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High-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is an important component of thriving communities. It is central to the socio-emotional and intellectual growth of young children, to the ability of parents to go to work, and to the ability of employers to find and retain workers. Despite this centrality, there is a profound shortage of ECEC in many communities, which has only been made worse by COVID-19. This study took place in rural Kentucky pre-pandemic, where approximately half of all residents lived in "childcare deserts"--a situation facing a growing number of communities. This research demonstrates that while financial factors affect the undersupply of childcare in a single community, there are also additional, more opaque, and under-theorized factors at play. Specifically, we argue that misconceptions around families' ability and willingness to pay for ECEC, what families prioritize in an ECEC setting, and ambiguous terminology result in misunderstandings and miscommunication that, in turn, affect perceived solutions to the problem of the childcare desert. In short, when different stakeholders use different language and assumptions to describe their goals and ideas about ECEC, it is hard to reach community consensus about how to add the high-quality options that families desire and value. Drawing upon survey and interview data collected from parents and childcare providers, as well as local newspaper articles and during community forums, we uncover barriers that may hinder efforts to strengthen ECEC options; notably, many barriers are surmountable. Ultimately, this research points to concrete steps that communities can take to help bolster ECEC and, thus, communities at large.

Two chemists employed a three‐device rapid screening "toolkit" consisting of a handheld Raman spectrometer, transportable mass spectrometer, and portable Fourier transform infrared (FT‐IR) spectrometer at an international mail facility (IMF) satellite laboratory to examine unknown (unlabeled/mislabeled) products for the presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Phase I of this project previously demonstrated that this toolkit was the most effective collection of instruments for identifying APIs in product types collected at IMFs during a nationwide mail blitz and Phase II of this project previously demonstrated that results generated using the toolkit during a satellite laboratory pilot program were as reliable as those generated by a full‐service library when two or more of these instruments identify an API. This study (Phase III) described the results of the satellite laboratory toolkit during production mode and encompassed the period ranging from June 2021 through December 2022. During this study, a total of 858 products were examined on‐site at the IMF. The satellite laboratory yielded conclusive results for 726 (84.6%) products, which were used to support regulatory action, and identified 132 (15.4%) products that required additional full‐service laboratory analyses due to inconclusive results. The satellite and full‐service laboratory verified/confirmed at least one API/related substance in 617 (71.9%) products. A total of 709 APIs/related substances were found in the 617 products, and 202 of these 709 compounds were unique/different. Overall, during Phases I through III of this program, 350 different substances have been identified in products collected at IMFs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many undergraduate students pursuing life science majors are not aware of job options outside of medicine and academic research, because many departments stress these as the only primary career pathways. In addition, biology students often do not have many opportunities to develop their science communication and presentation skills due to the rigorous course requirements inherent in these fields that would make them more competitive for careers in biotechnology. We developed a course using diverse pedagogies designed to introduce students to new careers in biotechnology, to help them understand the role of ethics in the drug development pipeline, and to incorporate more communication assignments, such as student presentations and journal-club-style paper discussions to more effectively prepare them for many STEM-based career possibilities. By the end of the course, students had broader knowledge of previously unknown science careers, had improved their scientific communication skills, and reported a greater understanding of course material as a result of the science communication assignments.

Background: Women and people of color are consistently underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields and careers. Though there are myriad factors underlying these gaps, one potential variable may be the extent to which these students feel connected to their STEM classroom experiences. Purpose: The present study investigated the potential of a service-learning experience to support STEM engagement for underrepresented youth. Methodology/Approach: Two cohorts of high school students participated in a summer program through which they built "solar suitcases" to provide electricity for communities in need. Observations and student surveys measured student engagement and changes in STEM attitudes, dispositions, and beliefs. Findings/Conclusions: Students were highly engaged in service-learning activities and demonstrated improved Science Fascination, Science Values, and STEM Career Affinity after participating in the program. Implications: Implications for the design and delivery of culturally relevant service-learning experiences are discussed.

For the past five years, the Brandeis Science Posse program has recruited and retained students from underrepresented groups in STEM disciplines. In collaboration with the Posse Foundation, we have facilitated the formation of a close-knit, mutually supportive learning community, or a "science posse" for sixty students from New York City public high schools. We have investigated how resilience has impacted retention of Science Posse Scholars in STEM fields. We have found that Science Posse Scholars have multiple criteria by which they evaluate personal success and that an upward trajectory over their STEM career leads to their overall resilience. Helping students articulate and define personal perceptions of success throughout their academic career may help retain them in STEM fields.

This article describes the development of a model for an optional, research-based course that bridges two existing, traditionally separate, introductory science courses. This research course provided freedom for students to design and implement new experiments on the basis of technical foundations built from enrollment in separate introductory biology and organic chemistry labs.

