In the current study, we sought to understand relations among the key intervention targets of social-emotional and character development (SECD) interventions: character virtues, Positive Purpose, and social-emotional learning (SEL). Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students (n = 1011, ages 11 to 16, M = 12.94, SD = 1.00) from five urban middle…

Despite decades of concern about disparities in educational outcomes for low SES students and students of color, there has been limited rigorous study of programmatic approaches for reducing these disparities in elementary or middle schools. We conducted integrative data analysis (IDA) of the combined data from eight Institute of Education…

Youth participation in community-based, structured out-of-school time programs (OST) has been found to promote positive developmental outcomes by providing youth with resources to build interpersonal relationships and essential life skills. The increasing prevalence and multiplicity of youth participation in these activities leads us to expand the…

The vision for the Leadership Richland One MSAP project was that all students will have the opportunity to succeed academically through a high-quality education in an environment characterized by diverse social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds. To improve student achievement, major project goals and objectives focus on four areas:…

Despite decades of concern about disparities in educational outcomes for low SES students and students of color, there has been limited rigorous study of programmatic approaches for reducing these disparities in elementary or middle schools. We conducted integrative data analysis (IDA) of the combined data from eight Institute of Education…

Social, emotional, and behavioral (SEB) functioning within schools has historically been considered in the context of educational impact. Currently, traditional models in education do not readily take into account changing ecological considerations for students, as they experience heightened population-wide academic and SEB concerns, increasing…

Racial/ethnic and economic school segregation represent pervasive instantiations and perpetuators of educational inequity in the United States. Although the U.S. is becoming increasingly racially and ethnically diverse, schools are racially/ethnically isolated. Rising income and wealth inequity are also exacerbating economic school segregation.…

In the fall of 2019, 3,355 10-year-old students in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) students participated in the Study on Social and Emotional Skills (SSES), part of an international effort led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with Houston serving as the only U.S. site. This report provides a…

Although family-school engagement is important across child and adolescent development, most research, programs, and policies have focused primarily on elementary students and contexts. The current study extends beyond elementary settings by exploring the unique and shared contributions of developmental context on family-school engagement (i.e.,…

Although family-school engagement is important across child and adolescent development, most research, programs, and policies have focused primarily on elementary students and contexts. The current study extends beyond elementary settings by exploring the unique and shared contributions of developmental context on family-school engagement (i.e.,…

The study examined the effect of National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) on social-emotional competencies of fifth and sixth graders in the 2018-19 academic year in Spokane, Washington. The study used archival data and quasi-experimental design with matching to compare social-emotional competencies of students taught by NBCTs and students taught…

Prior work has shown that students' reports of their levels of social-emotional skills predict achievement levels and gains, but we have little evidence on whether within-student changes in student reports of social-emotional skills are predictive of changes in theoretically related academic and behavioral outcomes. We use large-scale data from…

Nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Kindergarten Class of 2011 (n = 14,370) were used to examine the grade-level and cumulative outcomes of school absenteeism between kindergarten and fifth grade for students' school performance in the United States. Students who were more frequently absent in any year of…

Using rich Texas administrative data, we estimate the impact of middle school principals on post-secondary schooling, employment, and criminal justice outcomes. The results highlight the importance of school leadership, though striking differences emerge in the relative importance of different skill dimensions to different outcomes. The estimates…

Prior work has shown that levels of self-reported student social-emotional learning (SEL) predict student achievement levels--as well as student achievement gains--but little has been done to understand if within-student changes in student reports of SEL are predictive of changes in theoretically related academic and behavioral outcomes. We use…