Eight experiments (N = 2,003) assessed the relation between working memory capacity (WMC) and performance on the antisaccade task. Experiments 1-5 and 7 examined individual differences in aspects of goal management processes occurring during the preparatory delay of the antisaccade task. WMC tended to interact with delay interval suggesting that…

Supporting college and career readiness among youth who encounter significant academic and life challenges requires innovative strategies to help them envision their futures, leverage their strengths and develop dispositions that promote positive trajectories. For youth development professionals who develop and implement novel programmatic…

This Special Report examines four principles for state leaders to consider as they develop or evaluate financial aid redesign reform efforts. The financial aid redesign principles, identified through a Thinkers Meeting that included experts from across the country, fall into four areas: Financial aid programs should be student-centered,…

This Policy Snapshot provides summary information for 2017 legislation related to attainment goals and plans, as well as policy actions from previous years.

This brief reviews state plans submitted to the U.S. Department of Education as of October 1, 2017. It focuses on three key topics for early learning in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): setting clear goals and policy priorities for early learning, integrating early learning into school improvement, and supporting early childhood educator…

Purpose is a concept receiving increasing attention in the developmental sciences. Making sense of your place in the world and finding meaning--a process fundamental to purpose--support positive development in adolescence and beyond. Using traditional ethnographic strategies, this article examines the development of purpose among a small group of…

This work is part of a larger study ["Navigating and Negotiating Pathways for Success: A Thematic Analysis of the Life Experiences of Urban Youth and Their Caregivers"] of how communities come together to support young people, and how young people and their families navigate and negotiate those communities to succeed academically and…

Former foster youth pursuing a postsecondary credential have tended to be an often-overlooked student population. However, across the country, policymakers at the federal, state and institutional levels are creating policies to increase their access to higher education. Four states in particular--Colorado, Iowa, Oregon and Texas--have demonstrated…

Several factors create a challenging environment for individuals seeking financial support to complete a postsecondary degree program. In recognition of the challenges of paying for higher education, decision-makers at the federal and state levels support college-going with public policy. Through direct institutional allocations, need and…

Lifespan development involves setting and pursuing self-guided goals. This study examines how in the social domain, possible selves, a future-oriented self-concept, and self-regulation, including self-regulatory beliefs and intraindividual variability in self-regulatory behavior, relate to differences in overall daily social goal progress. An…

Blueprints for education reform have become trendy. Over the last few years, President Obama, governors, chief state school officers, local superintendents' associations, policy institutes, foundations, and business leaders have formulated such documents to guide school improvement. This brief highlights: (1) the focus of current blueprints; (2)…

Given the flexibility to revise their academic goals under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, a vast majority of the states that received federal waivers are setting different expectations for different subgroups of students, an "Education Week" analysis shows. That marks a dramatic shift in policy and philosophy from the original law.…

As facilitator, the author noted some trepidation in the room as the eight secondary principals from Eugene (Oregon.) School District 4J quietly discussed questions that surfaced through their hopes and fears exercise. Could the practice of visiting classrooms together help them to better lead instruction in their buildings? Would this process…

This case study tracks the application of project-based learning (PBL) during four separate college terms at Portland Community College in Portland, Oregon. Each term follows a different learning community of first-term college students enrolled in a program of developmental education (DE), reading, writing, math, and college survival and success…

Many U.S. colleges and universities have established student learning outcomes for diversity education in their general education programs. These education goals, frequently developed for assessment or other policy purposes, convey a range of possible purposes for diversity and multicultural learning. The manner in which these purposes are…