An important aspect of current practice in special educational need (SEN) assessment is the review and allocation to a particular focus of support. This study examines how specific such classifications are at least in the German practice by analysing coded text information regarding children's characteristics as well as environmental conditions…

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has transformed international research and policy debates on the assessment of adult skills. Although research using PIAAC data is accumulating, little is known about how these data are used and what…

Research Findings: We assessed socio-emotional behavior, nonverbal reasoning, German receptive language, and motor skills of refugee children attending early childhood development [ECD] programs and of those who did not (N = 207, mean age = 69.4 months). Young refugee children overall demonstrated lower levels of development and more…

This article investigates the cooperation between schools and development-oriented non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in the context of education for sustainable development and global learning. It focuses on the potential and challenges of such partnerships for fostering meaningful social learning in a global context. It also draws on two…

Parent-adolescent interactions can be very loving, although both parties might not always agree. The level of and discrepancy between ratings on parenting style are indicators for functioning within the family, affecting adolescents' psychological adjustment. This 4-year multiinformant study focuses on emotional warmth in parenting as a precursor…

How does teacher-child interaction quality in early child care and education settings influence the development of social-emotional skills in children at around two to three years of age? We measured the quality of interactions on the side of the child care teachers (N = 9, CLASS Toddler) and assessed self-regulatory skills through an individual…

Researchers commonly use puppets in development science. Amongst other things, puppets are employed to reduce social hierarchies between child participants and adult experimenters akin to peer interactions. However, it remains controversial whether children treat puppets like real-world social partners in these settings. This study investigated…

If school closures and social-distancing experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic impeded children's skill development, they may leave a lasting legacy in human capital. To understand the pandemic's effects on school children, this paper combines a review of the emerging international literature with new evidence from German longitudinal time-use…

Valid information on early social-emotional competence is essential to diagnose, treat, and prevent behavioral problems in children and adolescents. Particularly in young children, social-emotional competence is frequently measured using parent and teacher ratings that frequently exhibit low agreement. Therefore, the present study on n = 532…

Introduction: The global trend of new curricula in many OECD countries indicates that social interaction skills are becoming increasingly important. Educators need to start fostering the development of learners' social competences, which requires development of their own knowledge and skills. This study investigated the possible change in…

Bullying in school and cyberbullying are highly relevant issues. Students with special educational needs in emotional-social development and learning show individual characteristics that could be risk factors for bullying perpetration and victimization (e.g., externalizing behavior problems or poor social skills). Therefore, the present study was…

In recent years, preschooler's self-regulation has been extensively researched. This systematic review deals with the overlaps and differences among the many different terminologies and definitions of self-regulation in childhood and the association with preschooler's social-emotional and behavioural development. A systematic literature search in…

Background: Recent research has shown that socio-emotional and language competencies are positively associated with each other. However, few studies have explored these associations for the second language competencies (L2) of young dual language learners (DLLs). Aims: This longitudinal study investigated possible bidirectional associations…

Pretend play may be beneficial for young children's social development. However, empirical results to date are inconsistent and limited, which is partly due to a lack of psychometrically sound measures for children's social pretend play competence. The current study aimed to compare and validate different assessment methods for children's social…

First-order and advanced theory of mind (ToM and AToM), and their structures and relations were investigated in 229 children aged 5-8 years. ToM was assessed using 6 tasks from the first-order ToM scale, while AToM was measured using an 18-item battery (higher-order false-belief understanding; strange stories; faux pas test; eyes test;…