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Each month, EDC posts several new feature articles. This page provides an archive of past articles, including reports of emerging research and profiles of new EDC publications and Web sites.

  • "We Enjoy Books"

    A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to breaking down cultural stereotypes and crossing linguistic barriers. That’s the thinking behind a new curriculum for Japanese schoolchildren that uses picture books to help Japanese students learn about the United States. The curriculum was developed by EDC and Japan’s Iwate University, with funding from the Japan Foundation’s Center for Global Partnership.

  • New Youth Leaders in the Arab World

    This spring, Arab young people joined their contemporaries from around the world at a national service-learning conference held in New Mexico. At a panel called “Youth Leadership in the Arab World Post 9/11,” the participants countered negative stereotypes of Muslim youth today and shared their values, accomplishments, and aspirations for their region and the world. The conference drew nearly 3,000 participants.

  • Teaching Via Radio

    Kit Yasín directs projects in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Horn of Africa. Her work in interactive radio instruction, educational songwriting, and girls’ education has brought her to Haiti, Ethiopia, Colombia, Egypt, Somalia, Gambia, Grenada, and Djibouti. She works in EDC’s International Education Systems Division in Washington, D.C.

  • One District at a Time

    Turning around “underperforming” schools or districts is difficult work. And it becomes more urgent every day as the number of schools earning this designation grows—and the consequences get tougher.

  • Education Lab Meets Region's Needs

    How can districts reduce teacher turnover? What math programs work for children with disabilities? Can high school administrators increase parent involvement? These are just a few of the questions educators and policymakers wrestle with as they work to meet federal requirements while also educating an increasingly diverse student body. To aid states, the federal government’s Institute of Education Sciences supports regional educational labs that develop and share the best in educational research.

  • New Center Hosts Mathematicians

    Seeking to improve mathematics education at the graduate level, EDC’s new Center for the Scholarship of School Mathematics is hosting a summer institute for university faculty. During the weeklong institute, faculty members will explore mathematics curricula at the K–12 level and then design similar experiences for their doctoral students.

  • Not Your Parents' Math

    Like many math teachers over the last three decades, Al Cuoco of the Center for Mathematics Education (CME) was dissatisfied with most of the commercially available curricula. For the past five years, he has worked “to create the mathematics texts I always yearned for.”

  • Documentaries Explore HIV/AIDS Crisis in Thailand

    Children in Thaliand who were part of the documentary films.

    EDC staff in Thailand enlisted the help of local university students to bring greater public attention to the scope of the HIV/AIDS crisis in that country. In partnership with film students from Chulalongkorn University (Chula), project staff researched, wrote, and produced three short documentary films that report on factors contributing to the epidemic, the plight of children orphaned by it, and promising new community-based responses.

  • Thai Youth Create HIV/AIDS Films

    To publicize the scope of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Thailand, EDC staff turned to local film students.

  • Clearing Up the Fine Print

    EDC’s Adult Literacy Media Alliance (ALMA) has developed “Health Smarts While You Wait,” a volunteer-based health literacy program implemented in clinic and hospital waiting rooms to help patients improve their health literacy and manage their healthcare more effectively.

  • A Painful Reality

    When her son was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, EDC’s Eileen Mackin was shocked at how unfamiliar his school was with handling mental health problems. After years of talking, learning, and advocating, she is now creating resources so other parents and schools can learn from her experiences. With funds from the Weyerhaeuser Family Foundation, she has developed a pamphlet for parents on how they can work with their child’s school on mental health issues and is producing a companion pamphlet for schools.

  • "My teenager doesn't drink!"

    Many parents acknowledge that teenagers are drinking, but most believe that the drinkers are other people’s children. However, the numbers prove that that hope is likely to be false. In Revere, Massachusetts, for example, surveys found that more than half of middle school students were drinkers. In response, community members invited EDC to help parents and others understand and reduce underage drinking.

  • What Is Healthy Day Care?

    What’s the safest position for a napping infant? Which immunizations should a preschooler receive? For those who work in child care programs, such vital health-related questions occur daily. Yet, many child care providers lack knowledge in basic health and safety issues. To fill this need, programs often engage child care health consultants (CCHCs), who bring up-to-date information to program staff. EDC is working with these consultants and state early childhood education and health leaders to enhance the quality of child care services around the country.

  • The Human Touch

    When Deborah Dokken gave birth prematurely to her daughter Abigail, mothering took place in a neonatal intensive care unit, where her daughter struggled to survive.

  • Learning in the Midst of Armed Conflict

    The island region of Mindanao in the Philippines has been home to a minority Muslim population for more than five centuries. Much of Mindanao’s history has been marked by war, poverty, inter-clan fighting, and ethnic marginalization. Armed conflict has pulled boys out of school and disrupted the local economy. Today, about half the children in the region do not attend school, and only one in six teens enrolled in high school will graduate.

