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Brazil research empowers vulnerable families, communities amid COVID-19 crisis

Cody Hollist, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, is part of a team of researchers working to improve educational outcomes for children and youth living in Brazil.

Efforts to help vulnerable communities is most effective when it actively engages community members, agencies and other stakeholders in solving complex social problems.

In many parts of Brazil, communities must find their own ways to address the needs of children and families with limited resources. Those needs have intensified since early 2020, as COVID-19 quickly spread throughout the country. Full Article

Project examines how external, internal controls in schools affect students’ opportunities to learn

An ongoing study is examining how internal school controls, such as guidelines implemented by a school’s principal, administrators and teachers, can mediate the impact of external controls from the federal, state and city level. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

When it comes to measuring student outcomes, grading individual schools can be complicated.

Although federal, state and local mandates are continually added to school-based policies and practices used to measure student performance — and hold schools accountable — research indicates that such measures have mixed effects on student achievement, graduation rates and equity in learning. Full Article

Study: Social media discourse significantly drives public’s perception of Asian Americans, Pacific Islanders

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have reported alleged incidents of discrimination and violence. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected people from all walks of life in the U.S., the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community have experienced an added share of hardships, according to a recent Nebraska study.

A recent analysis of the use of the term “China virus” and other racially charged terms by government officials and the media — and the resulting conversations online — reveals more evidence of social media’s powerful influence on public perception and the potential to stoke racist discourse online. Full Article

Literacy a lifeline for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Nebraska researchers are developing a detailed literacy profile to identify strengths and weaknesses in reading, writing and cognition skills among students with IDD. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Each year, approximately 7 million U.S. students receive special education services. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 25% of those students have an intellectual or developmental disability (IDD) such as challenges with adaptive functioning, intelligence or conditions such as Down syndrome or autism spectrum disorder. Full Article

Study investigates American atheists’ stigmatization, psychological well-being

Research shows that U.S. atheists frequently experience social stigma from their non-beliefs. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

The religiously unaffiliated, including atheists, are the fastest-growing (non)religious population in the United States. But the social stigma associated with atheism leaves this population vulnerable to isolation and poor mental health outcomes.

Dena Abbott, assistant professor of counseling psychology, is using a one-year Research Council grant to investigate the psychological well-being of two groups of atheists — rural-residing and woman-identified atheists — in the context of anti-atheist discrimination in the U.S. Full Article

Project leverages online simulations for real-world civic experience

Evan Choi, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, is leading a pilot project designed to provide civics, entrepreneurship and leadership education to at-risk youth from two of Nebraska’s highest-poverty communities. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Civic knowledge and community engagement is no game. But Nebraska researchers are developing a project that leverages some good, clean online fun to help develop and encourage good citizenship.

Evan Choi, associate professor of child, youth and family studies, is leading a pilot project designed to provide civics, entrepreneurship and leadership education to at-risk youth from two of Nebraska’s highest-poverty communities through an innovative learning program based on interactive online games and simulations. Full Article

Study explores how early language skills predict kindergarten readiness, later reading outcomes

A collaborative, multi-institution project is exploring how prekindergarten children’s early language gains predict their kindergarten readiness and later reading outcomes. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

Early language development is considered crucial for children’s school readiness and, ultimately, their reading success. But there are gaps in understanding how to best support children’s language skills during the preschool years, before they enter formal schooling. Full Article

SMILE project aided by COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant

The Self-regulation and Motivation In Learning Environments (SMILE) project, whose funding was supplemented by an ORED COVID-19 Rapid Response Grant, examines children as they transition from second to third grade — and how their self-regulation, motivation and interactions with teachers, parents and peers impact their classroom behavior. Learn more in the CYFS Research Network.

In early 2020, Jenna Finch, assistant professor of psychology, began a pilot project to identify which non-academic factors help predict a successful transition from second grade to third grade.

Third grade presents significant new challenges for students, including the onset of standardized testing, increased behavioral expectations for them to work independently and the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Full Article