This dissertation examines students' social-emotional experience with knowledge building pedagogy from the lenses of grit and growth mindset. The goal of this dissertation is to understand how interest, perseverance of effort and growth mindset oriented feedback engage students social emotionally in knowledge building to sustain and deepen their…

Excessive plate waste is generated in elementary school cafeterias. Adapting nutrition promotion strategies to target waste reduction and encouraging mindful and sustainable eating (MSE) are possible strategies to encourage students to reduce waste during school lunch. "Farm to Tray, Tray to Farm" is a 16-week intervention that aims to…

Character education programming is gaining popularity in America's schools as a way to raise an intelligent and caring generation of students. However, many schools fail to allocate time, money, and resources to such initiatives. The present study examined the impact of an ethical sensitivity intervention in a religiously affiliated independent…

Although the role of school engagement in influencing children's academic competence has been recognized in past theory and research, how school engagement may mediate the relationships between ecological and personal resources and academic competence remains largely unknown. Using structural equation modeling procedures, the present study was…

This study examined whether mentoring influenced children's self-concept, anxiety, depression, and relationships with parents and peers over an 18-month period. We examined 31 mentored children (50% female) and a comparison group of 22 nonmentored children (50% female) at the beginning of a mentoring program in the fall of the fourth-grade year…