020, often referred to as emergency remote teaching (ERT), caught many world language educators off guard. To prepare for future disruptions to face-to-face learning and illustrate promising online teaching practices that emerged during this extended period of time that could serve to expand and enhance world language instruction, it is important to understand how ERT influenced K-12 world language programs around the world. To help the world language teaching community better understand how ERT influenced world language instruction, a team of researchers collected interview data from world language teachers and students in the United States and Germany. Results confirmed that instruction was negatively impacted by the sudden shift to online formats, explained how and why instruction was influenced, and identified promising practices exhibited by teachers to mitigate the negative impact of ERT. World language teachers, stakeholders, and school leaders may wish to consider the results of this study to lessen the impact of future disruptions to on campus learning and to enhance the growing presence of online learning in schools.

Little is known about the nature of social anxiety in autistic people: What is similar and different about factors contributing to social anxiety in autistic and non-autistic people? There is also very limited research about autistic people's experiences of therapy for social anxiety in current routine clinical practice. This study investigated these issues by analysing responses to an online questionnaire for 308 adults with elevated social anxiety (232 autistic people and 76 non-autistic people) using mixed-methods approaches. Distinct factors influenced social anxiety in autistic participants, including individual and environmental factors relating to autistic experiences in the social world. We propose a 'distinct' model of social anxiety in autism. In addition, many participants had not had helpful experiences in therapy, especially cognitive behaviour therapy, for social anxiety: They thought therapists did not always acknowledge the basis of their social fears, did not adapt the therapy process in an individualised way and did not understand neurodiversity or recognise neurodivergence. Our results suggest that social anxiety needs to be understood specifically in the context of autism, and if this is neglected, therapy is unlikely to be helpful. Based on participants' comments, this article makes some practical recommendations for therapists supporting autistic adults with social anxiety.

Pragmatic measures of evidence-based practice (EBP) implementation can support and evaluate implementation efforts. We examined the predictive validity of therapist reports of EBP strategy delivery for children's mental health outcomes. Data were obtained from 1,380 sessions with 248 children delivered by 76 therapists in two county systems. Children (M[subscript age]=11.8 years, SD = 3.7) presented with internalizing (52%), externalizing (27%), trauma (16%), and other (5%) concerns. Therapists reported their delivery of EBP strategies on a revised version of the EBP Concordant Care Assessment (ECCA; Brookman-Frazee, et al., "Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research," 48, 155-170, 2021) that included 25 content (e.g., parenting, cognitive behavioral) and 12 technique strategies (e.g., modeling, practice/role-play). On average, 5.6 ECCA session reports (SD = 2.3) were obtained for each client, and caregivers reported symptoms on the Brief Problem Checklist (Chorpita, et al., "Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology," 78(4), 526-536, 2010) at baseline, weekly over two months, and again at four months. Multilevel models examined whether the mean extensiveness of each EBP strategy predicted trajectories of child outcomes. More individual technique (6 of 12) than content strategies (1 of 25) were associated with outcome trajectories. For techniques, more extensive use of Performance Feedback and Live Coaching and less extensive use of Addressing Barriers were associated with greater declines in total symptoms, and more extensive use of Establishing/Reviewing Goals, Tracking/Reviewing Progress, and Assigning/Reviewing Homework was associated with declines in externalizing symptoms. For content, more extensive use of Cognitive Restructuring was associated with declines in total symptoms. In addition, higher average extensiveness ratings of the top content strategy across sessions was associated with greater declines in total and externalizing symptoms. Therapist-reported delivery of some EBP strategies showed evidence of predictive validity and may hold utility in indexing quality of care.

This is a study intended to address white supremacy in science education. To accomplish this, we describe how one White intern, Boaz, learned to teach science in anti-racist ways. By detailing how whiteness mattered in his learning to teach, we demonstrate that whiteness is potentially constant in White peoples' learning to teach science in anti-racist ways. However, we conclude by suggesting that critical whiteness ambitious science teacher education, a merging of critical whiteness pedagogy with practice-based science teacher education provides a potential way to address the presence of whiteness in science teacher education.

