The notable increase in student misbehavior reported in recent years poses significant challenges for educators, and underscored the critical need for effective interventions to address social-emotional learning (SEL) in educational settings. There has been growing interest in integrating SEL programs into school curricula to mitigate behavior…

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has been increasingly emphasized in educational research and practice for promoting children's wellbeing. Perhaps the most well-known SEL framework is the model provided by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). This framework has become the dominant framework informing state SEL…

This paper explores the external developmental assets and how they manifest in specific youth programs from Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras. An evaluation process was created through a qualitative phenomenological with the youth programs' leadership. To triangulate the data, a survey was developed and piloted with a small sample from three youth…

Skills have long been associated with productivity and economic well-being. A large body of evidence shows the value of academic and technical skills in the workplace. And in recent years, soft skills--skills that make for an effective employee, such as time management and communication--have also become increasingly valued in the workplace.…

A majority of social skills research in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and interventions target school age males and no published studies target adolescent females with ASD or related disabilities. Females with ASD are at risk for internalizing symptoms, and experience greater challenges in socialization and communication as social demands become…

Wilderness Experience Programs (WEPs) have been shown to enhance psychological well-being for numerous populations. However, among veteran populations, these studies have historically evaluated programs that are short-term experiences, usually less than 1 week. The current research sought to evaluate a WEP for post-9/11 combat veterans engaging in…

Schools are recognized as one of the most important settings for promoting social and emotional well-being among children and adolescents. This clustered randomized controlled trial evaluated Zippy's Friends, an international school-based emotional well-being programme, with 766 children from designated disadvantaged schools. The purpose of this…

Children and youth who reside in economically disadvantaged households and in low-resource, urban neighborhoods are more likely to lose ground in math and reading over the summer than their higher-income peers. Although summer learning programs are a promising strategy for narrowing this achievement gap, surveys indicate that only 25 to 36 percent…

Given the number of negative influences on youth and the resultant potential for adverse outcomes, it is crucial to support their positive development. Leadership training programs can promote the development of adaptive intrapersonal qualities. The Teen Leadership Breakthrough (TLB) program claims to create sustainable changes in youth using…

Children and youth develop the ability to surmount difficult life challenges through a combination of external supports and internal strengths. Positive peers can contribute substantially to growth in resilient coping and problem-solving skills. Positive Peer Culture (PPC) programs are designed to strengthen supportive social bonds, competence,…

A matched subject design was employed to assess the effectiveness of an experimental program in Transactional Analysis (TA) for the improvement of the self-image and interpersonal relations of adolescent boys (N=10) on probation. (Author)

The staff of the Early Childhood Curriculum and Evaluation Project of the Mississippi State Department of Education developed the Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Social Competency (KIDSC) in 1986 as a means of evaluating the state's program goals in the area of self-concept. Positive results from field testing indicated the usefulness of the…

Examined the effectiveness of an interpersonal life skills course on college students' (N=200) self concepts, responding, and locus of control. Results indicated there were short-term changes in locus of control. The need for a typology of such courses is discussed. (Author/BL)

High school sex education courses appear to facilitate attitudinal change in student tolerance of the sexual practices of others, but the personal value system of the student remains intact. Such programs appear to have little effect on the amount of sexual behavior while increasing the use of contraceptive methods among sexually active students.…

Suggests that a program outside of regular classrooms, in small groups, may be an effective approach to enhancing self-concepts of pupils with low self-images. The program evaluated here stresses areas of personal and social awareness important to adolescents and deals with them in a responsive manner. (Author/NRB)