Early adolescence marks a developmental period during which there is a window of opportunity to explicitly teach and make a significant difference in a young person's development of social and emotional competencies (SECs). All students can benefit from the inclusion of SECs and failing to develop such SECs can result in poor outcomes in several…

This mixed methods study assessed a first-year course for international students, entitled the U.S. Education and Culture, at a large Midwestern public institution. The quantitative results indicated that participation in the course improved students' academic skills, psychosocial development, understanding of social diversity in the U.S., use of…