Strategic incremental rehearsal (SIR) is an efficacious flashcard intervention shown to improve foundational skill acquisition. However, there is limited research examining the feasibility and effectiveness of SIR when used by school-based implementers. We present two studies to address this limitation. Study 1 examined the effects of SIR implemented by teachers on the acquisition of grapheme-phoneme correspondences with three at-risk kindergarteners. Study 2 examined the effects of SIR implemented by a same-age peer on the acquisition and fluency of addition math facts with 3 second-grade students receiving special education services. Overall, both studies point to the effectiveness of using SIR with students requiring intensive intervention in an focused, short timeframe. The effectiveness of SIR is particularly salient given that teachers and peers were able to implement SIR with high treatment integrity and effectively improve outcomes for students with and at risk for disabilities.

Families are key in the healthy development of Latinx sexual minority youth (Latinx SMY), a group that experiences behavioral, mental, and sexual health disparities. Despite this, there are no family-based interventions for Latinx SMY and their families to prevent drug use, sexual risk behaviors, and depressive symptoms. The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the preliminary impact (i.e., estimated effect sizes) of "Familias con Orgullo" (FcO) and examine its feasibility and acceptability among 30 Latinx SMY and their parents. Parents and adolescents were randomized to FcO or a control condition and assessed pre/post-intervention. Feasibility was measured based on session completion and effect sizes. Focus groups were conducted to evaluate intervention acceptability. Findings showed promising effects favoring FcO on parent-adolescent communication (d = 0.46) and parental involvement (d = 0.34). There were also promising effects favoring FcO on suicidal thoughts (OR = 0.75) and depression symptoms (OR = 0.69). Finally, 100% of the adolescents in FcO either continued to remain drug-free or transitioned from current use to no use (from baseline to post-intervention) compared to 74% in the control. Effect sizes for condomless sex, parental monitoring, and positive parenting were small. Session completion (above 80%) and focus group findings indicated strong feasibility and acceptability. FcO holds promise for reducing drug use and depressive symptoms and improving family functioning among Latinx SMY.

Inappropriate mealtime behavior (IMB) is a type of feeding challenge within the broader class of food refusal. The purpose of this study was to critically analyze the efficacy of interventions for the treatment of IMB through a meta-analysis of research using single-case experimental designs. We examined the extent to which different interventions resulted in decreases in IMB while also producing increases in food acceptance. This meta-analysis was also used to examine the efficiency of different interventions in achieving clinical significance. We identified 38 studies involving 266 cases in which IMB was treated with a behavioral intervention. The results indicated interventions that combined escape extinction and non-escape extinction had greater effect sizes for both reducing IMB and increasing food acceptance than either escape extinction alone or non-escape extinction alone. However, interventions that included escape extinction were slightly less efficient at decreasing IMB than were interventions that did not include escape extinction. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide recommendations for future research.

Alternative pathways to licensure (APL) programs have proliferated nationally as a potential solution to the ongoing critical shortage of qualified special education professionals. Although these programs attract more diverse teacher candidates, they have been criticized for a lack of preparation and support provided to new professionals. This likely exacerbates teacher shortages and contributes to the pervasive underachievement of students with disabilities. Additionally, due in part to wide variations in APL programs, limited research is available on the structure and subsequent impact of APL programs. To gain a landscape view of the ways policy shapes special education APL programs in the United States, the authors analyzed state policies and regulations that guide licensure requirements for special education APLs. To do this, they identified policy and regulation documents and analyzed them for themes related to APL requirements. The authors found wide variability nationally regarding entrance and completion requirements for APL participants, including testing and pedagogical requirements, field experiences, and employment status. This type of policy incoherence has implications for state and local educational agencies, researchers, teacher educators, and policymakers as they seek to evaluate APL programs and determine which structures will most effectively support the recruitment and retention of special educators.