Modern research often requires collaboration of experts in fields, such as math, chemistry, biology, physics, and computer science to develop unique solutions to common problems. Traditional introductory undergraduate laboratory curricula in the sciences often do not emphasize connections possible between the various disciplines. We designed an interdisciplinary, medically relevant, project intended to help students see connections between chemistry and biology. Second term organic chemistry laboratory students designed and synthesized potential polymer inhibitors or inducers of polyglutamine protein aggregation. The use of novel target compounds added the uncertainty of scientific research to the project. Biology laboratory students then tested the novel potential pharmaceuticals in Huntington's disease model assays, using "in vitro" polyglutamine peptide aggregation and "in vivo" lethality studies in "Drosophila". Students read articles from the primary literature describing the system from both chemical and biological perspectives. Assessment revealed that students emerged from both courses with a deeper understanding of the interdisciplinary nature of biology and chemistry and a heightened interest in basic research. The design of this collaborative project for introductory biology and organic chemistry labs demonstrated how the local interests and expertise at a university can be drawn from to create an effective way to integrate these introductory courses. Rather than simply presenting a series of experiments to be replicated, we hope that our efforts will inspire other scientists to think about how some aspect of authentic work can be brought into their own courses, and we also welcome additional collaborations to extend the scope of the scientific exploration.

Research Findings: Children from immigrant families are more likely than children of native parents to start school with fewer of the academic skills that are important for long-term success, although evidence on behavioral skills is mixed. Center-based early education and care (EEC) programs, which have been linked to improvements in academic functioning in disadvantaged samples, may serve as a potent resource for children from immigrant families, but important questions remain about their benefits and drawbacks for academic and behavioral outcomes across the diverse population of children from immigrant families. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N ˜ 6,550), this study examined prospective associations between center-based EEC at age 4 and school readiness skills at age 5 among children from immigrant families. Practice or Policy: The results suggest that center-based EEC is associated with heightened math, reading, and expressive language skills and also with lower parent-rated externalizing behaviors for children of immigrants in comparison to children of native parents. Results also revealed heterogeneity in associations between center-based EEC attendance and school readiness skills among children of immigrants based on parental region of origin, household language use, and the language used in EEC settings.

It has been noted that undergraduate project-based laboratories lead to increased interest in scientific research and student understanding of biological concepts. We created a novel, inquiry-based, multiweek genetics research project studying Ptpmeg, for the Introductory Biology Laboratory course at Brandeis University. Ptpmeg is a protein involved in axon formation in "Drosophila melanogaster." In order to better understand Ptpmeg's functionality, students sought to find Ptpmeg's enhancers and suppressors by engaging in either a 4- or a 7-week modular research project. By the end of the semester, students were able to learn various laboratory techniques and acquire a deeper understanding of "Drosophila" genetics in both versions of the course.

The present study explored the prevalence of the derogatory invective "retard" (i.e., "r-word") in everyday speech among American youth. A total of 1,169 youth between the ages of 8 and 18 years old participated in the present study. Results showed high prevalence of the r-word, as 92% of youth had heard someone use the word as a slang invective. Results also indicated that youth responded differently depending on who the word was directed toward (i.e., person with or without an intellectual disability), who said the word (i.e., friend vs. nonfriend), and who heard the word (i.e., females vs. males; younger vs. older youth). Implications for eliminating the r-word from everyday use are discussed.

Although undergraduates have long held a role as teaching assistants for introductory science courses at liberal arts colleges and universities, educational institutions often do not provide these students with opportunities to explore science teaching and pedagogy. At Brandeis University, we designed an internship course to help increase the motivation, understanding, and knowledge of teaching pedagogy for undergraduate teaching assistants that is offered concurrently with their teaching responsibilities. Weekly sessions with faculty mentors are guided by readings in current science education literature, and throughout the semester students are asked to develop new course material based on the pedagogical frameworks discussed. To evaluate the effectiveness of this course, we surveyed students at the close of the semester. We found an overall increase in student confidence levels with regard to teaching and better awareness of the difficulties faced in science education. All students who participated in the course expressed interest in participating in future educational internships. We believe that the Educating Young Educators internship has the potential to be a catalyst for personal and professional growth from a novice into an informed young educator. (Contains 2 tables.)

Evaluates the effectiveness of one-year participation in a program of volunteer-facilitated peer support groups conducted in a southwest Texas high school. Results of program evaluation by participants (N=118) indicate that the program was highly accepted even though two-thirds of the students had initially felt uncomfortable in the group. (Author/MKA)

This study evaluated the effectiveness of one-year participation in a program of volunteer-facilitated peer support groups conducted in a southeast 'Texas high school. One hundred eighteen students who experienced emotional distress or behavioral problems voluntarily participated in weekly groups facilitated by adult volunteers who were not mental health professionals. Seventy-six participants anonymously assessed the program using an instrument developed to evaluate the group experience. Results indicated that the program was highly accepted by the students even though two-thirds had initially felt uncomfortable in the groups. There was significant improvement in the interpersonal, internal, and school domains. Two-thirds of the alcohol and substance users reported reducing their intake or abstaining. The beneficial effects reported by a majority of the participants indicate that schools opting to implement this early intervention program can look forward to encouraging results within one year., Emotional distress and behavioral problems are common in high school students. Wassef et al. (Wassef, Ingham, Lassiter Collins, & Mason, 1995; Wassef, Lassiter Collins, Ingham, & Mason, 1995) have discussed […]