Every year, thousands of young adults graduate high school unprepared to navigate the financial challenges of adulthood, leading to high levels of debt, poor credit scores, and limited economic opportunities. The lack of personal finance education in high school curriculum is an issue that impacts students’ ability to make informed financial decisions. As the economy becomes more complicated, individuals are faced with managing student loans, credit card debt, and investments without any knowledge. Personal finance education is essential for giving students with lifelong skills such as budgeting, saving, and understanding credit. Addressing this gap can help financial stress, help individuals make smarter financial choices, and contribute to a more stable economy. Surveys will be given to students who have taken a course related to personal finance and those who haven’t to measure their financial knowledge and confidence. Analyzing this data will provide an understanding of the effectiveness and help implementation of personal finance education.

The way nutrition education is being passed down to adolescents is flawed. Whether from outdated information, social media influence, or through school health classes, adolescents worldwide are at risk of developing negative food behaviors which can ultimately lead to disordered eating habits and a negative perception of themselves and the food they eat. In order to address this, this research project aims to explore how gaps in nutrition education contribute to disordered eating and negative body image within adolescents, and how healthcare workers, educators, and parents together can protect their young ones from possible harm in the future regarding nutrition. With significantly high rates of eating disorders in adolescents, this is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. This research will use both qualitative and quantitative data through the use of a Google survey which will survey health professionals, and educators from around the country. Then using both correlation and evaluation analysis will identify key themes and instructional gaps, ultimately proposing a more inclusive and holistic curriculum. The findings of this research will help implement a more inclusive, updated, and coordinated nutrition curriculum.

Despite being one of the world’s largest economies, millions of US residents experience food insecurity, or the lack of adequate access to a healthy diet. This has inflamed crises of public health and drives income-based disparities in disease rates and mortality. Factors contributing to food insecurity include high food prices and inaccessibility of food stores, issues that government programs such as the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Plan aim to address. Urban food security projects are community-based programs that aim to address food insecurity at a more local level by affording residents the opportunity to grow produce for themselves and their neighbors. This research aims to identify effective management strategies for such projects by quantifying the effectiveness of various management strategies. A survey of professionals who worked on one such project in the Bay Area in the 1990s and 2000s yielded data quantifying the perceived effectiveness of management strategies employed in response to various challenges faced by the project.

Whipped cream cans, compressed air dusters, and a sedative used during medical procedures all contain the same gas: nitrous oxide. Although this gas has been recreationally abused for many years, there is a plethora of evidence pointing towards a recent spike in the consumption of this inhalant in non-medical settings, especially among youth. At the same time, videos related to nitrous oxide on TikTok have become extremely popular. This is a major public health concern because of how detrimental the health impacts associated with nitrous oxide are. There is also evidence that suggests nitrous oxide abuse disproportionately impacts underprivileged groups due to a lack of risk perception in those communities. Existing research studies and data sets will be analyzed to determine a possible correlation between TikTok and increasing nitrous oxide abuse. Additionally, past studies have shown how underprivileged communities are more susceptible to nitrous oxide abuse because of lower education among other factors. Therefore, from this point, this study will attempt to determine if the nitrous oxide related videos circulating on TikTok disproportionately impact communities with a lower socioeconomic status.

Early elementary school is a critical time for literacy development (Zill, 1999), yet disparities in resources due to socioeconomic status create significant challenges for many students (Debs, 2017). Socioeconomic disparities affect the time and resources students have access to (Debs, 2017). Because of this, it has become necessary to develop new solutions to bridge socioeconomic opportunity gaps to support students in a critical aspect of their development. Play-based learning is a popular early childhood education approach (Pyle, 2018), supporting many aspects of development (Stegelin, 2005). It also has been shown to help bridge socio-economic opportunity gaps by being accessible, requiring minimal adult support, and fostering essential literacy skills (Stegelin, 2005). While play is most emphasized in its importance in early childhood, its value is still incredibly prominent in middle childhood and beyond (Wood, 2014). Despite this, there is minimal data on how play-based learning should be operated in elementary school settings. This study investigates how playful learning practices such as literacy toys and games can create a more equitable and effective learning environment, especially for children of different socioeconomic statuses, by creating higher levels of interest and higher reading levels. Utilizing a hybrid methodology of surveys and interviews with teachers across California, the study identifies effective play-based practices that foster equitable learning environments. This study builds upon a foundation of data for educators and curriculum developers to implement play-based learning in the most effective and attainable means possible to increase literary ability, a necessary skill in participating in contemporary society.

