This article explored how a testimonio presented during an out-of-school summer program for Latina/o/x high school youth served as a tool for students to enhance their Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills. Focusing specifically on a robust communal activity in the program known as an "Encuentro," I examined how SEL skills were…

The increasing demand for a diverse pool of computing talent combined with a persistent shortage of skilled workers has engendered a need to support students pursuing Computer Science (CS) careers. Students often cite social isolation and lack of support as reasons for withdrawing from computing programs. This is especially true for those from…

High school students in accelerated curricula tend to report higher level of perceived stress compared to general education students, but often receive limited school support (Conger et al., 2021). This study explored student experiences of a targeted intervention using Motivational Interviewing (Motivation, Assessment, and Planning; MAP) compared…

The errors young children make when recognising others' emotions may be systematic over-identification biases and may partially explain the challenges some have socially. These biases and associations may be differential by emotion. In a sample of 871 ethnically and racially diverse preschool-aged children (i.e. 33-68 months; 49% Hispanic/Latine,…

Leveraging data from a longitudinal study of Chinese families (n = 364), this research aims to understand the role of secure base script knowledge as a cognitive mechanism by which early caregiving experiences inform adolescents' friendship quality and feelings of loneliness. Results showed that observed maternal sensitivity at 14 and 24 months…

While children receive most emotional messages from their caregivers, schools provide a unique opportunity to promote social-emotional competence. Early childhood educators and administrators should consider the long-term outcomes of incorporating SEL for young learners and school staff. One strategy to promote young students' social-emotional…

Lifespan is a pool of stories that, in the beginning, sets the tone. It lays the foundation for students' long-life learning, attitudes formation, behavioral modifications, and shapes the trajectories of students' early childhood development (an important thread of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Target 4.2 bedrock on "access to…

Although Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is seen to benefit children and youth, evidence is largely built on summative trials of programmes, with little comparative insight into the specific approaches that underpin SEL. The current study sought to highlight a hitherto underutilized approach in identifying common SEL practices through the…

This paper, conceptual but with empirical support, fills in some blanks in Vygotsky's reworking of Spinoza's "Ethics." Here Vygotsky sought to develop a developmental theory of emotions that would fit his developmental theory of higher psychological functions; that is, one which used function to explain how structure changes (much as…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study is to explore how African American single mothers describe the efficacy and accessibility of afterschool enrichment programs for elementary school children from socio-economically challenged homes. This study will contribute to the gap in the literature with respect to African American single…

In this increasingly competitive global society, the expectations held by parents for children's academic success have grown more intense. Despite the established research indicating a positive association between parental expectations and children's academic outcomes, the extent to which these expectations influence children's socioemotional…

School districts nationally reported spending a combined total of nearly $60 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds through school year 2021-22, according to GAO's analysis of the Department of Education's (Education) data. About 80 percent of ESSER spending through school year 2021-22 went to addressing…

Students who are identified as gifted have academic, social, and emotional experiences that are informed by both their cognition and their identification. Similarly, highly able students who are overlooked and remain unidentified have extra layers of social and emotional complexity to negotiate. While the label should not uniquely define the…

The ability to discriminate social signals from faces is a fundamental component of human social interactions whose developmental origins are still debated. In this study, 5-year-old (N = 29) and 7-year-old children (N = 31) and adults (N = 34) made perceptual similarity and trustworthiness judgments on a set of female faces varying in level of…

The importance attached to the development of strong character is evident in schools, out-of-school time (OST) programs, and the workplace. Providers of OST programs must infuse their programs with activities that build positive social and emotional skills in order to help mold future human capital. Educators, employers, and society as a whole…