Singular efforts in PK-12 settings to instill a social justice mindset will not achieve the same outcomes as social justice education infused throughout content area instruction. In collaboration with 10th-grade teachers, we developed and implemented a biblioguidance curriculum to develop students' social justice and content area competency.…

Social emotional learning (SEL) is an important field of education, and has been for the past 25 years, although the majority of SEL programs are designed for elementary ages, some for middle school, and only a few designated for high school ages. With a weakening of community organizations, an increase in stressors, and higher occurrences of…

In January 2021 the author read "Hey, Kiddo" by Jarrett Krosoczka. The author connected on so many levels with this graphic novel memoir, and knew that it would speak to their students, as well. Krosoczka not only wrote "Hey, Kiddo," but he illustrated it, as well. The author states they knew the healing impact a book could…

IGNITE, a high school-based programme, was developed for high ability underachievers using the Achievement Orientation Model (AOM), Maker Model, and Bibliotherapy in a mainstream setting. This paper reports on the effects discovered while implementing the programme over the course of 2 years. Year 7 (13 year olds) and Year 9 (15 year olds)…

Purpose: Though the benefits of social-emotional competence (SEC) are well-recognized, measuring it and designing appropriately matched interventions remains elusive and methodologically challenging. This paper shares formative research designed to uncover the SEC of one secondary school health teacher's students and to help her make…

Reading skills and social-emotional competencies are two important skills for both academic achievement and long-term quality of life. The present study evaluated the effects of a school-based intervention to promote reading skills and social-emotional competencies in young adolescents from urban, low socioeconomic status (SES) communities in…

In this article, the author examines Louise Rosenblatt's "Literature as Exploration," a popular textbook used since 1938 (in five successive editions) in high school English classrooms across America. He discusses how the one-time college roommate of Margaret Mead managed to transform teaching literature into a form of student therapy that…

HIV/AIDS infections are growing at an alarming rate for young adults. In 2009, youth, ages 13-29, accounted for 39% of all new HIV infections in the U.S. (Division of HIV/ AIDS Prevention, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 2011). South Carolina ranks eighth in the nation for new HIV cases, while the capital city of Columbia ranks seventh…

Objective: Evaluate a new 5-step method for testing mediators hypothesized to account for the effects of depression prevention programs. Method: In this indicated prevention trial, at-risk teens with elevated depressive symptoms were randomized to a group cognitive-behavioral (CB) intervention, group supportive expressive intervention, CB…

Purportedly fear of the unknown, death anxiety, and insomnia are prevalent problems among some gifted individuals. The present study tested this assertion and examined the relationship of these variables to Dabrowski's (1967) overexcitabilities. The study involved 73 gifted and 143 typical middle and high school adolescents who were given a death…

The psychological, social, and emotional needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth often go unmet in schools. These students may be "out and proud" or they may be silent and invisible; either way, providing effective services to them creates unique challenges for professional school counselors. Providing direct services…

In this depression prevention trial, 341 high-risk adolescents (mean age = 15.6 years, SD = 1.2) with elevated depressive symptoms were randomized to a brief group cognitive-behavioral (CB) intervention, group supportive-expressive intervention, bibliotherapy, or assessment-only control condition. CB participants showed significantly greater…