History of the EOA National Best Practices Clearinghouse: A Model to Identify, Validate, and Disseminate Education Practices
Author: Arendale, David R.
Date: 2022-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Educational Opportunities,Equal Education,Access to Education,Best Practices,Educational Practices,Program Effectiveness,Educational History,Undergraduate Study,College Readiness,Economically Disadvantaged,First Generation College Students,Federal Programs,Talent Identification,Disproportionate Representation,Academic Support Services,Educational Change,Change Strategies

(Purposes) There are two purposes of this history. The first was to describe how the EOA National Best Practices Clearinghouse identified, described, and evaluated evidence that was focused on effective educational practices for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) and TRIO students who were economically disadvantaged, first-generation college attendees, and historically underrepresented in education. No other open-access clearinghouse in the nation is solely focused on this marginalized student population. The second purpose for this history was to provide effective principles for providing an effective practice clearinghouse so that other organizations could create their own clearinghouse. (Method) Documents and procedural manuals were reviewed and interviews with more than a dozen individuals were conducted to provide an accurate history of the clearinghouse and a critical critique of its operation. Utilizing principles of critical historical analysis, the history concluded with a final section entitled &quot;lessons learned&quot; that provided the critique and recommended actions for operational improvement. The clearinghouse was located at http://besteducationpractices.org An earlier draft of this history document was reviewed by a dozen educators who were familiar with the Clearinghouse operation over the past decade. Their recommended revisions were incorporated into the final version of the history. (Results) As documented through previously approved annual ERIC reports, the Clearinghouse approved nearly fifty administrative and educational practices that represent each of the five major federally-funded TRIO and GEAR UP programs: (a) Educational Talent Search, (b) Upward Bound, (c) Educational Opportunity Centers, (d) Disability Services, (e) Student Support Services, (f) Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement, and (g) GEAR UP. Since its inception, the website each month has been visited by an average of six hundred educators from 55 countries. (Implications) Based on this report, other organizations could adopt and adapt the procedures from the EOA Clearinghouse. This report explored the need for a clearinghouse, definitions for a best education practice, review of the professional literature concerning other education practice clearinghouses, the history of events in the life of this clearinghouse, and finally, lessons learned from this clearinghouse that could be helpful to others who wanted to create their own clearinghouse. The appendices contain the qualifications for the External Expert Panel and criteria for evaluation of administrative and educational practices. While programs in the field may all do essentially the same thing, they often do it differently to meet the unique needs of their students and the education setting. The EOA Clearinghouse honors that ingenuity and shares it with others. (Additional Materials) Appended to the history are (1) History of GEAR UP and TRIO Programs; (2) Description of the External Expert Panel that decides which submissions are accepted into the clearinghouse; and (3) Procedures for evaluation of administrative and educational practices submissions to the clearinghouse. [The Education Opportunity Association (EOA) and the University of Minnesota sponsor the EOA National Best Practices Clearinghouse. This work was published by Colleagues of Color for Social Justice.]