Children often encounter events that bear on their moral and other evaluations, such as physical aggression and material disorder. Children's perceptions and evaluations are decisive for how they respond to and learn from these everyday events. Using a new method for investigating the development of social perceptions and evaluations, researchers…

This study investigates the relationships between preschool quality and children's learning and development from fall to spring of 1 school year through the analysis of child- and program-level data from approximately 70,000 children, ranging in age from 4.5 to 5.5 years old, in 1,700 Quality Counts California (QCC) rated preschool programs, the…

Emerging research suggests that caregiving environments and genetic variants independently contribute to social functioning in children with typical development or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, biologically plausible interactive models and complimentary assessment of mechanisms are needed to: (1) explain considerable social…

Children's school readiness as they enter kindergarten is an important predictor of their academic success and ultimately their long-term health and economic outcomes. Research shows that participation in high-quality early childhood education helps preschoolers gain the foundational language and literacy skills as well as the social-emotional…

Middle- and high school-based programs that affirm diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are related to lower rates of bullying and better mental health for LGBTQ students, yet little is known about how to implement affirming programs for elementary-aged children. This study is among the first to examine how an arts-based curriculum…

The assessment of psychosocial strengths in children and adolescents has predominately focused on the measurement of single traits and constructs, such as grit (Christopoulou, Lakioti, Pezirkianidis, Karakasidou, & Stalikas, 2018), optimism (Oberle, Guhn, Gadermann, Thomson, & Schonert-Reichl, 2018), hope (Pedrotti, 2018), and gratitude…

Previous research has found that when children engage in social and moral transgressions, they take steps to either remedy or explain their behavior. However, no prior systematic investigation has examined the strategies children employ to 'correct' their behavior in future situations. The present study employed a domain theory lens to investigate…

For much of the last two decades, the narrowed focus on raising test scores under No Child Left Behind left important aspects of education untended. Since 2016, when the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) enabled a more comprehensive look at accountability, state leaders have heard growing demands for a whole-child approach that emphasizes…

A growing body of research and legislative policies support the importance of high-quality early intervention systems for preschool children with disabilities. Inclusion programs are viable means for providing this support, yet limited progress has been made in the past decade to increase the placements of children in inclusive settings or define…

This paper presents a set of strategies and options that California can use to leverage Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, to move toward an equitable, advanced health delivery system for its children. Close to five million children are enrolled in Medi-Cal, more than two-thirds of whom are Black and Brown children. California's program alone…

The main goal of this social policy report is to propose a holistic approach for promoting developmental success among Latinx children and youth. This report highlights the need to 1) redefine success and 2) account for intersectional inequalities. First, the current demographic landscape of Latinx students is presented to showcase the variability…

The authors discuss an urban public school district's efforts to reinsert play after its mandated disappearance for fourteen years under a scripted curriculum imposed to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind law. The authors analyze field notes, teacher and administrator interviews, coaching records, and surveys to chart the impact on…

After decades of research, policy discussions, and legislation promoting finance reform, in 2013, California adopted a major change in how schools are funded and held accountable: the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). This new funding model is the most comprehensive education finance reform implemented in California in nearly 40 years, and…

Five- to 13-year-old European American children ("N" = 76) predicted characters' decisions, emotions, and obligations in prosocial moral dilemmas. Across age, children judged that characters would feel more positive emotions helping an unfamiliar child from the racial in-group versus out-group (African American), happier ignoring the…

Research Findings: As policymakers expand access to preschool, the sociodemographic composition of preschool classrooms will become increasingly important. These efforts may create programs that increase the concentration of children from low-income families or, alternatively, foster the creation of socioeconomically diverse preschool classrooms.…