In Germany, all-day care and all-day schooling are currently increasing on a large-scale. The extended time children spend in educational institutions could potentially result in limited access to nature experience for children. On the other hand, it could equally create opportunities for informal nature experience if school playgrounds have a…

The scale development and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of the Protective Factor Index (PFI) is described. The PFI is a 13-item component of elementary students' report cards that replaces typical items associated with student behavior. The PFI is based on the Construct-Based Approach (CBA) to school counseling, which proposes that…

Children need a balanced set of cognitive, social and emotional capabilities to adapt to today's demanding, changing and unpredictable world. OECD countries and partner economies recognise the importance on the holistic development of individuals. However, there are big gaps between stakeholders' knowledge, expectations and practices on how to…

This article probes the vicissitudes of racism and how the multicultural perspectives of a Montessori preschool environment can prevent prejudices. Barbara Hacker is whole-heartedly committed to human unity transcending color differences. Racism is incompatible with a Montessori classroom that shares different holidays and cultures, builds social…

This study aims to determine pre-service music teachers' opinions about the significance of the choir lesson. This is a qualitative research. The data were acquired with the participation of 54 pre-service teachers. An open-ended interview questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were processed using content analysis and classified in…

When adolescents in the United States of America trail much of the world on measures of school achievement, but are among the world leaders in violence, unwanted pregnancy, STDs, abortion, binge drinking, marijuana use, obesity, and unhappiness, it is time to admit that something is wrong with the way that the country is raising its young people.…

Little is known about adult siblings of individuals with autism. We report on cognitive, social and mental health outcomes in 87 adult siblings (mean age 39 years). When younger all had been assessed either as being "unaffected" by autism (n = 69) or as meeting criteria for the "Broader Autism Phenotype" (BAP, n = 18). As…

We continue to increase our understanding of the experiences and settings that contribute to positive developmental outcomes in childhood, and those that confer greater risk. Although the mechanisms by which the risk and protective factors affect developmental outcomes need to be further elucidated through research, converging findings from the…

A core goal of inclusive education worldwide is to maximize the learning potential of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream educational settings. However, little research attention has been paid to SEN children's social and emotional gains from inclusive education compared to their academic performance. This study included…

Homeschooling--that is, parent-led home-based education--is an age-old traditional educational practice that a decade ago appeared to be cutting-edge and "alternative" but is now bordering on "mainstream" in the United States. It may be the fastest-growing form of education in the United States. This article describes the…

In this brief we use the CASEL reviews of evidence-based programs to answer the question, "What do teachers and other adults actually need to do in the classroom and school to help students achieve the goals laid out in social and emotional learning (SEL) standards?" Specifically, we identify and describe four approaches that have been…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are often examined and evaluated in terms of institutional cost, instructor prestige, number of students enrolled, and completion rates. MOOCs, which are connecting thousands of adult learners from diverse backgrounds, have yet to be viewed from a learning culture perspective. This research used virtual…

This study examined the dimensionality and measurement invariance of the Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile (KSEP) when used to rate the school readiness of children from different ethnic backgrounds (Latino or White, non-Latino), as well as from households where a different language was predominant (Spanish or English). Teachers rated the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the process of development and the pilot implementation of a preventive life skills curriculum for Indigenous middle school students in a very remote community college in the West Arnhem region of North Australia. The curriculum integrates proven educational and psychological techniques with…

In this article, we describe how books addressing social-emotional topics can be used by teachers of young children during class read-alouds to enhance students' social-emotional development. Teachers of young children typically choose books for class read-alouds based on curriculum topics and student interest; however, they may not be aware of…