School neuropsychology focuses on brain--behavior relationships and how these connections influence the learning process. This specialized field considers the individual and sociocultural factors that influence cognitive development, using targeted neuropsychological assessments to guide effective intervention. While grounded in pediatric clinical…

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…

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The proposed systematic review question is: What is the effectiveness of arts interventions for at-risk and offending children and young people (8-25 years)? There are three objectives: (1) To evaluate evidence on the effectiveness and impact of arts interventions on keeping children safe from…

This article introduces a developmental perspective on kindness. The central goal is to posit a new framework for the study of kindness and its development. From an ethical perspective, kindness can be considered a virtue. It reflects emotions, cognitions, and inner states that convey a particular gentleness and benevolence. These orientations can…

Major developmental theories been a resource to early childhood education researchers and educators. They help to explain how child development unfolds, sources of vulnerability and protection that influences child development, and how the course of development may be altered by prevention and intervention efforts. Understanding factors which may…

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) refers to the process through which individuals learn and apply social, emotional, behavioral, and character skills required to succeed in schooling, the workplace, relationships, and citizenship. In public discussion of SEL, not everyone can quite agree on what it is. To some, it involves a set of tools for…

This essay is a distillations of decades of efforts at cognitive intervention by many educators. Three likely outcomes for cognitive interventions are described. Recommendations for when interventions can most effectively be conducted, and what children are most likely to respond most favorably are also advanced. Finally, the general nature of the…

Decades of research and practice in social and emotional development have left us with a body of knowledge that tells us that (1) social, emotional, and cognitive development are intertwined in the brain and in behavior and influence school and life outcomes; (2) social, emotional, and cognitive skills and competencies grow in supportive…

This article reviews the relationship between executive skills and academic performance as well as concerns about the current status of the field with respect to executive skills and future considerations. It summarizes what the author sees as the most positive aspects of the current state of understanding with respect to executive skills and…

Many social systems, especially education, have an opportunity to significantly improve individual performance and well-being outcomes by attending to and including brain fitness as part of their approach. Brain fitness, like physical fitness, requires exercise. Brain-based "workout" activities improve cognitive development, and their…

Gifted individuals have unique social and emotional needs that often manifest as challenging interpersonal behavior. Chief among these needs are the fact that gifted students tend to be quite emotionally intense and that they tend to be quite cognitively rigid. Emotional intensity is defined as having stronger, more frequent, more complex, and…

How do responsive adult-child interactions influence early language development? How do a child's language skills develop in tandem with social-emotional development, executive function, and literacy? What are effective ways to help parents support their child's development? Uncover the answers to these questions in this fascinating book, which…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are a common and pervasive problem. There is a positive correlation between ACEs and difficulties across the lifespan. Unlike healthy forms of stress, ACEs have a detrimental impact on the developing brain. There are three types of trauma: acute, chronic, and complex. Most ACEs are considered complex trauma,…

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) reviews in this topic area focus on early childhood education (ECE) interventions designed for use in school- or center-based settings with 3- to 6-year-old children who are not yet in kindergarten and are attending a center-based program. The primary focus for early childhood education interventions is on cognitive,…

We propose a new version of the "theory theory" grounded in the computational framework of probabilistic causal models and Bayesian learning. Probabilistic models allow a constructivist but rigorous and detailed approach to cognitive development. They also explain the learning of both more specific causal hypotheses and more abstract framework…