Nowadays, when walking through San Francisco, Seattle, or any major city, you are bound to come across the pungent smell of the drug Marijuana. Marijuana contains active chemicals called cannabinoids that, when ignited and inhaled, cause drug-like effects all through the body. In recent years, 24 states have legalized marijuana, making it easier to access and more prevalent than ever. In turn, there has been a stark increase in the percentage of youth marijuana use and a significant change in attitude about its risks and harms. This has caused a problem with youth using marijuana as a coping mechanism to self-treat mental health issues. This study investigates the relationship between Positive Mental Health Literacy (PMeHL) and teens' marijuana use for coping, aiming to find solutions to this growing issue. An observational approach will be employed, as experimentation is not appropriate. Pre-existing research on PMeHL's role in disrupting teen alcohol use and its connection to mental well-being will be analyzed using an evaluation research method. This methodology assesses the effectiveness of social programs and interventions. This study will identify if increasing education on mental health would prove effective in stopping teens from using marijuana as a coping mechanism.

Despite living in a digitally connected world, adolescents face rising loneliness and social isolation, impacting their mental and physical health. This research explores how authentic human connections, particularly through Narrative 4’s “Story Exchange,” can combat these challenges. The program pairs participants from diverse economic and cultural backgrounds, encouraging them to share and retell each other’s stories to build empathy and understanding. Using surveys and narrative analysis, the study measures changes in loneliness and social support among 60 participants from Palo Alto, California, and Port Elizabeth, South Africa. By examining the effects of storytelling, the research highlights its potential to bridge divides and improve well-being, regardless of economic or cultural differences. Key challenges include addressing economic inequalities that limit access to resources fostering connection and overcoming cultural barriers that contribute to social isolation. While initial results show promise, the study seeks to evaluate the long-term impact and scalability of such programs. Ultimately, this research aims to demonstrate how authentic connections can reduce loneliness, promote empathy, and create a more inclusive, connected society.

Is social media really driving a mental health crisis, or are we just looking at the wrong data? Most studies, like Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation, focus on the U.S., showing a strong correlation between rising social media use and worsening teen mental health. However, correlation isn’t always causation. To truly understand this issue, we need a global perspective. This research goes beyond American trends, analyzing international longitudinal data to see if the same patterns hold worldwide. By comparing countries with different cultural, economic, and technological landscapes, we can determine whether social media is a universal risk factor or if other forces are at play. This project evaluates mental health indicators—like depression, anxiety, and self-harm—alongside social media penetration rates. Countries with varying levels of digital access, regulations, and societal norms provide a natural experiment to test causality, not just correlation. The findings could reshape how we think about social media’s impact on mental health. If the effects are consistent across different regions, stricter regulations might be necessary. If not, the real problem may lie elsewhere. Either way, this research aims to bring clarity to a debate too often fueled by fear instead of facts.

Students face many challenges throughout their college experience, a prominent one being academic productivity. Procrastination has affected students worldwide, and previous research has shown that failure to complete tasks in a timely fashion negatively affects students, academically and emotionally. This problem has been associated with many factors such as low motivation, poor time management, personality, etc. This study seeks to analyze the factors behind this phenomenon and how students can combat this through different study methods. To research this, the needs assessment method is used to provide a deeper insight into this problem. Data from multiple sources including social media platforms, universities, and databases such as the American Psychology Association (APA) is collected to examine the relationship between study habits and academic procrastination. After data collection, coding analysis is conducted. The data is organized by themes, allowing the results of the research to be easily understood. By understanding these impediments to academic success, solutions can be made to help students better learn and grow, and this study aims to contribute to the ongoing research in this field.

The proliferation of digital media has transformed how younger generations consume news, with social media increasingly becoming the primary source of information. This study investigates the potential of high school journalism programs to enhance media literacy among students. Recent research suggests that Generation Z faces significant challenges distinguishing between factual reporting and opinion pieces, with misinformation spreading more rapidly than real information in digital networks. The methodology involves analysing existing data, locating high schools in the United States with or without journalism programs to identify Gen Z’s media literacy capabilities and news consumption. Key research questions include understanding how participation in high school journalism programs impacts students' ability to distinguish between factual reporting and opinion pieces, through existing rates of media literacy by school. The study will collect data from multiple high schools, analyzing correlations between journalism program participation, media literacy scores and socioeconomic factors. Visual representations, including an interactive regional map, will illustrate variations in media literacy levels across different school districts. This research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on media literacy interventions, offering insights into potential strategies for empowering Generation Z to navigate the complex contemporary media landscape more effectively.