The Society for Research in Educational Effectiveness' annual conference here last week highlighted new ways the United States is learning from the United Kingdom both in research development and use in education.

If researchers hope to identify programs that will prepare students for the future, then they cannot continue to measure innovation based on the ideas from the past.

Reports from the parents of nearly 2,500 children and youths with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder found a gap between students with the most severe symptoms and those who get any school-based interventions.

The Multicultural Resource Center at Penn State has announced this year’s Senior and Faculty/Staff Diversity Recognition Awards recipients. The 2020 awards honor multicultural University Park graduating seniors who excel in academics, leadership, and service, as well as faculty and staff throughout Penn State who demonstrate a commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts beyond the responsibilities of their position.

Even if speaking up and fighting against vouchers is your calling ( and we need voices doing that) , it is still worth looking inward.

Proposition 305 had become one of the most contentious ballot-box battles over school choice in the 2018 midterm elections. But its loss is not necessarily a defeat for school choice advocates.

A ballot measure to expand the state's eligibility for so-called education savings account is contentious and confusing.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's education plan landed on Monday, and among other consequences, it led to a conversation about her past statements addressing "vouchers."

Despite being rebuked by Congress in its bid to do so last year, the U.S. Department of Education says it will use Education Innovation and Research funds for teacher professional development vouchers.

Graham A. Colditz
Jul 1, 1995; 96:29-35
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Philip M. Farrell
Jan 1, 2001; 107:1-13
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Katherine H. Burns
Oct 1, 2010; 126:638-646
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Douglas K. Richardson
Mar 1, 1993; 91:617-623
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Cesar Gomes Victora
Mar 1, 2010; 125:e473-e480
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Robert Guthrie
Sep 1, 1963; 32:338-343
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Richard A. Ehrenkranz
Dec 1, 2005; 116:1353-1360
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Jeffrey D. Horbar
Jan 1, 2001; 107:14-22
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Barbara J. Stoll
May 1, 2011; 127:817-826
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Yong Y. Han
Dec 1, 2005; 116:1506-1512
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Richard A. Ehrenkranz
Apr 1, 2006; 117:1253-1261
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John Penders
Aug 1, 2006; 118:511-521
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Vinod K. Bhutani
Jan 1, 1999; 103:6-14
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Cynthia L. Ogden
Jan 1, 2002; 109:45-60
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G. J. Schwartz
Aug 1, 1976; 58:259-263
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Barbara J. Stoll
Aug 1, 2002; 110:285-291
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Young adults born prematurely with very low birth weight (≤1500 g) have higher blood pressure than do their counterparts born at term. We tested whether they also have higher blood pressure reactivity to psychosocial stress, which may be a more-specific predictor of long-term cardiovascular morbidity. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels for 44 very low birth weight adults (mean age: 23.1 years; SD: 2.3 years) and 37 control subjects (mean age: 23.6 years; SD: 2.0 years) were measured through noninvasive finger photoplethysmography during a standardized psychosocial stress challenge (Trier Social Stress Test). Baseline and task values and their difference (ie, reactivity) served as outcome variables. In comparison with the control group, the very low birth weight group had 7.9 mm Hg higher diastolic blood pressure during the task and 4.8 mm Hg higher diastolic reactivity, with adjustment for gender and age, height, and BMI at testing. A similar trend was seen for systolic blood pressure during the baseline period and the task, but the group differences were not statistically significant. Our results indicate that very low birth weight is associated with elevated blood pressure reactivity to psychosocial stress and, therefore, may increase the risk of cardiovascular morbidity.

Penn State Harrisburg senior Jessica Sheets and her father, Ethan, have a lot in common, including both having had their commencement ceremonies preempted by historic events — hers by the coronavirus epidemic, and his by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

"There's a science of learning, and ... there's not a single teacher who couldn't benefit, I think, from knowing these principles," said the executive director of Deans for Impact, a group of education school leaders.

Brother International has long dominated PCMag's Business Choice Awards for printers, but this year it's joined by another top contender.

Teachers need coaching from proactive and intentional leaders who see everything in their buildings as their responsibility, writes guest blogger Michael Sonbert. Until then, teachers will bear the brunt of our national criticism.

When people can’t leave their houses to attend an event, you bring the event to them. With residents across Pennsylvania sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State Dickinson Law’s Business Law Society is converting two upcoming entrepreneur pop-up clinics to virtual sessions, allowing people to participate from their homes.

Students enrolled in a crisis management course are examining the pandemic and its lessons and developing recommendations that the government and even individuals can follow. It's the kind of real-world experience that students can expect to have at Penn State Abington.

Penn State Abington faculty are using the current situation as an opportunity to enrich students academically and support them personally during this period of remote learning. "What may be most inspiring of all is the deep-seated concern for our students that faculty efforts expose,” said Friederike Baer, division head for Arts and Humanities.

