The current study examined Connect Science, a service-learning program that incorporates social and emotional learning lessons and science lessons developed around Next Generation Science Standards. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, focus groups with 8 Connect Science classrooms and 8 control classrooms investigated fourth graders' experience…

This commentary extends and amplifies aspects of the Cantor, Osher, Berg, Steyer and Rose (2018) discussion about what we know about the nature of learning and its implications for how we educate students across the span from early childhood through advanced levels of formal education. The paper's overall goal is to offer some guidance and…

There is a lack of feasible and psychometrically sound instruments assessing social-emotional development in young children in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA) in two West-African…

Positive Youth Development (PYD) model is a strength-based perspective of transition to adulthood derived from developmental systems theory. Developmental assets (DAs) framework describes the individual and contextual resources that may promote PYD. This work aims to analyze the associations between internal and external DAs and PYD, as well as…

In order to prepare students for adulthood and responsible citizenship, most high schools offer extracurricular activities designed to facilitate the learning of a wide range of competencies. The purpose of this study was to examine how participation in a single or a combination of extracurricular school activities for high school students may…

The purpose of the study was to examine relations among sports participation and positive correlates across African American, Latino, and White girls. Positive correlate variables were self-perceptions (self-worth, body attractiveness, athletic competence), less depression, and participation in extracurricular activities. The sample comprised 372…

Utilizing a developmental-ecological framework, the purpose of this study was to understand the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on ethnically diverse, low-income, preschool children's cognitive skills, pro-social behaviors, and behavior problems. Additionally, this study sought to understand the variability of maternal risks…

Civic engagement was studied in relation to overall development in adolescence, emerging adulthood, and young adulthood to examine how earlier activity involvement and success in prior and concurrent age-salient domains of competence may contribute to 2 forms of civic engagement in adulthood (citizenship and volunteering). Data on 163 youth were…

This article examines family, friend, and media influences on competent and problem behaviors in a sample of 1,174 urban minority youth followed over 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Students completed annual surveys at their schools. Each of the contextual factors investigated was significantly associated with concurrent aggression and delinquency as…