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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In March 2019, 81 of Nebraska’s 93 counties were declared states of emergency due to significant flooding and blizzards. Nebraska Extension provided vital assistance to communities during the state’s disaster response and recovery, and continues to offer a lifeline for many struggling to cope.
In a year unlike any other, CYFS and its diverse partners in research, practice and policy have continued work to impact lives through research that advances learning and development.
The CYFS annual report for the 2020 fiscal year, which ran from July 2019 to June 2020, is now available — highlighting efforts to address social, behavioral and educational challenges facing society, both amid and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) attacked Sinjar Province in northwestern Iraq. About 5,000 Yazidi civilians were killed, and the genocide led to the expulsion of thousands more from their ancestral lands. Additionally, thousands of women and girls were abducted.
