Aim/Purpose: This study explores the effectiveness of a virtual reality (VR) application designed to teach Theory of Mind (ToM) skills to children aged 5-6, addressing the gap in research on the use of VR for typically developing children. Background: ToM is a critical skill for social interaction and understanding others' perspectives. Despite…

This article reports on an intervention based on a new approach to career counselling in the Anthropocene era. The research aimed to examine the determinants of the changes that occurred in the research participant rather than just the changes themselves. A gifted 17-year-old male (clarifying his career choice) was conveniently and purposively…

Children with complex congenital heart defects often show delays and deficits in cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional functioning. As such, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Associated recommend ongoing monitoring and support of development. In conjunction with the formal therapeutic supports frequently…

Executive functions (EF) are crucial to regulating learning and are predictors of emerging mathematics. However, interventions that leverage EF to improve mathematics remain poorly understood. 193 four-year-olds (mean age = 3 years; 11 months pre-intervention; 111 female, 69% White) were assessed 5 months apart, with 103 children randomised to an…

Background: Although past research demonstrated growth mindset interventions to improve school outcomes, effects were small. This may be due to the "theoretical" nature of psychosocial techniques (e.g., reading about brain plasticity), which may not be optimally convincing for students. Aims: To address this issue and improve…

Identifying the neural processes that underlie the association between children's early adverse experiences and cognitive development could inform more effective intervention strategies. The goal of the current study (data collected 2015-2021) was to examine relations among early experiences at 6 months, electroencephalography (EEG) theta power at…

Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions target developmentally appropriate skills in young children with autism spectrum disorders using behavioral techniques in naturalistic interactions. Naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions demonstrate strong empirical support and frequently utilize caregiver training of intervention…

This article describes a teacher in Vietnam being trained in and using process-oriented child monitoring (POM) in their classroom. POM is a child observation approach that can be used to determine students' levels of wellbeing and involvement in the classroom, which helps a teacher understand if deep-level learning is taking place. POM is an easy,…

Although the role of the home in supporting early childhood development, early learning and school outcomes is well established, the perspectives of caregivers on child development and schooling outcomes are comparatively underexplored. This qualitative study was conducted with caregivers of children aged 6-10 years in Mahikeng, South Africa and…

Despite the popularity of social skills groups, there remains a need for empirical investigation of treatment effects, especially when targeting pivotal aspects of social functioning such as initiations to peers. The goal of the present study was to conduct a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week social intervention (SUCCESS), which combined an…

Preterm birth poses a major public health challenge, with significant and heterogeneous developmental impacts. Latent profile analysis was applied to the National Institutes of Health Toolbox performance of 1891 healthy prematurely born children from the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development study (970 boys, 921 girls; 10.00 ± 0.61 years;…

This study examined the effectiveness of professional development (PD) strategies employed by the University of South Africa (UNISA) to empower teachers (as adult learners) to enhance learner performance in the life sciences (LS). The context of this study is the partnership between the Department of Education and institutions of higher learning.…

Background: Around 800 million young children worldwide have cognitive-developmental limitations due to issues related to biological, environmental, and psychosocial factors. These problems lead to educational challenges, limited skill development, and higher unemployment rates. Therefore, timely interventions addressing the underlying problems in…

While adolescent foundational skills interventions can be critical levers for reading improvement, district leaders, teachers, and researchers must make complex decisions about how to evaluate their effectiveness in context. In this discussion article, we explore three issues and tensions we experienced during a 2-year research-practice…

To address the need for interventions targeting social emotional development and mental health of young children in South Africa, the "Mazi Umntanakho" ('know your child') digital tool was co-designed, and piloted with caregivers and 3-5-year-old children involved in home visiting programmes promoting early childhood development. The aim…