Mature social evaluations privilege agents' intentions over the outcomes of their actions, but young children often privilege outcomes over intentions in verbal tasks probing their social evaluations. In three experiments (N = 118), we probed the development of intention-based social evaluation and mental state reasoning using nonverbal methods…

Since post-war II, music education has advocated its presumed aesthetic benefits. "Aesthetic advocacy" became instituted through the abundance of publications by Bennett Reimer (e.g., 1970, 1989, 1995, 2003). That aesthetic meme is still influential. The debate about "Music Education as Aesthetic Education" MEAE may be…

American society and schools are increasingly recognizing the importance of tending to children's social-emotional learning (SEL). According to social learning theory, one way children learn social-emotional skills, knowledge, and mindsets is by observing others--including their teachers. It is thus important that teachers model the same…

During the last few years, the Swedish preschool curriculum has undergone several changes. Among those changes is the introduction of the concept of teaching as a goal-oriented activity. Preschool teachers have been given a specific responsibility for leading the teaching in preschool. This study aims to explore how preschool teachers' didactical…

Purpose: This research explores the initial attitudes of special educators towards socially assistive robots (SAR) and considers how cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds shape these attitudes. Special educators providing services to individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States and Serbia were surveyed, representing…

The present study investigated if preschool children's intention understanding could predict their use of other-oriented conflict resolution strategies. Participants were 30 preschool children (13 girls, M[subscsript age] = 4.46 years, SD = 0.73, range: 3.21-5.50 years). The children were observed for their conflict resolution strategies during…

Three experiments showed that gratitude positively affected preschool children's prosocial behavior. In the studies, the experimenter induced gratitude by giving a token gift and then making a request for help or to share resources. Experiment 1 (N = 126, 4- to 6-year-olds) showed that gratitude increased helping behaviors toward the benefactor,…

Research documents that young children in high-quality teacher-child relationships experience better school adjustment and are more engaged in learning. Yet, many American kindergarten (age 5) teachers report spending less time on relationship building and children's social and emotional development given pressure to have students reading and…

Background: To date, research on spontaneous social interactions in mixed and non-mixed groups has not included exchanges with peer buddies. Object: In Study 1, socio-cognitive factors associated with the intention to volunteer to become a peer buddy for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) were investigated. In Study 2, spontaneous social…

Over the past several years, a growing consensus has emerged across a range of disciplines--including brain science, developmental psychology, and education research--about how learning happens. The latest science now aligns with what educators, youth-supporting adults, parents, and caregivers have known for a long time: successful learning…

The purpose of this study has been to explore young children's understandings and experiences of friendship as these manifested in children's behaviours, in a reception class setting. Drawing on an evolutionary, ecological framework, friendship is seen as not only the expression and further development of social understandings and cognitive…

Attention toward social entrepreneurship has increased worldwide, particularly within younger generations. Based on the identified model of social entrepreneurial intentions, this study proposed a multiple mediation framework to examine the mediating role of entrepreneurial creativity for university students. It also compared the differences…

"Making Assessment Work: Ten Practitioner Beliefs" was developed by the National Practitioner Advisory Group on Using Data to Inspire SEL Practice (NPAG), a group of social and emotional learning (SEL) practice leaders convened to provide insights on SEL. Educators, program leaders, and policymakers recognize the value of holistically…

Studies investigating inferential reasoning in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have focused on the ability to make socially-related inferences or inferences more generally. Important variables for intervention planning such as whether inferences depend on physical experiences or the nature of social information have received less consideration. A…

During the first year of life, infants possess some of the key social--cognitive abilities required for success in a social world: Infants interpret others' actions in terms of their intentions and can use this understanding prospectively to generate predictions about others' behavior. Exactly how these foundational abilities develop is currently…