The study examines students' skills at kindergarten entry and gains in skills across the kindergarten through first-grade period (pre-COVID-19) for predicting literacy, language, math, inhibitory control, and social-adjustment outcomes in the spring of fourth grade, after schools reopened. In a large US school district, longitudinal data were…

In this study, we investigated longitudinal reciprocal relations among reading, executive function, and social-emotional skills in students from Grades 2 to 5, using the data set from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-2011. We addressed several important gaps in the literature on longitudinal reciprocal relations…

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness on the benefits of social-emotional competencies (SEC) on Israeli students. A self-report SEL measure tailored to the Israeli context, however, has yet to be developed. This research aims to validate the Social-Emotional Questionnaire for Grades 4-6 (SEQ [G4-6]), a new self-report questionnaire…

Introduction: Children's social and emotional wellbeing is associated with subsequent academic achievement and behavioural outcomes, as well as functioning in later life. Nurturing approaches are one way of developing such wellbeing. Whole-school approaches to nurturing have been discussed in the literature, but no studies of any quality have…

This study aims to evaluate the roles of social-emotional development, academic grit and subjective well-being in reading-writing motivation. Altogether 582 fourth-grade primary school students were sampled and invited to complete four different scales. The findings are: (1) Social-emotional development is correlated with reading-writing…

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,…

Behavior problems among third- and fourth-grade students have become an issue of concern among stakeholders in the education sector. The purpose of this qualitative exploratory case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of Second Step, a socioemotional curriculum with practices used to address behaviors with third and fourth graders. The…

Emotion knowledge has attracted scientific interest in recent years due to its relevance to children's adjustment. Although there is some controversy as to its definition and components, the term is often used to describe the set of abilities to process emotional information. We need rigorous tools to assess it in multiple languages and contexts.…

The aim of this exploratory study was to examine fourth to eighth graders' conceptualizations of kindness at school (i.e., their definition of kindness, an example of an act of kindness they have done, who they see as the most salient adult agent of kindness, and which location they deem that kindness happens most). To date, kindness research has…

Background: Optimistic thinking is a facet of social-emotional learning linked to better mental health and problem-solving in children; however, few educational tools exist to improve this important aspect of self-awareness. Objective: To examine the effectiveness of an optimistic thinking tool with diverse students in an elementary school…

This study aims to examine the effects of some demographic variables on the social-emotional development, academic grit and subjective well-being of fourth-grade primary school students. The sample of this cross-sectional study consisted of 582 fourth grade primary school students. Data were collected using the Social-Emotional and Character…

Nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 (n = 14,370) were used to examine the grade-level and cumulative outcomes of school absenteeism between kindergarten and fifth grade for students' school performance in the United States. Students who were more frequently absent in any year of…

The national social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) screening in South Korean schools focuses on identifying and intervening with students at risk for SEB concerns, with little attention paid to students' SEB strength. This study aimed to examine (a) the technical adequacy of the Social Emotional Health Survey--Primary (SEHS-P), Youth…

Although the promise of universal social-emotional learning (SEL) programs enhancing student academic outcomes has captured public attention, there has been limited research regarding such programs' impact on students' state test scores. We used multilevel modeling of follow-up data from a multiyear, multisite cluster-randomized efficacy trial to…

Although the promise of universal social-emotional learning (SEL) programs enhancing student academic outcomes has captured public attention, there has been limited research regarding such programs' impact on students' state test scores. We used multilevel modeling of follow-up data from a multiyear, multisite cluster-randomized efficacy trial to…