Autistic students experience greater social difficulties and heightened internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression, withdrawal) relative to their nonautistic peers, yet little is known about how these domains influence one another over time. This 1.5-year longitudinal study analyzed the associations between teacher-reported social skills…

Communicative ability is embodied as "extroversion" in the Big Five Personality Test. Typically, extroversion includes boldness, self-confidence, liveliness, enthusiasm, optimism, and being. The OECD designed a communication competence evaluation framework based on "extroversion" in the "Big Five Personality" model…

The purpose of the study was to investigate how grade retention affects Black males' perspectives about education and social-emotional skills during and after their K-12 educational journey. As a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, there has been increased discourse about our nation's current reality regarding the status of Black…

Autistic students experience greater social difficulties and heightened internalizing behaviors (e.g., anxiety, depression, withdrawal) relative to their nonautistic peers, yet little is known about how these domains influence one another over time. This 1.5-year longitudinal study analyzed the associations between teacher-reported social skills…

Moral emotions are experienced in daily life and are crucial for mediating appropriate social behaviors, as they prevent individuals from committing transgressions. In this study, caregivers of 377 children aged between 2.5 and 6.5 years old completed the Moral Emotions Questionnaire (MEQ), a parent report aimed to separately identify the presence…

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate how perceived social-emotional competencies (SECs), relationship skills, emotional regulation, and the ability to structure schoolwork at school and at home were associated with academic efficacy belief (AEB) and emotional distress among 1142 Norwegian eighth-grade students. The students answered an…

Previous research in clinical, community, and school settings has demonstrated positive outcomes for the Secret Agent Society (SAS) social skills training program. This is designed to help children on the autism spectrum become more aware of emotions in themselves and others and to 'problem-solve' complex social scenarios. Parents play a key role…

The primary objective of this article is to create a conceptual Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) happiness framework for preschool children in India. Although happiness is regarded as one of the key elements that influence early childhood development, an effective happiness framework does not exist for preschools in rural and…

There is growing national and international concern about the mental health of children and young people, and in countries such as England there is now a political and policy commitment to developing whole-school approaches to mental health. This paper presents new evidence on how pupils' mental health is being addressed in schools using learning…

This study investigated the feasibility and cultural validity of KONTAKT©, a manualised social skills group training, in improving the social functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). KONTAKT© was delivered to 17 adolescents (m[subscript age] = 14.09, SD[subscript age] = 1.43; 70% male) with ASD over sixteen 90 min sessions.…

A common perception of home education is that despite potential beneficial educational outcomes, children who are home educated lack social experiences and therefore show poor social development. However, previous research in this area suggests that home educated children demonstrate a range of age-appropriate social skills. This research has…

The goals of the present study were (a) to explore different aspects of children's participation in structured performing arts activities (e.g., dance and music); and (b) to examine links between participation in performing arts and indices of socioemotional functioning. Participants were N = 166 children (75 boys and 91 girls) in Grade 1 (n = 70,…

As the pressure to succeed academically is imposed on children earlier than ever before, it is essential to understand what characteristics are most important to parents and teachers in order to be school ready. While formally readiness is typically measured using chronological age and mastery of cognitive skills, it also involves physical,…

Young adults with ASD experience difficulties with social skills, empathy, loneliness, and social anxiety. One intervention, "PEERS® for Young Adults," shows promise in addressing these challenges. The present study replicated and extended the original study by recruiting a larger sample (N = 56), employing a gold standard ASD assessment…

Most of us intrinsically understand the importance of friendship in our lives, and although we may not spend time considering it, we are aware it is beneficial to our happiness and well-being. As educators, we are often conscious of the friendships that exist in our classrooms, and are particularly mindful of those students who have difficulties…