Traditional definitions of school readiness have focused primarily on the skills, knowledge and abilities children need for educational success. However, these definitions have evolved in recent years to encompass a multidimensional view, adding physical and mental health, social and emotional skills, executive functioning and self-regulation, and…

This is one of two papers developed for an Ministry of Education funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). This paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the key competencies included in the "New Zealand Curriculum" ("NZC"). The second paper analyses…

This is one of two papers developed for a Ministry of Education (MOE)-funded project, Competencies in New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZC). The first paper draws on archived policy discussion papers to document the provenance of the NZC key competencies. This second paper analyses a series of research projects to describe how…

Given the increasing demand for interculturally competent graduates and employees, it is incumbent upon the Tuning community to incorporate intercultural competence into Tuning Frameworks. With the growing diversity in the world today, beyond national diversity, intercultural competence cuts across disciplines, subjects, and contexts. This essay…

Character development in higher education is a complex process. This process has often been delegated to a single course on ethics or courses on religion. The authors of this article pose an alternative higher educational process whereby character development is rooted in a series of abilities that are contextualized throughout the entire…

It is seldom useful to try to persuade staff to abandon coercive methods in the moment when they are angry or frustrated with students. Instead, these topics can be discussed during new employee orientation and in ongoing staff development. Ironically, many staff members share that in their own roles as parents they seldom rely on spanking or…

This executive summary presents results from a study that began in 2013-2014, and involves a longitudinal design to follow a sample of 1,169 children (139 Spanish-speaking DLLs) who attended 199 randomly-selected Georgia's Pre-K classrooms. These findings focus on results from the second year of the study, which included 1,034 of these children…

In this article, the author discusses what school leaders can do to support teachers in building stronger relationships with students. He points out that efforts at establishing positive relationships can--and must--be strengthened at the schoolwide level. School leaders who are shifting from an emphasis on discipline to one on relationships must…

This research brief highlights findings from the technical report (published separately). Student-level analyses were conducted with the SEL Skills Survey and the Student Climate Survey to determine if a single measure of students' SEL skill acquisition and perceptions of school climate is possible. [For the Technical Report, see ED629195.]

Strong anti-bullying policies are foundational to effective bullying prevention. The Youth Bullying Prevention Act of 2012 (YBPA; DC Law L19-167) is among the most comprehensive bullying prevention policies across the United States and its territories. The law and its implementing regulations require all schools and youth-serving agencies…

Over the past 25 years, Gallup polls have consistently reported that disruptive behavior and discipline problems are some of the top concerns of school staff and community members. In fact, problems with classroom management are among the most common reasons that teachers leave their jobs. In response, many schools are turning to more formal…

In a "Young Children" article worth revisiting, Wien (2004) makes the case that rules tend not to be helpful in early childhood communities. Rules are usually stated as negatives. When an adult enforces rules with children, the children know they have done something wrong. However, the negative experience in rule enforcement does not teach them…

Schools remain one of the safest environments for children. However, in far too many schools, a lack of respect for the authority of teachers and other school employees, as well as for the rights of other students, is undermining the ability of schools to provide students with a quality education. Even in the best schools, employees often…

Perhaps more than any other academic discipline, physical education holds the highest potential for teaching affective skills. By its very nature, the typical physical education setting offers countless teachable moments and opportunities to capitalize on the development of affective skills. The seeming lack of attention given to affective…

In 1997, two faculty members at Kansas State University began the process of creating something special and distinctive that never existed before. They clearly understood that they were embarking on a journey that would be exciting, yet not totally within their control. They were passionate about the value of developing a leadership studies…