  • Working With Teachers in Zanzibar

    Hanifa with some of her students.

    Many children living on the islands of Zanzibar do not benefit from schooling. There are several reasons: extreme poverty, cultural beliefs that limit girls’ participation, distance from school, and lack of early learning experiences that prepare children to succeed are some of the most important.

  • Can Technology Improve Student Comprehension?

    The votes are in, and Jane Addams, the social reformer and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has been selected as the “American History Idol.” Inspired by the hit TV show American Idol, EDC created a curriculum unit where students write persuasive essays on key historical figures, and the class then votes on who had the greatest impact. To gather, organize, and present information for their essays, students use the software program Draft: Builder, originally developed at EDC and now published by Don Johnston, Inc.

  • Addressing Underage Drinking

    Underage drinking affects not only teens, but their families and the community-at-large. An ongoing project in EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs (HHD)is working to change the social norms that contribute to dangerous teen drinking in Revere, Massachusetts, an urban community of 47,000 just north of Boston.

  • Health and Safety in Child Care Programs

    What’s the safest position for a napping infant? Which immunizations should a preschooler receive? How can you tell whether a cut requires stitches? For those who work in child care programs, vital health-related questions like these occur daily. Yet, many child care providers lack knowledge in basic health and safety issues. To fill this need, centers often engage child care health consultants (CCHCs), who bring up-to-date information to staff.

  • Youth Leadership in the Arab World Post 9/11

    EDC's Hisham Jabi and the Arab youth leaders at the conference.

    EDC and Jusoor Arabiya, a leadership and consultancy center in Kuwait, presents a panel called Youth Leadership in the Arab World Post 9/11 at the 18th Annual National Service-Learning Conference, organized by The National Youth Leadership Council and the International Association for National Youth Service. It will draw 2,900 students, educators, policy-makers, and representatives from community-based organizations.

  • Mental Health and the Military

    Many active service members and armed service veterans grapple with mental health issues, including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidality. These soldiers may be unsure of where to find help or, if they do seek help, may face services that are fragmented or ineffective.

  • EDC's Siobhan Bredin to Address the United Nations

    Siobhan Bredin, project director of the National Science Foundation-funded ITEST (IT Experiences for Students and Teachers) Learning Resource Center at EDC, will address the United Nations this week, presenting five successful strategies for encouraging young women and girls to pursue skills and careers in science and technology.

  • Learning About the U.S. Through Picture Books

    A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to breaking down cultural stereotypes and crossing linguistic barriers. That’s the thinking behind a new cross-cultural curriculum for Japanese schoolchildren developed jointly by EDC and Iwate University.

  • Radio Education to Reach Over 10,000 Children in Zanzibar

    EDC is introducing interactive radio instruction to the island of Zanzibar in an effort to reach out to children who have been unable to attend school because of poverty, disability, or distance from school. Using games, songs, and stories broadcast over simple wind-up radios, the project will pilot test its radio lessons in 60 primary classrooms enabling 2,700 children to learn math, Kiswahili, and life skills.

  • Substance Abuse Among Immigrant Communities

    EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs (HHD) has just launched the Connecting Across Cultures Web site, which focuses on issues of immigrant and refugee populations and substance abuse.

  • Just Back: Scott Pulizzi

    Scott Pulizzi, of EDC’s Health and Human Development Programs (HHD), recently returned from Kenya and Uganda, his latest of more than 30 trips to Africa, where he is working to alleviate HIV. He talked with us about what he’s learned through his special connections to teachers there, and how their experience has changed his thinking and reinvigorated his work.

  • Powering Up in Rural Uganda

    Students in the low-energy computer lab prepare for jobs as educators and education managers.

    In Uganda, where interruptions to the power supply are frequent, Internet access is spotty. But a low-cost, low-energy computer lab set up for training rural teachers averts these problems, which tend to damage computer equipment and make it hard to reliably access the Web.

  • Youth Creativity Around the World

    Building on young people’s natural creativity and interconnectedness, Adobe Systems Incorporated has launched a five-year, $10 million program to encourage young people to use multimedia tools, such as film, digital art, and animation, to comment on their world and take an active role in their communities.

  • Linking Mathematics Teachers and Special Educators

    Thousands of teachers across the nation teach a wide range of learners, and with No Child Left Behind and IDEA legislation, they are increasingly accountable for the performance of all their students, including those with disabilities.

  • How Do We Increase Youth Interest in Science?

    EDC has gathered educators from across the country for a February symposium in Washington to share their strategies for actively engaging youth interest in science, math, and technology.

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