Grounded in current research and theory, this practical book guides program leaders and staff developers to design and implement engaging professional development and coaching approaches. It focuses on early educator competencies essential for high-quality learning and teaching--executive functions, emotion regulation, relationship skills, and…

The reauthorization of the U.S. Elementary and Secondary Education Act, referred to as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), emphasizes evidence-based interventions while giving states and districts new flexibility on the use of federal funds, including funds that could be used to support social and emotional learning (SEL). The authors review…

Social and emotional competencies are proving critical to students' success in the classroom and in life. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) does not explicitly reference social and emotional learning (SEL), this legislation in fact offers opportunities to support school-based SEL interventions. How is SEL supported by ESSA? Which SEL…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) involves the processes through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.…

The purpose of this brief is to provide information to state, district, and school personnel seeking support to determine whether their students are on a path to postsecondary success. The College and Career Readiness and Success Center (CCRS Center) has received technical assistance requests from a number of states regarding factors that predict…

Peer relations during middle childhood and adolescence are an important part of children's social and emotional development. Children and adolescents pick up essential social and communication skills from their peers as they move into late adolescence and early adulthood. Peer conflict is not necessarily a bad thing; disagreement and conflict are…

This compendium, a deliverable for "Assessments for Social, Emotional, and Academic Learning with Preschool/Elementary-School Children," focuses on tools to assess the social and emotional learning (SEL) of preschool and elementary school students (i.e., five- to ten-year-olds), along with aspects of the contexts in which they learn and…

Social and emotional learning and character education are complementary approaches to strengthening a person's ability to understand, manage, and express the social and emotional aspects of life and to organize action in a positive, goal-directed manner. This book is designed for administrators who need help in introducing programs to their…

The present study identified higher order relationships among teacher assessments of approaches to learning and emotional and behavioral adjustment constructs for low-income urban preschool children. It examined the unique contribution of these dimensions to cognitive and social competencies and risk of poor academic outcomes. Analyses of a large…

Eight group activities are presented to promote the emotional and social development of gifted and talented students. Guidelines stress the importance of modeling desired behaviors, using openings and closings, and dealing openly with conflict. (Author/CL)

The article highlights five facets of critical development for exceptionally gifted students: (1) interpersonal relationships, (2) acknowledgement of uniqueness, (3) school adjustment, (4) creative self-expression, and (5) user-friendly environments. Intervention strategies are proposed within each area. (CL)

Empathy is important in social adjustment, and teachers can assist in its development in children. This paper suggests a rationale for encouraging the use of empathy related literature and provides teachers with a children's literature resource of realistic picture books whose stories evoke feelings of empathy. The books listed in this paper were…

This book presents content-oriented activities for grades 7-12 designed to promote self-esteem. The first chapter presents the objectives and philosophy of this book. The second chapter presents the theoretical concepts as well as empirical data relative to the social development of adolescents. The third chapter deals with ways in which teachers…

The study compared 9 nonretarded autistic males and 25 of their first-degree relatives with 22 control relatives, to identify potential cognitive subclinical markers in autism and differences in emotion recognition and labeling. Subjects showed an atypical cognitive profile with above average visuospatial ability and difficulty in recognizing…

This article presents an overview of literature relating to a nonverbal learning disabilities subtype. The article addresses the relationship between nonverbal learning disabilities and socioemotional functioning, generalizability of research outcomes, individual differences, and treatment validity. (Author/JDD)