A Penn State Abington faculty member is teaching students enrolled to integrate the content into their daily lives to help them manage the impact of the coronavirus.

We talk a lot about blended learning opportunities in my district, asking ourselves whether we are offering the most beneficial learning opportunities for both staff and students. We're looking to provide quality online learning resources to students when they are outside of our classrooms, as well

Penn State Extension is extending its free online courses offer through May 10.

Many consumers are facing limited hours and product shortages at their neighborhood grocery stores and naturally are worried about the availability and safety of their food. A Penn State Extension webinar planned for noon to 1 p.m. May 14 will address these concerns, as well as provide suggestions on alternative places and methods for sourcing food.

At its final meeting of the 2019-20 academic year, the Penn State Faculty Senate passed landmark legislation updating its full-time faculty hiring policy for the first time in more than 20 years, as one step in continued efforts to advance the University’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Media literacy belongs in science class, insists Media Literacy Now’s Andy Zucker. Here’s how to bring it there.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Apr 20, 2020 / 09:25 am (CNA).- On Friday, Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court will hold a virtual hearing to consider whether to decriminalize abortion for pregnant women infected with the Zika virus.

The legal intervention, called “Direct Action on Unconstitutionality-ADI 5581,” was filed with Brazil’s highest court by the National Association of Public Defenders. Supreme Court Justice Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha will present the legal action to the court, whose 11 members will have until April 30 to vote on the issue.

Several pro-life organizations have come out strongly against efforts to expand abortion, which is illegal in Brazil but is considered a “non-punishable crime” in cases of rape, a proven risk to life of the mother and, as of 2012, babies diagnosed with anencephaly.

“It’s a usurpation of powers because the Supreme Court does not have competency to rule on this matter,” said jurist José Miranda de Siqueira, president of the National Association of Citizens for Life. “This is a crime against the Federal Constitution of Brazil which in Article V guarantees the inviolability of the right to life.”

“We’re working with the Union of Catholic Jurists of Rio de Janeiro and will soon issue a strong statement on the issue,” continued Miranda, who is also a bioethics professor and authored a book on euthanasia, “O Poder sobre a Vida” (The Power over Life), which specifically addresses ADI 5581.

“Life is a preeminent right in the legal world. I’m asking people to pray and publicize this serious situation which is going on,” the lawyer added.

In an open letter to all Brazilians, the National Network for the Defense of Life and Family argued that the court challenge is “part of a strategy to introduce abortion in case of disabilities in general, or even abortion on demand, with the weak justification that the pregnant woman would be in a state of distress.”

“Eugenic abortion carries an enormous burden of prejudice and discrimination towards people with disabilities, sending an unseemly message that it would be better if they did not exist,” the pro-life organization added.

The Zika virus garnered international attention in 2015 after areas of Brazil noted a spike in cases of the birth defect microcephaly – a condition marked by abnormally small heads, brains, and developmental delays – following a recent outbreak of the virus in areas of northeastern Brazil.

Research on the virus suggested a link between Zika virus infection during pregnancy and severe neurological birth defects, including microcephaly and incomplete brain development.

A CitizenGo petition addressed to the Supreme Court justices called for the case to be removed from the docket and for the lives of the unborn to be respected. The petition was launched April 16. Within 24 hours, it had garnered 35,000 signatures and as of April 20 has 85,000.
 

CNA Staff, Apr 29, 2020 / 04:30 pm (CNA).- Venezuela’s prolonged social, political and economic crisis has only been compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, the archbishop emeritus of Caracas, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino, charged Tuesday.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic, Venezuela has been marred by violence and social upheaval under the socialist administration of Nicolas Maduro, with severe shortages of food and medicine, high unemployment, power outages, and hyperinflation. Some 4.5 million Venezuelans have emigrated since 2015.

In response to the threat of the virus, the government imposed a nationwide stay at home order March 17. According to government statistics, to date there have been 329 cases of COVID-19 with ten deaths. The country is ill prepared to handle the crisis, with chronic shortages of medical supplies, and many doctors have left the country.

“The national reality is terrible,” and the government has no answers, Urosa said in an April 28 statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.

While the cardinal acknowledged the lockdown has prevented the spread of the virus, he pointed out that “the quarantine has hurt a great many people because the economic, social and logistical conditions in the country weren’t taken into account,” including “the extremely serious problem of the gasoline shortage for transport, especially for food.”

In some cases, crops are rotting in farmers’ fields due to lack of fuel to transport them to market.

Especially hard hit, the cardinal said, are “informal” workers who are paid off the books,  and who are now  “barely surviving,” and only with “the help of family members, social organizations and the Church.”

On April 25, Venezuelan vice president Delcy Rodríguez announced state intervention and oversight of several food supply companies in order to control the prices of 27 products for 180 days.

