The American School Counselor Association calls for counselors to utilize multitiered systems of support to minimize gaps. Specifically, Tier 2 interventions provide a method to address equity issues and foster growth. Black male students experience the greatest disparities in schools; therefore, school counselors should consider culturally…

Theoretical foundations are fundamental to research in health and physical education. They reflect historical and cultural ideas and values. In this article, we seek to introduce the philosophy of "Bildung" from the Nordic-German cultural region to an English-speaking audience as one theoretical foundation for student-centered teaching.…

Most students meet Shakespeare in middle or high school, on a page in a book in an English classroom. This first encounter is a disservice to the students themselves and to Shakespeare: Shakespeare's plays are works of both literature and theatre, and should be taught as such. A performance-based teaching approach not only provides high school…

Mindfulness training contributes to greater well-being in students who encounter challenges that cause stress. Ongoing stress can be detrimental and have negative impacts on the brain, which results in academic and social difficulties. Mindfulness training can help protect the developing brain from the negative effects of excessive stress,…

Social-emotional learning refers to the beliefs, attitudes, personality traits, and behaviors that students need to succeed in school and life. Our study looks closely at ten "outlier schools" in California's CORE districts whose students report strong social-emotional learning outcomes compared to other, similar middle schools. This…

Young adolescents undergo rapid physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and sexual development, including puberty, sexual awareness, gender identity, physiological brain and cognitive growth, complex emotions, and impulse control. Tragically, thousands of adolescents die daily from mostly preventable causes such as violence, sexual health problems…

The author offers practical strategies to introduce and maintain a mindfulness practice with middle-grade students and discusses ethical implications of employing mindfulness in the classroom.

An alternative way to approach outdoor education in PHE, while still reaping its numerous benefits, is nature-based physical activity (NBPA). NBPA refers to physical activities that are done in natural areas, require little specialized equipment, can be participated in by the majority of youth, are cost-efficient, and can be implemented by PHE…

In recent times, studies focusing on the issue of gifted and talented students in Turkey have gained much traction. However, so far, these appear to have been limited in terms of the intervention strategies they offer. The question of how to respond to the social and emotional issues of gifted and talented students remains an issue, which is a…

The highest form of virtuous behavior in the Aristotelian virtue ethics approach to character education involves practical wisdom, or "phronesis," which allows an individual to act in the right way about the right things for the right reasons. Here, we use our experiences with social-emotional and character development (SECD) in…

Health education offers a natural curricular home for important life skills and ways students can optimize physical, social, and emotional health. Although many schools have implemented social and emotional learning (SEL), health education provides a broader framework by encompassing the connections between physical and emotional health and the…

Traditional conceptions of interscholastic athletics describe an "extended classroom" environment in which students develop positive psycho-social skills within a supportive team culture and positive learning climate. However, as the "professionalized model" of youth sport has become more prevalent, with its…

In collaboration with an urban public school, teacher candidates at a nearby university created a social-emotional skills project called Knight Brigade. The author discusses the project planning, implementation, and results as part of this ongoing partnership.

This article posits that the restorative practice of community circles offers middle school students a safe, empowering space where moments of social and emotional strife can be addressed and possibly prevented. It also recognizes that by creating a safe and empowering classroom community, students who have or are experiencing trauma can find…

Students in the middle grades experience tremendous development in various domains. However, childhood trauma can significantly impede this development, further exacerbating the functioning of our most vulnerable student populations. This article aims to describe the use of trauma-informed teaching as a form of middle-level, social justice…