Purpose: Cognitive behaviour therapy based on the Clark and Wells (1995) model is a first-line treatment for neurotypical people seeking support for social anxiety. While autistic people frequently report high social anxiety, it is unclear how appropriate the model is for this population. Methods: Over 300 autistic and non-autistic adults completed an online survey measuring key variables of the Clark and Wells model (socially-related negative thoughts, safety behaviours, self-focused attention). Using multiple regression and structural equation modelling, we assessed whether these variables accounted for the link between autism and social fears. Results: In multiple regression, autistic people experienced greater social fears than expected based on Clark and Wells variables, and safety behaviours were less predictive of social fears in autistic people. In structural equation modelling, Clark and Wells variables only mediated half the link between autistic traits and social fears. In exploratory analysis, we found that distress relating to uncertainty was an additional variable that needed to be taken into consideration in the relationship between autistic traits and social fears. Conclusion: The Clark and Wells variables were relevant in autism, but did not fully explain elevated social fears in autistic people, which suggests that other factors are also important in accounting for social anxiety in autistic people. This means that therapy informed by the model may not be optimal for autistic people. We recommend further research developing adapted therapy for social anxiety in autistic people.

We tested the educational effectiveness of an inquiry-guided approach (Lee et al., 2004; Prince & Felder in "Journal of Engineering Education, 95," 123-138, 2006) to teaching a possible outcome of statistical hypothesis testing known as type 1 error. The approach consisted of showing participants an animated space exploration video. In the video, the commander of a spaceship set out to determine whether the concentration of carbon dioxide on a distant planet exceeded the concentration found on Earth. To make this determination, the commander conducted a series of hypothesis tests. One of the tests suggested that the concentration of carbon dioxide was significantly higher than that on Earth. However, when juxtaposed with the results of the other hypothesis tests, the lone decision to reject the null hypothesis appeared to be a type 1 error. The video's educational effectiveness was evaluated in two ways. First, participants responded to a set of multiple-choice questions on type 1 error, both before and after watching the video. Participants' scores on the multiple-choice test increased significantly from pre-test to post-test. Second, participants rated the video on a set of semantic differential items that tapped its educational effectiveness. On average, participants found the video to be educationally effective. The article concludes with an evaluation of the video's features based on established best practices in statistics education (GAISE College Report ASA Revision Committee, 2016).

The ability to effectively identify students for advanced learning opportunities has been an ongoing issue within the field of gifted education. Common criteria to guide the design and evaluation of identification systems has been essentially non-existent. In this article we provide a practical guide for evaluating and reflecting on the effectiveness of identification criteria, namely: CASA (Cost, Alignment, Sensitivity, and Access). To demonstrate their use, the CASA criteria are described and the criteria are applied to a hypothetical district with discussion about decisions and changes to support more equitable identification and services alignment. A checklist is also provided to guide district leaders with applying the CASA criteria to their own identification systems. This article builds upon previous descriptions of CASA that have been published.

An approach to action research of innovative and disruptive socioecological understandings of young people's wellbeing, resilience, and engagement in middle school was piloted with a coalition of school principals, lead teachers, police, and community development professionals by an RMIT research team. This coalition was built around the Hume-Whittlesea Local Learning and Employment Network and the Whittlesea Youth Commitment Committee in outer northern Melbourne, Australia. Action research facilitated the collaborative design of interventions for reducing middle school disengagement. These were then expressed in logic model terms to guide implementation and subsequent evaluation. Logic models clarified how local innovations, situated in an authorizing environment, can develop promising practices that contribute to system reform. Our project involved characterizing ecologies of young people's engagement, resilience, and wellbeing as part of a place-based strategy.

Preschool picturebook read-alouds have the power to capture the attention of young students by providing an immersive experience that stimulates imagination while addressing learning objectives. The instructional strategies or practices that teachers use during picturebook read-alouds impact student engagement with the story and narrative comprehension. Too little is known about teacher practices during read-alouds, particularly their use of drama-based instructional practices while reading narrative picturebooks. To examine the frequency and quality of teacher read-aloud practices, we developed the Teachers' Use of Strategies for Storytime Drama rubric, an observational tool that captures shared reading, drama-based, and expressive read-aloud practices preschool teachers may use during read-alouds. In general, teachers rarely used commonly recommended read-aloud practices, and when used, quality was often low. Read-aloud practices varied by picturebook type. Books that incorporated a true narrative alongside sequenced events were associated with more frequent strategy use. Drama-based strategies during read-alouds in particular supported children's retelling of the picturebook story. These outcomes align with our hypotheses and with research-based recommendations that teachers carefully choose picturebooks to have increased opportunities for dialogic and dramatic strategies that support students' language skills. Implications for practice are discussed as they relate to preschool teachers' incorporation of drama-based strategies during read-alouds.

