The need for community leaders is increasing while the supply of community leaders is decreasing, leaving a gap in community leadership. Community leadership development programs (CLDP) are the most common approach to leadership development, yet the effects of CLDPs are rarely determined. In order to sustain programs that develop potential…

In the city of San Jose, more than half of all public school students tested are not proficient in their grade-level skills. This article discusses how school, civic and community leaders have joined forces with the goal of eliminating the achievement gap in San Jose by 2020. This wide and highly inclusive collaboration is made possible by an…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the role a rural community college plays in the development of its community, using a holistic, community-based lens that considered college and community context, interactions and results to answer the question: "How does the rural community college impact the development of the…

This book is for community leaders, librarians, library committees, volunteers, aid workers and others who are interested in the practical aspect of starting and maintaining a successful library. Throughout the developing world, countless dedicated people respond to the pressing need for information in their communities by helping to start a…

Business, education and community leaders are working together to create alternative career pathways for young people who are not profiting from the four-year college track. The new Pathways to Prosperity Network brings together the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE), Jobs for the Future (JFF) and six…

Purpose: Improving urban schools of color and the communities where they are located requires leadership that spans school and community boundaries. The purpose of this study is to understand how principal and community leader actions support urban school reform along with community development at two community schools in the urban Midwest and…

In this quasi-experimental design, I examine the impact of a political engagement program on students, looking at traditional measures of internal efficacy, as well as other areas of political engagement including levels of political knowledge, the development of political skills, and interest in media coverage of politics.

Hallsburg ISD is a small, rural, K-6 school district struggling to sustain its operations due to reduced funding from the state, decreased enrollment, and a decrease in the local tax base. This Problem in Practice Record of Study examines the sustainability issues associated with this school district and its importance to the community. Key…

Past research has shown that out-of-school time (OST) programs can have substantial benefits for youth, but connecting youth to programs can be challenging for a variety of reasons. To address these challenges, community leaders working with youth in one Silicon Valley community approached the John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities…

The author presents keys to designing a class that successfully melds service learning and student leadership development. These prescriptions are based on the lessons learned over 8 years of teaching a class titled "Community Leadership." This class emphasizes experiential learning and revolves around service learning projects. The…

This critical sociolinguistic paper adopts a materialist view of how multiple languages and identities are negotiated in an effort to re-examine multilingualism and why people invest in certain sociolinguistic practices. The focus is on the social and linguistic resources and performances of Portuguese-Canadian youth in student cultural…

It is the vision of the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences to be "recognized as the driving force in bringing people together to improve the lives of individuals, families, and communities" (AAFCS, 2010). Because of this focus on individuals and families and its well-established presence in American schools, family and consumer…

More than half of poor African American infants are born into "fragile families" and nearly half grow up in single-mother families with little or no father involvement. However, most prenatal interventions fail to help unmarried mothers talk and plan together with their baby's father, especially when fathers are nonresidential. This…

This report addresses a critical knowledge gap between reconciliation theory and practice in post-conflict settings. Spearheaded by the Center for Applied Research on Conflict at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the larger project goal is to map reconciliation practices to better understand how reconciliation is conceived, what…

Community engagement in natural hazard preparedness is crucial to ensure sustainable initiatives. Children are important members of communities, and can actively contribute to community preparedness. This article presents research undertaken with 11- to 12-year-old students from a school in Auckland, New Zealand, and leaders associated with the…