Compelling empirical research shows that a positive and sustained school climate promotes students' academic achievement and healthy development. Not surprisingly, a positive school climate also promotes teacher retention, which itself enhances student success. Yet the knowledge of the effects of school climate on learning has not been translated…

Noting that the social and emotional experiences of American children today often heavily involve electronic media, Barbara Wilson takes a close look at how exposure to screen media affects children's well-being and development. She concludes that media influence on children depends more on the type of content that children find attractive than on…

Three experiments investigated whether children in grades K, 2, and 4 (n = 144) view emotional comprehension as important in solving moral dilemmas. The experiments asked whether a human or an artificially intelligent machine would be best at solving different types of problems, ranging from moral and emotional to nonmoral and pragmatic. In…

The aim of this survey is to provide an overview of the various components of "computer aided affective learning systems." The research is classified into 3 main scientific areas that are integral parts of the development of these kinds of systems. The three main scientific areas are: i) emotions and their connection to learning; ii) affect…

This pilot study evaluated the preliminary short- and middle-term impact of a nation-wide, school-based prevention initiative on antisocial behaviour of preschool and primary school pupils in Luxembourg. Seventeen preschool and reception classes (n = 183) were assigned to intervention and comparison conditions. The intervention included…

The authors advocate that every primary grade program needs a carefully planned social-emotional component. All children--those who enter first or second grade with an ability to control their emotions and make friends and those for whom these skills are more difficult--benefit from intentional teaching in this area. Some school systems adopt a…

This article explores how visual impairment might impact on early social and emotional development including self-awareness and communication with others. Some children show a "developmental setback" and other worrying developmental trajectories in the early years, including autistic related behaviours and autistic spectrum disorders.…

The Early Head Start evaluation included 17 sites drawn from the first two waves of programs started more than a decade ago. By design, the Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) selected programs that would reflect the range of service options and context of all extant program rather than choosing a representative sample. The sites…

The "Research & Action Report," published twice a year, is a window on the activities and initiatives at the Wellesley Centers for Women. The report typically features news about the Centers, interviews with researchers, commentary on recent events or social trends affecting women and girls, announcements of new publications, and…

Behavioral and emotional strengths are important to consider when understanding youth mental health and treatment. This study examined the association between youth strengths and functional impairment and whether this association is modified by race/ethnicity. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate the effects of strengths on…

Socio-emotional behaviour is in part sex-related in humans, although the contribution of the biological and socio-cultural factors is not yet known. This study explores sex-related differences during the earliest communicative exchange, the neonatal imitation in 43 newborn infants (3-96 hours old) using an index finger extension imitative gesture.…

Twenty six children with autism, 24 children with developmental disabilities, and 15 typically developing children participated in tasks in which an adult displayed emotions. Child focus of attention, change in facial tone (i.e., hedonic tone), and latency to changes in tone were measured and summary scores of emotional contagion were created.…

The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) national model recognizes the importance of school counselors addressing the personal and social development of students, as well as the academic development, to ultimately help them succeed. A number of concerns have been raised regarding the impact of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act on…

The work in family child care is becoming increasingly more professional, moving from an image of "mothering" toward one of educare. The growing demand for expertise and competence in family child care providers can be examined in light of their pedagogical experiences and the ways in which children engage in learning in providers' homes. This…

This article was excerpted from the author's "Charting the Bumpy Road of Coparenthood: Understanding the Challenges of Family Life", published in 2007 by "ZERO TO THREE." In the "Families Through Time" longitudinal study, James P. McHale and a number of colleagues met with expectant couples and then followed the families when the infants were 3…