The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a social-emotional learning curriculum, Strong Kids, for children at risk for begin referred for placement in emotional and behavioral support classrooms. Thirty-nine fourth- and fifth-grade students enrolled in an urban elementary school participated in the intervention. The results of this…

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…

"Eccomi Pronto" (EP), an elementary school socio-emotional learning curriculum that was originally developed and evaluated in Italy was translated in Korean and implemented and evaluated in 4th grade classrooms of a primary school in South Korea. Qualitative data from teachers indicated that EP improved the self-reflection and…

Divorce is an increasingly prevalent occurrence in society that has the potential to result in many adverse short- and long-term consequences for children and their parents. Social skills, such as those with peers, are one of the problems that may emerge for children of divorce. Despite this growing problem, there is a paucity of research…

This study aims to use an experimental research design to enhance teaching efficacy by social-emotional skills training in teachers. The statistical sample comprised of 68 elementary teachers (grades 4 and 5) with at least 10 years teaching experience and a bachelor's degree who were randomly assigned into control (18 female, 16 male) and…

Bullying prevention efforts have yielded mixed effects over the last 20 years. Program effectiveness is driven by a number of factors (e.g., program elements and implementation), but there remains a dearth of understanding regarding the role of school climate on the impact of bullying prevention programs. This gap is surprising, given research…

Social inclusion has become an increasingly relevant issue in public school education during the past several years. Differences between social skills in students who were educated in inclusion elementary school classrooms and those who were not placed in inclusion classrooms were examined. Teachers were asked to rate the social skills of students…

The authors examined the initial and follow-up effect of Strong Kids, a social and emotional learning (SEL) curriculum, among a sample of 106 third- and fourth-grade students. Students were assigned to either the treatment or the wait-list condition and completed questionnaires on SEL knowledge and perceived use of SEL skills across 3 assessment…

The past two decades have seen a transformation in youth programming toward a comprehensive positive youth development (YD) framework. Cool Girls, Inc., a YD program, focuses on improving girls' life chances by promoting positive behaviors and attitudes in multiple domains. These include self-concept, academic orientation, future orientation, and…

This study demonstrates the efficacy of Equine Assisted Counseling (EAC) by comparing EAC to classroom-based counseling. Students (n = 164) identified as being at high risk for academic and/or social failure participated in 12 weekly counseling sessions. Within-group paired sample t-test results comparing pre- and post-treatment scores for…

This pilot study examines the effects of the implementation of the Cool Tool, a social skills strategy, on the disruptive and problem behaviors of third-grade (n = 4) and fourth-grade (n = 6) African American students in an urban elementary school. Following the completion of the social skills intervention in both classrooms, the findings of pre-…