Decades of research have illustrated the linguistic, social, and cognitive growth that occurs in the context of play (e.g., Baron-Cohen, 1987; Lifter, Foster-Sanda, Arzamarski, Briesch, & McClure, 2011; Lillard et al., 2013; Ungerer & Sigman, 1984). Play also provides opportunities to practice and gain important social skills. During play…

People with intellectual disabilities who are deaf face obstacles participating in social environments that do not take into account their need for accessible visual communication. In the present case series, we describe the development of the adaptive skills profiles of eight participants in a fully inclusive therapeutic living community,…

Social competency is a set of skills that provide children with the tools and abilities to successfully navigate the world around them. "Developing Social Competency in Young Children" looks at each of the seven Cs of social competence--communication, community building, coping, confidence, conflict resolution, control, and curiosity.…

This manuscript is a literature review that addresses the significance of social emotional learning in regard to promoting career readiness by addressing the key components, interpersonal, and intrapersonal skills that are critical to possess in order to be successful in the workforce. Social emotional learning (SEL) is the process by which…

In this follow-up to "Guidance for Every Child," author Dan Gartrell, EdD, expands on the advice broached in that book -- that children need guidance rather than discipline. Guidance is teaching for healthy emotional and social development. On a day-to-day basis as conflicts occur, guidance is teaching children to learn from their…

This interpretive research was at the intersection of language acquisition, literacy development, and social education. The multisite study of literacy instruction that addressed compassion as a conflict response involved qualitative analyses of data gathered from lesson artifacts, observations, interviews of the participating teachers, and survey…

Soft skills are becoming increasingly important and will be critical for success in the Information Systems profession. Employers complain about a lack in soft skills among graduates from tertiary education institutions. No agreement exists about what these skills actually are, which are of importance, and how acquiring these soft skills should be…

Research suggests that young children with disabilities often fall victim to bullying because of a lack of social competence and social skills necessary for consistent engagement with peers. This article focuses on a comprehensive approach to classroom management and offers important strategies for a multi-level positive behavioral support plan.…

As a result of reforms like the Common Core Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and its framework, science instruction is transitioning from traditional forms of science to reformist curriculum. Classrooms committed to an epistemological approach to science education will have students engaging in a co-construction of…

This action research study (ARS) describes the effectiveness of small group social skills lessons with elementary students, using "Too Good for Violence: A Curriculum for Non-violent Living" by the Mendez Foundation. The school counselor and school social worker taught the curriculum in a structured small group of 4th grade students in 8…

The selected study examined the long-term effects of the "Seattle Social Development Project (SSDP)," an elementary-school-based intervention designed to improve students' social skills and engagement. The study analyzed data on about 600 young adults who had been students in 15 public elementary schools serving high-crime areas in…

This paper draws from continuing research into the growth of sociability and cooperation in young children. It began in the mid-1980s and has continued periodically in a range of early years educational settings across the 3-6 age range. The research has underpinned the development of an observational tool. This tool--the Social Play Continuum or…

School systems often implement character education initiatives in reaction to a violent event. Following the school shootings that occurred in the 1990s, many school systems started to implement character education and violence prevention programs. Unfortunately, because the efforts were reactive, little thought was given to sustainability…

Two third-grade Taiwanese students at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders participated in a pull-out, small-group social skills training program developed to promote their skill acquisition and maintenance. Using a multiple baseline across skills design, the authors demonstrated that both participants made marked performance improvement in…

This article provides an overview of each of seven programs evaluated as part of the Social and Character Development Research Program (SACD), a federally-funded multiprogram evaluation project. It further examines the theoretical underpinnings, the teaching strategies employed, the content delivered, modifications made to the implementation or…