First-year seminars and university induction programmes are embedded with academic and social skills required by students to transition into their first year of study. The first-year seminar at the University of the Free State is a credit-bearing module called UFS101, and is a prerequisite for degree completion. Students are assessed through…

Increasingly, adolescents report experiencing levels of stress that exceed their coping resources. Chronic stress is associated with emotion regulation challenges that increase risk for poor mental health and educational outcomes. This qualitative study examined the impact of Integra Mindfulness Martial Arts™ (Integra MMA™) on the perceived…

Research confirms that when students disengage from learning, there is a greatly increased risk of them dropping out of school and not completing secondary education (Year 12). In an Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) report on Equity in Education [OECD. 2012. "Investing in Equity in Education Pays off", in…

It has long been recognized that engineers need a variety of skills, including technical and social, to succeed professionally. Attempts to include social skills (i.e., communication, teamwork, and leadership) in engineering education are relatively recent (i.e., within the last decade). Thus, the current study investigates whether social goals…

ICF International's white paper explores how implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) has the potential to prepare students for workforce success and positively influence student engagement and academic performance while reducing dropout rates. Self-improvement and leadership development sections of bookstores are replete with texts…

REL Appalachia conducted a systematic review of the research evidence on the effects of increased learning time. After screening more than 7,000 studies, REL Appalachia identified 30 that met the most rigorous standards for research. A review of those 30 studies found that increased learning time does not always produce positive results. However,…

The article reports on ways in which the Preparation through Responsive Educational Programs (PREP) project developed and conducted process and outcome assessment in a behavioral program for junior high students with behavior and learning problems. (Author/DLS)

Notes that teaching social and emotional skills can have a long-term positive effect on academic achievement. The University of Washington's Raising Healthy Children Project tries to reduce children's risk of developing problems in adolescence by providing interventions that bond students to family and school. The program features staff…

This year-end evaluation report concludes the twelfth year of operation of the Chapter I Early Childhood Education (Preschool) Program in Portland, Oregon, public schools. The purpose of the preschool program is to provide educationally disadvantaged children with the experiences needed to ameliorate their disadvantages. The report is prepared…

This study examined the benefits of Head Start to children entering elementary school, assessed Head Start benefits to their parents, and described the characteristics and services of the Head Start program. Data were collected from a sample of Head Start graduates located in 32 sites selected to represent Head Start programs throughout the…

This report is the executive summary of a study examining the benefits of Head Start to children entering elementary school, assessing Head Start benefits to their parents, and describing the characteristics and services of the Head Start program. The data presented in this report were collected from a sample of Head Start graudates located in 32…

Student Team Learning is a teaching technique to encourage students to work in a structured setting to achieve goals and to get along with classmates through small learning teams competing against each other in studies designed in game form. The Washington County, Maryland, schools program is described. (MF)

This consumer guide describes what the James Comer School Development Program is, how it got started, and its goals and principles; and presents an evaluation of its success. The program, which was started 25 years ago by a child psychiatrist (James Comer), is designed to improve the educational experience of poor minority youth. It works on the…

This paper discusses ways in which communities can enhance a family's ability to foster learning in the first 3 years of their child's life so that the child will be academically, emotionally, and socially competent in the transition to preschool and school. The paper focuses on model community-based programs that serve high risk families with…

Although early intervention programs have enjoyed popular and legislative support, little hard data exist on the long-term consequences of these efforts. This study examined the long-term effects of the Child-Parent Center (CPC) program in Chicago. Begun in 1967, the program operates out of 24 centers, located in proximity to the elementary…