Two superintendents who are infusing social-emotional learning throughout their districts (in Minneapolis and Atlanta) discuss strategies they've found that help their efforts. They note support they receive through participating in the Collaborating Districts Initiative, a multidistrict effort launched by the Collaborative for Academic, Social,…

Robert McGrath's article has the great virtue of asking an important question: "What is character education?" He argues that currently "what it means to call something a character education program remains unclear." Without a clear definition, McGrath says, one cannot differentiate character education from other programs…

Sally Reis's research interests are related to talent development in all children as well as special populations of gifted and talented students, including students with learning disabilities, gifted females, and diverse groups of talented students who are often underserved. She is also interested in extensions of the Schoolwide Enrichment Model…

Many teachers and administrators recognize the importance of social and emotional development for student success but do not feel that they have the time or tools to support social and emotional learning (SEL). The American Institutes for Research developed the "Social and Emotional Learning Coaching Toolkit: Keeping SEL at the Center"…

Purpose: Victimization is a common problem for many children but is exacerbated for children with a developmental language disorder (DLD). However, the severity of communication problems does not explain their victimization rates. In children without DLD, difficulties with emotional competence are a risk factor for victimization and also increase…

Children experience limited time outdoors and have few opportunities for outdoor learning in schools, putting them at risk for being unprepared to engage in solving environmental and societal problems. Researchers have examined outdoor learning at the preschool and high school levels; elementary school experiences have been explored less…

Among the many models of school reform that have emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, one has endured for more than 50 years: the School Development Program (SDP). Established in 1968 by renowned child psychiatrist James P. Comer and the Yale Child Study Center, the SDP is grounded in the belief that successful…

Initiatives focused on improving aspects of students' well-being in schools--such as addressing childhood obesity, preventing bullying, and restricting schools' use of exclusionary discipline--are gaining momentum. However, such efforts are often implemented in silos, without recognition of their interconnections. To advance the common goal of…

Ready for Kindergarten! Survey (R4K!S) is a readiness assessment of children entering kindergarten about students' knowledge and skills within the first six to ten weeks of school. There are many interpretations of what constitutes "readiness." Vermont's concept of children's readiness is multidimensional; it includes social and…

Schools are facing increasing demands to prepare students for rapid economic, environmental and social changes, for jobs that have not yet been created, for technologies that have not yet been invented, and to solve social problems that have not yet been anticipated. Education can equip learners with the agency, the competencies and the sense of…

Guided by the school climate and social-emotional learning literature, this study explored math self-concept in relation to student-teacher relationships and students' sense of school belonging while accounting for sex differences. Participants included two random subsamples (Ns = 532; 558) of 15-year-old Canadian students who participated in the…

This study is a systematic literature review of the experiences of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their family members in higher education, with a particular focus on transition. Systematic searches were conducted across six databases: Medline, CINAHL, ProQuest, PsycINFO, Scopus, and Informit. Published articles (n = 11)…

Most schools around the world are configured as a single-age structure, according to their chronological age. Based on a case study of one Israeli school, this article seeks to present the value and contributions of a multi-age structuring relation to significant learning experiences. The findings of this article show that the multi-age structure…

Decades of research and practice in social and emotional development have left us with a body of knowledge that tells us that (1) social, emotional, and cognitive development are intertwined in the brain and in behavior and influence school and life outcomes; (2) social, emotional, and cognitive skills and competencies grow in supportive…

The article conceptualizes coursework in teacher education through the lens of intrinsic motivation. Authors theorize a pragmatic heuristic known as the motivational framework for culturally responsive teaching to achieve that goal. Then, using two illustrative examples, one of which is shadowing high school students, authors show how the…