Students' sense of belonging impacts their affect, motivation, well-being, and academic success. Sense of belonging is considered context-dependent as what determines one's belonging differs across contexts. This study explores how sense of belonging manifests among post-secondary, introductory chemistry students. This context is important given the threats to belonging that may arise from the transition into post-secondary studies and the pivotal role introductory courses play in student success. To carry out this investigation, 19 post-secondary students from introductory chemistry courses were interviewed following a semi-structured approach. Qualitative analyses were conducted that led to a conceptualization of belonging. Belonging can be situational, dependent on the occurrences within the setting, or dispositional, representing long-standing tendencies. It is also acceptance-based, such as friendships and support, or value-based, where contributions are recognized or acted upon. These traits are combined into four dimensions: Situational Acceptance, Dispositional Acceptance, Situational Value, and Dispositional Value. This nuanced understanding can guide instructional and research efforts to improve students' sense of belonging.

Transition outcomes for Black youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities are especially dire, lagging even further behind already poor outcomes among their White peers. Self-determination is a key factor in predicting better outcomes, but it is unclear how self-determination is fostered or hindered within the transition process for Black youth and their families. This study used the DisCrit framework to analyze interview data from Black students with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their parents regarding self-determination and effective transition services. Analysis resulted in four major themes: historical undertones, proxies for racial bias, spacialization of racialization, and interest convergence. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Epidemiological research over the past two decades has highlighted substance use disparities that affect Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander youth, and the lack of effective approaches to address such disparities (Okamoto et al. in Asian American Journal of Psychology 10(3):239-248, 2019). The Ho'ouna Pono curriculum is a culturally grounded, teacher-implemented, video-enhanced substance use prevention program that has demonstrated efficacy in rural Hawai?i in a large-scale trial (Okamoto in Asian American Journal of Psychology 10(3):239-248, 2019). Despite its potential to ameliorate health disparities and address youth substance use, prevention programs such as Ho'ouna Pono have been poorly disseminated and implemented across Hawai?i, raising the question: "Why are effective prevention programs not used in communities that most need them?" The present study used concept mapping to understand previously identified implementation barriers and develop implementation strategies for Ho'ouna Pono. Seven Hawai?i Department of Education (HIDOE) educational leaders and administrators sorted Ho'ouna Pono implementation barriers (e.g., "There is a lack of HIDOE funding to support prevention curricula"), named concepts, and rated barriers' perceived impact and difficulty. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis yielded a five-cluster solution: (1) Kumu (Hawaiian word for teacher) Controlled, (2) School Level Buy-in, (3) Curriculum, (4) Student Attitudes + Mindsets (Family + Community), and (5) Policy. Participant ratings identified eight high-impact and low-difficulty barriers. Discussion revealed important intersections among barriers indicating the need for coordinated and cross-level implementation strategies to support Ho'ouna Pono sustainment. Brainstormed implementation strategies using participants' own language highlighted a need for participatory methods in school settings to bidirectionally share ways to best sustain substance use prevention programs.

More than two-thirds of middle school students do not read proficiently. Research has shown that targeted interventions using explicit instruction methods can improve reading outcomes for struggling readers. A central feature of explicit instruction is the systematic implementation of instructional interactions, but it is not clear what specific instructional interaction practices lead to stronger outcomes for middle school readers. This study used a regression discontinuity design to compare the frequency and impact of instructional interactions experienced by U.S. eighth-grade students who received a targeted reading intervention (n = 1,461) with those who did not (n = 4,292). Results indicated that students who received intervention experienced far more instructional interactions with their teachers than did students who did not. However, the association between rates of interaction and student need in the intervention group was minimal, and the relationship between the rate of instructional interactions and reading growth was mixed. Implications for intervening with struggling students in the middle grades are discussed.

