In India, the vocabulary and programming for social-emotional learning (SEL) is still nascent, and its systematic implementation is still limited and does not have an established place in mainstream education. Yet SEL is important for the whole learning community--students, teachers, parents, and school administrators. Only when all these…

Many adolescents lack the requisite physical preparation for sport participation and PA. Multi-sport participation and resistance training during youth (age 5-11) and adolescence (age 12-17) years can positively affect physical activity levels, health outcomes, and promote long-term athletic development (LTAD). The National Strength and…

Early childhood assessments can provide important information to guide instruction and inform policy. Given the widespread and growing use of statewide kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs), in particular, it is important that policymakers understand how to choose and use assessments wisely. This brief summarizes research showing how authentic…

This Practice Brief was developed as result of the roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS [Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports] Leadership Forum in Chicago, Illinois, for the purpose of exploring how all classes on school campuses can meet the developmental needs of students, specifically our youngest students.

Service learning (SL) is both a pedagogy and philosophy adopted by many early childhood teacher educators. Extant research suggests the incorporation of service-learning can be effective for facilitating preservice teacher learning of curriculum, pedagogy, approaches to diverse learners and families as well as establishing a professional identity.…

In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation's middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also…

To provide guidance to governors looking to advance juvenile justice reforms, the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices convened leading national experts--state juvenile justice directors, governors' criminal justice policy advisors, governors' cabinet secretaries, juvenile justice experts and academics--to discuss the latest…

Children face increased demands for interpersonal as well as learning-related social skills, especially by the vulnerable stage of school entry, due to the more structured setting, new academic requirements, and the fact that children are supposed to interact successfully within a larger and heterogeneous peer group. Although a plethora of…

Including youth in the development and evaluation of out-of-school time (OST) programs has positive effects on youth, the organizations that serve them, and the communities in which they live. Such involvement can improve young people's social competence, foster leadership and engagement, and empower groups. Youth provide unique perspectives on…

Young people in East and Southern Africa need greater access to reliable information about health and education in order to make informed decisions on health matters--focusing on HIV and teenage pregnancy--and to increase basic education outcomes. Young 1ove organization, established in March 2014 in Gaborone, Botswana, is a grassroots, youth-led,…

While we are seeking new ways to ensure students' academic success, we must ensure that we are not neglecting their need for physical activity. As we innovate to improve academic success, we can also seek ways to overcome the challenges of space, time, and behavior management to reap the benefits of movement, which include increased student…

Many schools and out-of-school organizations use social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to boost students' skills. Yet research shows that these programs can be difficult to implement and don't always meet students' needs. In response, Rebecca Bailey, Laura Stickle, Gretchen Brion-Meisels, and Stephanie Jones propose a new approach to SEL…

Nurturing care in early childhood requires responsive interactions and opportunities to learn; however, there are few large-scale programs in low- and middle-income countries that support parents' ability to provide responsive care and activities that help children learn. The Reach Up training program was developed to increase capacity of…

During adolescence, young people are traversing exciting and also challenging stages in their development. Mindfulness, if taught in a developmentally appropriate way, has the potential to be an asset in adolescents' lives. Developmentally appropriate approaches of mindfulness intervention during adolescence need to consider adolescents'…

The state of Illinois in the central United States has long been a trendsetter both in the development of learning standards and in addressing social and emotional learning in education settings. With a recent revision to the state's early learning standards, published in 2013, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) fully aligned its…