Block play has been included in early childhood classrooms for over a century, yet few studies have examined its effects on learning. Several previous investigations indicate that the complexity of block building is associated with math ability, but these studies were often conducted in adult-guided, laboratory settings. In the present…

This longitudinal study investigated whether variation in the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and early parent-child interactions predicted later empathic behavior in 84 toddlers at high or low familial risk for autism spectrum disorder. Two well-studied OXTR single-nucleotide polymorphisms, rs53576 and rs2254298, were examined. Parent-child…

Successful inclusive education creates a learning environment that supports not only the cognitive abilities of all children but also their social and emotional development. The present study focuses on the development of social participation of students with and without special education needs (SEN). A longitudinal study with two measurement…

Research Findings: In this study we analyze how parent and teacher ratings of young Latino children's social competencies in rural California are associated with children's oral language development. We find (a) that there is considerable incongruence between parent and teacher ratings of child social competence, (b) that both parent and teacher…

According to the United States Department of Education, approximately 4,172,347 four-year-olds are eligible to attend publicly funded preschool programs. Of this number, only 1,709,607 of those eligible are enrolled in a publicly funded preschool program (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Because of a lack of quantitative and qualitative data…

This study investigated the role of moral emotions in the development of children's sharing behavior (N = 244 4-, 8-, and 12-year-old children). Children's sympathy was measured with both self- and primary caregiver-reports, and participants anticipated their negatively and positively valenced moral emotions (i.e., feeling guilty, sad, or bad; and…

The basic aim of this research is to examine the predicting role of social emotional learning skills in educational stress. The participants were 238 adolescents at high school. In this study, the Social Emotional Learning Skills Scale and the Educational Stress Scale were used. The relationships between social emotional learning skills and…

This research examined links among academic ability, social-perspective coordination, and friendship quality, within the context of gifted adolescents' friendships. The sample consisted of 120 early adolescents (59 girls, 61 boys), 81 of whom were identified as gifted. Academic ability, sex, and grade significantly predicted social-perspective…

This study drew on two approaches to identity formation, each postulating differing but complementary exploration components, in an effort to better understand the identity exploration process. Overall patterns of results revealed by hierarchical regression analyses were consistent with a process model of exploration and with the view that…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of reflection-impulsivity, verbal comprehension, and achievement motivation to level of moral development. Reflection-impulsivity is a cognitive style; verbal comprehension a measurement of intelligence. A random sample of 40 boys and 40 girls was selected from the senior classes of two…