Kern and Liang Awarded $1.4M Grant to Support College and Career Readiness for Secondary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems

Dr. Lee Kern, professor of special education and director of the Center for Promoting Research to Practice and Dr. Christopher Liang, professor of counseling psychology and department chair of Education and Human Services were awarded a Development and Innovation Research grant from the Institute of Education Sciences. This will be a 3-year research project and carries $1.4M of funding.  

“Supported College and Career Readiness for Secondary Students with Emotional and Behavioral Problems,” will develop and evaluate an intervention package that will augment school-based activities in order to better prepare students with or at risk for emotional and behavioral problems for college and/or career.

The project will focus on 9^th and 10^th grade students in diverse high schools in Pennsylvania and the Northeast Hub who have with or are at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, conduct disorders).

The intervention will enhance common features of high school college and career readiness programs by including the following components: (a) a bi-annual assessment to identify student strengths related to potential careers, (b) assistance with identification of top three career choices bi-annually, (c) assistance with course selection each semester aligned with top career choices, (d) a structured curriculum focused on essential CCR skills, (e) support securing work-based learning experiences and completing reflections, and (f) structured interventions to increase parent involvement.