In great demand are efficient mechanisms for delivery of evidence-based interventions for promoting social-emotional development and early positive behavior of all children, and especially for those with or at risk for disabilities. The rise of Internet use has created potentially new avenues for intervention delivery, which, when paired with the…

In this article Elina Packalen considers the notion of truth in connection with music. Her starting-point is the question of how music can be expressive of emotions; therefore she first summarizes some recent philosophical ideas of this issue. These ideas naturally raise the question of whether describing music in emotive terms has an epistemic…

The early care and education field lacks an evidence base of effective programs to support caregiving quality among family, friend, and neighbor, or unlicensed, caregivers. This article presents the results of a qualitative evaluation of a program implemented with 20 primarily low-income English- and Spanish-speaking grandparents providing…

"Crash" (P. Haggis, 2004) depicts the intersection of race, ethnicity, religion, and social class in a culturally and politically charged environment. The result is a film that places the viewer in situations that are void of simple right and wrong solutions. The authors describe an experiential learning activity that is based on using "Crash" to…

In the 1998 reauthorization of Head Start, Congress mandated that the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determine, on a national level, the impact of Head Start on the children it serves. As noted by the Advisory Committee on Head Start Research, this legislative mandate required that the impact study address two main research…

This booklet is in response to commonly asked questions from parents about preparing for, and entering kindergarten. Some questions parents ask are about district policy. Nebraska has over 200 individual school districts, each having their own board, superintendent, and policies. The Nebraska Department of Education provides guidance and…

Poverty-related developmental-risk theories dominate accounts of uneven levels of household functioning and effects on children. But immigrant parents may sustain norms and practices--stemming from heritage culture, selective migration, and social support--that buffer economic exigencies. "Comparable" levels of social-emotional functioning in…

A pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design was used to test the impact of a 30-week, theoretically-based social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, The RULER Feeling Words Curriculum ("RULER"), on the academic performance and social and emotional competence of 5th and 6th grade students (N = 273) in fifteen classrooms in three schools.…

This study examined the link between victimization and sexual orientation and how this link contributes to social-emotional health, extending to school-related outcomes among adolescents. Of additional interest was whether having caring adult support was a protective factor in reducing the risk for high levels of distress or enhancing positive…

Over the past decade, educational reforms have increased efforts to hold teachers and schools accountable for student test scores. Schools without significant progress on test scores have been subject to reductions in funding and even replacement of school leadership. The purpose of these actions is to increase student achievement by raising…

Everybody agrees that school bullying is a major problem, but considerable controversy exists over the best way to address the problem. The following discussion presents (a) a brief analysis and synthesis of the current state of the art, (b) underscores the need to avoid another piecemeal set of policy and practice initiatives, and (c) stresses…

Prenatal exposures to neurotoxins and postnatal parenting practices have been shown to independently predict variations in the cognitive development and emotional-behavioral well-being of infants and children. We examined the independent contributions of prenatal cigarette exposure and infant learning stimulation, as well as their…

Parents in Hong Kong believe that play is harmful to children's studies and socio-emotional development. However, the term "eduplay" was first introduced by Rao and Li, a form of play-based education with "Chinese characteristics". This term captures the beliefs of teachers and parents about how learning could happen through…

"Everyone Playing in Class" is an unstructured free play based provision for small classes or groups. The intervention involves training staff in attachment theory, presenting up-to-date research findings on the role of play in emotional well-being and relationship building, as well as teaching reflective communication skills. In this…

Recent efforts to improve American educational practices have focused on determining the efficacy of interventions and instructional practices via randomized controlled trials. Aligned with this effort, the Institute for Education Sciences (IES), the primary funding agency for experimental research in education, has organized grant funding into…