Male social workers make up a small portion of the profession's workforce and little is known about the experiences of male students during social work education. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of male MSW students in the social work learning environment. Using a transcendental phenomenological approach, 22 individual…

In June 2021, the Minnesota Legislature appropriated significant investments in child care, using $537 million in Child Care and Development Funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARP). Investments included: $304 million in direct payments to providers through Child Care Stabilization Grants; $22.5 million for Child Care Facility Grants…

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic affected health and well-being worldwide, but little is known about how the pandemic specifically impacted families with young children. Evidence suggests a relationship between well-being and health behaviors (diet, physical activity) and that preexisting health disparities were exacerbated during the pandemic.…

This 22nd edition of "Quality Counts" offers a fresh take on the annual top-to-bottom ranking of the nation's school systems on a state-by-state basis published by "Education Week". The first of three "Quality Counts" reports being rolled out over the course of the year, "Grading the States" aims to…

On February 24, 2017, all of the authors of the state-of-the-state manuscripts published in the "Journal of Education Finance" met in Cincinnati, Ohio, to participate in a roundtable discussion focused on recent legislative actions in 38 states. A majority of those papers were revised to reflect a final report on legislative actions…

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the loss of many lives and transformed the global educational system. This has resulted in a rapid transition from face-to-face classroom meetings to online education delivery. Online education provides another opportunity to engage students during crises, such as pandemics. However, during the transition to online…

With support from the Blandin Foundation, Invest Early is a comprehensive early childhood collaborative in Itasca County, Minnesota, that serves young children and their families with risk factors that may impede school success. The core services consist of early childhood education, parent education, health services, and extended-day child care,…

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced state and school leaders across the nation and around the world to immediately close school buildings, the lasting impact on students is increasingly evident: Months of online learning and limited in-person interaction with educators, coaches and mentors have led to gaps in learning, and unknown…

This study examined the relationship between the American College Testing (ACT) college mathematics readiness standard and college mathematics achievement using a sample of students who met or exceeded the minimum 3 years high school mathematics coursework recommended by ACT. According to ACT, a student who scores 22 or higher on the ACT…

Invest Early is a comprehensive early childhood collaborative of four school districts in Itasca County, Minnesota, that serves young children and their families with risk factors that may impede school success. Wilder Research, in conjunction with the Invest Early leadership team and staff, is conducting a longitudinal evaluation of the program.…

Objectives and Participants: The purpose of this article is to describe weight indicators and weight-related behaviors of students enrolled in 2-year colleges, including sex differences. Methods: During Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, 441 students from 3 Minnesota community colleges enrolled in the Choosing Healthy Options in College Environments and…

In February 2015 a large group of scholars, researchers, and practitioners interested in P-20 finance issues gathered in St. Louis, Missouri, for the National Education Finance Academy's annual conference, on February 25-27, 2015 to discuss, among multiple topics, the state of P-20 finance in all 50 states. There were 35 states represented in the…

Given the concerning lack of teachers of color in Minnesota, the positive outcomes of having a diverse educator workforce, and growing legislative action in this area with the Increase Teachers of Color Act, the Minnesota Department of Education with the assistance of the Wisconsin-Minnesota Comprehensive Center Region 10 (R10CC) sought to better…

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which vending offerings in 106 schools in the St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota metropolitan area, met criteria for types of beverages, fat, and calories based on selected criteria offered by the Institute of Medicine. Methods: Schools where youth participants were attending for the…

The objective of this study was to describe prevalent informal sources of information about sex and examine associations between informal sources of information about sex and sexual risk outcomes among sexually experienced adolescents. Work involved the secondary analysis of data from the Minnesota Student Survey, a statewide survey to monitor…