We have developed a database of research evidence to help resettlement service providers in the U.S provide evidence-based interventions and best address barriers that resettlement clients and other ORR-eligible populations face. To date, an initial number of research studies have been added to the database. More studies will be added on an ongoing basis. Use the search area to access content based on criteria like outcome, intervention, year, and study type, or use our advanced search feature to find evidence based on specific, customized criteria.

This library hosts materials developed by Switchboard and by former Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR)-funded technical assistance (TA) providers (most in fiscal years 2016-2018, with selected earlier materials). This library links materials externally where: their formats were incompatible with internal hosting; they were developed by current ORR-funded TA providers; or they were developed by non-ORR funded authors who granted permission for the links.

Author Definitions

BRYCS
Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services
CLINIC
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. National Citizenship Capacity Building Project
CVT
Center for Victims of Torture National Capacity Building Project for Specialized Torture Treatment Centers
Higher
Higher Employment Services Technical Assistance
Mercy Housing
Mercy Housing Refugee Housing Program
META
Monitoring and Evaluation Technical Assistance Project
NPCT
National Partnership for Community Training Mental Health Technical Assistance Program
Project SOAR
Project for Strengthening Organizations Assisting Refugees
Welcoming America
Welcoming America's Welcoming Refugees Program
Other
Authors not receiving technical assistance funding from ORR

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Paid Full TextDoes financial education impact financial literacy and financial behavior, and if so, when?

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Economic empowerment
Outcome(s): Financial Capabilities
Intervention(s): Financial education
Relevant ORR Program(s): Microenterprise Development
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Meta-analysis

In a meta-analysis of 126 impact evaluation studies, we find that financial education significantly impacts financial behavior and, to an even larger extent, financial literacy. These results also hold for the subsample of randomized experiments (RCTs). However, intervention impacts are highly heterogeneous: financial education is less effective for low-income clients as well as in low- …

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Free Full TextFinancial literacy, financial education, and downstream financial behaviors

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Economic empowerment
Outcome(s): Financial Capabilities
Intervention(s): Financial education
Relevant ORR Program(s): Microenterprise Development
Direction of Evidence: No impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Meta-analysis

Policy makers have embraced financial education as a necessary antidote to the increasing complexity of consumers’ financial decisions over the last generation. We conduct a meta-analysis of the relationship of financial literacy and of financial education to financial behaviors in 168 papers covering 201 prior studies. We find that interventions to improve financial literacy explain …

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Free Full TextInterventions designed to improve financial capability: A systematic review.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Economic empowerment
Outcome(s): Financial Capabilities
Intervention(s): Financial Capability Interventions
Relevant ORR Program(s): Individual Development Accounts
Direction of Evidence: No evidence about impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Systematic review

This systematic review assesses the state of research on interventions that combined financial education and a mainstream financial product or service (“financial capability interventions”). It examines the financial behaviors and financial intervention outcomes. The review summarizes evidence from 63 reports from 24 unique studies. The studies spanned the years 2004-2020 and were all conducted in …

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Paid Full TextFinancial outcomes of interventions designed to improve financial capability through individual development accounts: A systematic review.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Economic empowerment
Outcome(s): Financial Capabilities
Intervention(s): Individual Development Accounts
Relevant ORR Program(s): Individual Development Accounts
Direction of Evidence: Inconclusive or mixed impact
Strength of Evidence: Strong
Type of Study: Systematic review

Purpose: Driven by a desire to improve the financial well-being of lower-income households, financial capability interventions are gaining attention in practice and public policy. IDAs are a financial capability intervention designed to build family assets through incentivized savings. Method: This systematic review focuses on financial capability interventions that provide Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), a restricted-used …

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Paid Full TextLearning about English learners: Teachers’ and leaders’ perceptions of effective professional development.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: No impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

Shortcomings in schools’ efforts to serve English learners (ELs) are often both a function of the continuing scarcity of teacher education and the ability of schools to implement high-quality professional development (PD) to successfully prepare effective teachers for this marginalized student population. Scant literature addresses the processes for initiating EL-focused PD, as well as the …

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Free Full TextFrom altered perceptions to altered practice: Teachers bridge cultures in the classroom.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

Immigrant students and their families sometimes experience conflict or alienation in U.S. schools owing to differences between the collectivistic values of home (focused on the well-being of the family and group) and the individualistic values of schools (focused on the well-being of individuals) that drive instructional practices and school policies. The research project discussed here …

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Free Full TextFostering cultural humility among pre-service teachers: Connecting with children and youth of immigrant families through service-learning.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

This article documents a community-initiated service-learning project within a teacher education program. A social justice model guided the initiative to raise critical awareness on power and privilege while countering deficit-model thinking. Partnering with com-munity agencies serving immigrant children and youth, the faculty researcher worked with an office for community-engaged learning. Data included pre- and post-experience …

Fostering cultural humility among pre-service teachers: Connecting with children and youth of immigrant families through service-learning. Read More »

Paid Full TextAnti-racism is not an initiative: How professional learning communities may advance equity and social-emotional learning in schools.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

There is a sense of urgency among P-12 educators to dismantle systemic school-based racism and radically transform conditions for teaching and learning in ways that advance equity, social justice, and social-emotional learning (SEL). This transformation cannot be achieved through typical top-down, short-term approaches to school improvement or professional development. In this article we explain how, …

Anti-racism is not an initiative: How professional learning communities may advance equity and social-emotional learning in schools. Read More »

Free Full TextNew immigrants. An incentive for intercultural education?

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

This study was inspired by an inclusive intercultural perspective on education, and developed empirical knowledge concerning the intercultural professional development of in-service teachers. The study was conducted during the first year of a newly-designed master’s programme that focused on “education for refugees”. In the Netherlands master’s programmes in education qualify in-service teachers to contribute to …

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Paid Full TextTransforming preservice teacher perceptions of immigrant communities through digital storytelling.

Publication Year:
Outcome area(s): Education
Intervention(s): Teacher Professional Development
Relevant ORR Program(s): Refugee School Impact Program
Direction of Evidence: Positive impact
Strength of Evidence: Suggestive
Type of Study: Suggestive evidence

Background: As diverse communities continue to be targets of racism and anti-immigrant sentiments permeate current political discourse, the need to prepare a teaching force that understands immigrant children and their families continues to be a critical priority. Purpose: This study explored the ways in which one digital storytelling project that required 20 clinical hours working with English learners …

Transforming preservice teacher perceptions of immigrant communities through digital storytelling. Read More »