Contemporary models highlight the need to cultivate cognitive and psychosocial factors in developing domain-specific talent. This model was the basis for the current study where high ability youth with self-reported social difficulties (n = 28, 12 with a coexisting disability) participated in a social skills and talent development intervention…

The current study evaluated the effectiveness of the Bullying Literature Project on social-emotional and behavioral outcomes among elementary school students. The Bullying Literature Project is a five-session classroom-wide intervention that uses children's literature as a springboard to promote adaptive social-cognitive process, teach social…

This investigation examines the extent to which characteristics of the teacher-child relationship (closeness, dependency, and conflict) are predictive of changes in children's peer victimization and aggressive behavior over the course of a school year. Relational and physical forms of victimization and aggression were studied, and changes in peer…

This phenomenological study explored the lifeworlds of 27 academically advanced elementary students in three very different schools that endeavored to meet their diverse needs. Schools that had established formal social and emotional structures were found to have student populations far more accepting of diversity. As a result, academically…

The social acceptance of children with and without intellectual disabilities was examined in an inclusive, summer recreational program. Participants were 67 children entering Grades 3 through 6, of which 29 were identified as having a mild intellectual disability. Children were recruited from economically and racially diverse urban school…

This study examined the longitudinal relations between competence (academic achievement and social preference) and problem behavior (loneliness and aggression) in 741 elementary school boys and girls in the Netherlands (Grades 1-5). Also, we examined the moderation effects of having no friends, aggressive friends, or nonaggressive friends on the…

This paper is based on a year long research project that examined changes in participation of 31 students in a Year 4/5 classroom, where bullying was occurring. The teacher (first author and researcher) facilitated authentic learning opportunities to make the social practices explicit during weekly class meetings. A socio cultural perspective and…

The objectives of the study were to examine the characteristics of non-referred children with behaviour difficulties (BD) (such as verbal and physical aggression towards children and objects), aged 9-12 years and attending mainstream schools, and to compare them with children with no BD. The second objective was to evaluate the contribution of a…

Gender segregation in the classroom is advocated as academically beneficial, particularly for girls. However, the social impact for children has received little attention. The present study compared children's peer relations following the transition from mixed-sex fourth-grade classrooms to same-sex fifth-grade classrooms, and beyond into same-sex…

This paper will review several important constructs in the area of social and emotional development of children in grades 2-5. The importance of social and emotional development has become increasingly evident in light of new research on the brain and the development of programs to prevent social and behavioral disorders in youth. This review will…