Cherokee is an endangered Indigenous language. Revitalization efforts often include offering Cherokee language instruction, but these efforts have been hampered by a lack of qualified teachers. An initial licensure program was launched in fall 2019 aimed at supporting Cherokee language renewal via the preparation of teachers. While a step forward, little is known about this program and the extent to which it meets the needs of Cherokee language teacher candidates. In response, we conducted a year-long case study to chronicle the experiences of a Cherokee language teacher as he completes this program. Results confirmed that teachers of Indigenous languages may still be developing language proficiency and may lack resources, rendering instruction more challenging. Findings also shed light on beneficial program characteristics (e.g., attention to lesson and unit plan design) and emphasized the need for greater involvement of the Indigenous community in teacher preparation programs.

Attracting, supporting, and retaining special education teachers of color (SETOCs) is critical in shaping a diverse special education teacher workforce in the United States. However, efforts to diversify this workforce are fraught with challenges at the federal, state, and local levels. This paper reviews what is currently known about efforts to attract, support, and retain SETOCs, and provides guidance for policy makers and researchers regarding what still needs to be done to realize a more diverse special education teacher workforce in the US. Four critical domains serve as the foundation for our guiding considerations: funding priorities, strategies to attract SETOCs, the role of educator preparation programs, and strategies to retain SETOCs.

This article highlights how mentors in spoken word poetry workshops drew on culturally sustaining pedagogy, modeled their own creativity and vulnerability through their poetry, and amplified the voices of youth poets by encouraging them to explore their identities and grapple with inequities in their own lives. Situated in western Sydney, one of the most culturally and linguistically diverse communities within Australia, the article focuses on the Real Talk program, a 6-week school-based spoken word poetry workshop organized by the Bankstown Poetry Slam, the largest slam in the southern hemisphere. It examines the critical role that mentor poets play in supporting young people's storytelling through spoken word poetry.

Concussions are an important issue facing the short- and long-term health of athletes. News media play an important role in shaping public perceptions of concussions. However, such coverage often provides inaccurate information, disinformation, and/or trivializes concussions. To address the problem, the Concussion Legacy Foundation (CLF) provides workshops to teach journalists to responsibly report about concussions during live and post-competition coverage. Spearheaded by journalism instructors, the present study tested the effectiveness of the workshops through an experiment with 90 college journalism students. Students who completed the training showed improvement in scores on a "concussion in sport" literacy exam. They also performed better on the examination than students in a control condition. Results suggest the training is effective and could be standardized for those studying to work in the field of sports journalism.

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence that a novel, industry-situated, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Laboratory (STEM Lab) experience may have on students' (ages 10-18) perceptions of manufacturing-related careers as well as to identify any challenges/strategies for the implementation of these informal learning spaces within manufacturing facilities. STEM labs, which are similar to makerspaces, can be defined as physical spaces where students can learn integrated skills and content through hands-on experiences (Roy and Love, 2017). While STEM labs can be found in a variety of settings (e.g., school libraries, museums, or even theme parks), the industry-situated STEM lab that is the focus of this study is a unique application of such a learning environment in an informal space within a manufacturing facility. However, the aim for this specific space is to offer local students an opportunity to see manufacturing, the people that work there, and the skills that might be necessary to pursue a future career in the various aspects of this industry. This type of career awareness and preparation initiative has become an area of interest for manufacturers as they continue to face increasing challenges with attracting employees and confronting negative, potentially outdated, perceptions of manufacturing-related careers. That being said, this research will not attempt to justify the STEM lab initiative, but will instead provide a critical view of this novel context and this type of informal learning environment. This research objective was pursued by interviewing key industry stakeholders and analyzing an existing dataset-consisting of both student surveys and drawing tests-collected by the host manufacturer over the first year of the lab's operation. By triangulating the data gathered from stakeholder interviews and both student surveys and drawing tests, which were collected before and after their experience with the STEM lab at the manufacturing facilities, this research sheds light on the challenges that similar industry-situated learning environments might face, as well as provides opportunities to potentially enhance the experience from both the student and industry perspective.

