Children's ways of learning are as different as the colors of the rainbow. All children have different personalities, preferences and tastes; they all have a certain way they prefer to learn. Teachers and parents need to be aware of and value these differences. Children's brains develop faster from birth to age three than any other time, and more…

Home schooling has become increasingly widespread over recent decades in the western world. Since the choice to educate children at home in effect signifies abandonment of the educational system, one may assume that parents' childhood experiences within the educational system play a significant part in their decision to opt for home schooling. The…

If educators want to create a learning environment that promotes authenticity, empathy must be embedded into instruction. This requires students to understand intersectionality and acknowledge discrimination, condescension or oppression, open or hidden, macro or micro, that people experience day-to-day. In this article, the authors define empathy,…

Students have social and personal needs to fulfill and communicate these needs in different ways. This annotated bibliographic review examined communication studies to provide educators of diverse classrooms with ideas to build an environment that contributes to student well-being. Participants in the studies ranged in age, ability, and cultural…

Because challenges are ubiquitous, resilience is essential for success in school and in life. In this article we review research demonstrating the impact of students' mindsets on their resilience in the face of academic and social challenges. We show that students who believe (or are taught) that intellectual abilities are qualities that can be…

There's no doubt that children's home environments have a huge impact on the kind of people they become. But so do their educational environments. A number of schools are beginning to realize it's worth it to spend the time on "soft" skills such as empathy. Even forgetting the recent scary headlines about bullying, teachers know that a classroom…

Character education programs support the development of positive character traits in children and adults. Effective violence prevention programs improve pro-social competencies and reduce negative behaviors in students by enhancing protective factors (strong bonds with teachers; clear rules of conduct that are consistently enforced) and targeting…

Children born into poverty in the United States are at higher risk for a number of nonresilient outcomes. An extensive body of work examines and then confirms the qualities of resilient children, emphasizing the importance of four social-psychological characteristics--social competence, problem solving, autonomy, and sense of purpose--and three…

Although schools are not traditionally designed to provide intensive mental health services to children, they are in a position to create systems that foster mental health. By creating school-wide systems in which students are academically, behaviorally and socially successful, schools can integrate those essential protective factors shown to…

Children and youths are at risk of some negative outcomes because of hazards in their environment. A review of the literature on resilience provides guidelines for minimizing risks and promoting positive outcomes for children and youths. This article provides a rationale for incorporating resilience-building efforts in schools and explores ways in…

This article discusses teaching social skills and assertiveness to students with disabilities. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) content standards for physical education emphasize teaching responsible personal and social behaviors to students of all abilities, to help them develop an understanding of and respect for…

Children from Mexican immigrant families represent one of the fastest-growing populations in the American educational system, but their ability to use this system to improve their long-term prospects may be hampered by problems associated with their schools. The present study explored this issue in a national sample of American kindergarteners.…

Background: There has been limited research on differences in temperament between typically developing children and children with an intellectual disability (ID). Individual differences have generally been neglected in previous investigations of children with an ID. The present research investigated differences in temperament and social behaviour…

Two decades in which educators have seriously tried to eradicate bullying in schools have met with only modest success. Moreover, bullying is no longer being viewed exclusively as a problem for schools and school children. This book examines bullying behavior in a wide range of settings, including kindergartens and schools, workplaces, the home,…

This report finds that adolescent smoking, drinking, misusing prescription drugs and using illegal drugs is, by any measure, a public health problem of epidemic proportion, presenting clear and present danger to millions of America's teenagers and severe and expensive long-range consequences for the entire population. This report is a wake-up call…