Urosa criticized the intervention, calling it “an extremely serious mistake, since it will probably result in greater shortages. Price controls are acceptable, but intervening in efficient businesses is not. The government can’t even manage to supply gasoline.” “The state-run petroleum industry has collapsed, and now Venezuelans’ food is in danger!” 

 “The current government doesn’t have any answers for such elementary things such as the extremely serious problem of the gasoline shortage” and runaway inflation. “In the last 40 days, the dollar has doubled in value, which is undoubtedly the fundamental cause of the spike in prices,” the cardinal said.

Urosa decried political persecution, which “has gotten worse since March because amid the quarantine, the government has ramped up the repression. During these weeks the government has jailed, even without due process, many political activists, especially from the inner circle of Juan Guaidó, president of the National Assembly and leader of the Venezuelan opposition.”

Guaidó declared himself the nation's interim leader Jan. 23 last year following Maduro’s inauguration for a second term. Maduro won a May 2018 presidential election, which was boycotted by the opposition and has been rejected by much of the international community. The United States was swift to recognize Guaidó as interim president, eventually followed by over 60 countries. Both the National Assembly and the Venezuelan bishops' conference declared Maduro's reelection to be invalid.

With the military firmly in support of Maduro, however, opposition protests calling for his resignation have failed to oust the leader.

On March 30, Guaidó charged that the Maduro regime had unleashed a new wave of harassment against his close collaborators. Andrea Bianchi, the wife of close associate Rafael Rico, was kidnapped, beaten and then left naked on a highway. Two others, Rómulo García and Víctor Silio were also picked up and later charged with possession of marijuana and a handgun.

The NGO Venezuelan Program for Education-Action in Human Rights reported that during the state of emergency, 34 people have been arbitrarily arrested and attacks against politicians, journalists and healthcare workers have increased.

“The bishops have always strongly criticized the political repression by the government and once again I call for the release of all political prisoners. They are even in greater physical danger because of the pandemic situation we’re going through,” Urosa stressed.

On March 26, “the Trump administration unsealed sweeping indictments against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and members of his inner circle on narcoterrorism charges, a dramatic escalation in the U.S. campaign to force the authoritarian socialist from power,” even offering “a $15 million reward for information leading to his capture or conviction,” the Washington Post reported.

In response, the Maduro regime activated a plan against the Venezuelan opposition called “Operation Bolivarian Fury.”

The archbishop emeritus denounced these recent “threats of violence by the government against Venezuelans. Maduro himself has spoken of a supposed ‘Bolivarian fury’ as a threat against members of the Venezuelan opposition in case of international problems. That’s illegal, unconstitutional and unacceptable from every point of view. That threat of violence is intolerable.” 

The cardinal said the government has used the quarantine simply as an opportunity to strengthen its social and political control.

On April 25, the Maduro regime placed shipping containers on the Caracas-La Guaira highway to prevent demonstrators from other cities who have been protesting the shortages of food, water and electricity in other cities from getting to the capital.

“Why restrict the right to free transit?” the cardinal asked.

The Maduro regime also blocked the highway in February 2019 to prevent humanitarian aid from entering the country from Colombia.

Guaidó charged April 24 on Twitter that “a dictatorship of corrupt and incapable people has brought us to a crisis where farmers are losing their crops while families are starving to death in the barrios. They turned the richest country in the region into a hell. They’ll leave here, the sacrifice has been enough already.”

As signs of hope, Urosa pointed to ongoing work of Caritas Venezuela and the creative ways the clergy has reached out to the faithful through social media. “Our message is one of encouragement, trust in God, solidarity and hope in this dark hour,” he said.

 Catholics “have an unshakeable faith in God who is love,” who had died and risen and “has shown us the merciful face of God.” “We’ll come out of this,” the archbishop said, “the suffering we are experiencing has united us closer to God and opens to us the gates of heaven.”

The archbishop encouraged Venezuelans to always stand in solidarity with each other and “to be the face of God to those in need. God is love and is with us. Let us join ourselves to him and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Mercy in this painful hour.”

 

A version of this story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been adapted by CNA.

The world is abandoning cash in favor of cashless payment systems, but Asia (not North America) is where the trend is growing the most.

Jason Williams, an assistant teaching professor of engineering at Penn State Behrend, helped develop a plastic face shield for use in COVID-19 environments. More than 50,000 of his shields have been shipped to health-care providers in three states.

Penn State Behrend’s Black School of Business inducted 30 students into the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society on April 17. The students are enrolled in the college’s residential programs and in Penn State World Campus majors that are offered by the Black School.

Penn State Behrend graduate Abraham Berhane lived in a refugee camp after fleeing his home in Eritrea. “When we came to Erie, we started our life from zero,” he said.