Approximately two-thirds of Latinx college students attend Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). Despite the growing number of HSIs, these institutions often fail to result in better educational outcomes and success for Latinx students. As such, more research is needed to explore factors that may hinder HSIs in their ability to support Latinx students. Whiteness--defined as the invasive system of White supremacy that permeates society--is systemically embedded throughout higher educational systems. However, little research has explored the specific ways that whiteness may influence the construction and maintenance of HSIs by senior administrators, staff, and faculty. To address this gap, the present study centered theories from critical whiteness studies (Nayak, 2007) and Garcia's (2018) decolonizing HSIs organizational framework to assess how whiteness operates at a recently designated HSI. We used a critical qualitative case study design that included thematic analysis of 14 student affairs staff, faculty, and senior administrator interviews and document analysis of public-facing institutional materials. Results indicated three predominant themes related to how whiteness is maintained by senior administrators, staff, and faculty, including "the rhetoric of all as a tool of White appeasement, the taxation of bodies of people of color," and "whiteness through good intentions." The study concludes with recommendations for identifying and disrupting whiteness at HSIs, including specific recommendations at the individual and institutional levels.

Despite evidence of the benefits of early care and education (ECE) for child development and family employment, the supply of providers is scarce and variable; leading many families with young children to experience limited and inequitable access. To examine the multidetermined nature of access, this study leverages a multidimensional, family-centered definition and a nationally representative sample of families of preschoolers from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study -- Birth Cohort to examine (1) patterns of access-related features present in preschool-age children's ECE arrangements, and (2) child characteristics, household circumstances, and care setting type that may be related to patterns of access. Latent class analysis model enumeration revealed five latent classes of children's nonparental care arrangements along features of accessibility: "High Across Most Access Features" (26.4 %), "Single, Long-Term Provider" (30.1 %), "Limited Across Most Access Features" (11.6 %), "Low Affordability, Multiple Providers" (10.1 %), and "High Affordability, Recent Transition" (21.8 %). These results suggested many children were in ECE that met multiple dimensions of access, with others in care arrangements that reflected trade-offs. Children were also differentially classified into types of ECE arrangements in relation to care setting type, race/ethnicity, income, household urbanicity, and parental employment. The implications of investigating ECE access as a multidimensional construct, and recommendations for how ECE providers and policy can more closely align with family needs are discussed.

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Framework was utilized to examine the complexity of the teacher turnover problem in regard to structural inequalities within education that need to be dismantled to create equitable outcomes for all students. Hierarchical cluster analysis was implemented to investigate school report card data of elementary schools in a rural school district (n = 18) and an urban school district (n = 41) in geographical proximity in the southeastern United States. Clusters were formed using school level variables including the breakdown of student race/ethnicity, percentage of economically disadvantaged students, teacher turnover rates, years of teaching experience, and a school performance measure. Four clusters emerged from the analysis. Across all variables there were significant differences found between clusters (p <0.001) in the school performance measure, teacher turnover rates, student race/ethnicity, and percentage of students receiving free/reduced price lunch. The percentage of teachers with between 4 and 10 years of experience was statistically equivalent across all cluster groups, differences were found in the number of initially licensed teachers (a low of 9.9% in Cluster 2 to a high of 27.0% in Cluster 4) and teachers with 10 or more years experience (ranging from 46.5% in Cluster 4 to 62.2% in Cluster 2).

In a sample of youth aged 10-16 years with chronic physical illness, this study examined psychometric properties of a modified Psychological Sense of School Membership (m-PSSM) scale; described longitudinal trends in perceptions over 24 months; and, identified factors associated with school belonging. Youth were recruited from a pediatric hospital in Canada. A total of 105 youth attended school in the past year and provided self-reports. The four-item m-PSSM had a unidimensional structure which was measurement invariant between youth in elementary (10-13 years) versus secondary school (14-16 years). Internal consistency was ([omega] > 0.80). There was no evidence that m-PSSM scores changed significantly over time ([eta] = 0.05). Predictors of lower perceived school belonging were being in secondary school, having psychopathology, reporting lower quality of life in the domains of social support and school environment, experiencing peer victimization, and living in a community with higher residential instability and lower material deprivation.