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…

Collaboration is an important lifelong and career skill, and collaborative learning is a growing pedagogical practice. Students often struggle, however, to negotiate, manage conflict, and construct knowledge with other group members. These struggles can lead to negative interactions, resulting in negative emotions. Students in collaborative…

Shifting federal educational priorities and increased funding for pre-K means that more school counselors are interacting with and supporting children before kindergarten age in public school settings. One potential area of focus for school counseling with young students is executive function (EF), including emotional and behavioral regulation,…

The implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) related tools and strategies is becoming widely used in classrooms within the United States to promote student success. However, teachers may not feel prepared or knowledgeable about the topic which leads to apprehension regarding implementation. It is imperative for educators to understand…

In this report, the authors examined the relationship between social and emotional (SE) skills, school climate, educator variables, and educator burnout. Mosaic Educator, an assessment designed for teachers and school staff, was completed by a sample of educators in several regions of the country during the spring of 2022. This assessment measured…

The purpose of this article is to highlight the relationship between general music and social and emotional learning. Social and emotional learning involves a set of social, emotional, behavioral, and character competencies that are essential to success in school, in the workplace, within relationships, in the community, and in life. Music…

American teens are 40 percent less empathetic than they were three decades ago. Recognizing that students need more than academic rigor to succeed, a growing number of schools are turning their focus to social-emotional qualities like empathy. But which practices enhance empathy and how will principals know if teachers are implementing them…

Social development is one of the most critical developmental areas for human beings. Deficits in social skills may negatively impact several essential domains including academic achievement, interpersonal relationships, behavior, mental health, and adult life outcome. Individuals with autism present with core deficits in social skills. Without…

As children with autism spectrum disorder become adults, social participation continues to be an area of need. Within creative arts, there is a growing body of literature about the use of theatre arts, improvisational theatre, and improvisational techniques as a way to address social participation for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The…

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) refers to the process through which individuals learn and apply social, emotional, behavioral, and character skills required to succeed in schooling, the workplace, relationships, and citizenship. In public discussion of SEL, not everyone can quite agree on what it is. To some, it involves a set of tools for…

This paper presents a unique school-based programme that harnesses the benefits of both trauma-informed practice (TIP) and outdoor environments to support children's social and emotional wellbeing throughout the pandemic and beyond. In the opening sections of the paper, we discuss the extant literature and conceptual underpinning of TIP and…

Effective educators value young adolescents, are prepared to teach them, and are knowledgeable about this age group. Middle level educators' understanding of adolescent brain development and developmentally responsive teaching strategies can help to support all adolescents' cognitive and social-emotional development in school. This article…

Social and emotional skills change naturally over time (Roberts, Walton, & Viechtbauer, 2006) and as the result of intervention efforts designed to improve social and emotional skills (Mahoney et al., 2018). Given the known malleability of social and emotional skills and significant changes to students' environments due to COVID-19, the…

An increasing number of college students are coming forward to speak out against school violence, and there is increased attention placed on helping students seeking support if an incident occurs and exercising their right to speak out against those who perpetuate such behaviors. The skill of self-advocacy is not only useful for supporting changes…

Across existing research literature and among arts educators there is widespread belief that artistic disciplines including music, dance, theatre, visual arts, literary arts, and media arts have a positive effect on children's and adolescents' social-emotional development. This project investigates the relationship between arts education and…