Research has shown that the first few years of a child's life are critical for developing executive functioning and emotional regulatory skills. This study aimed to evaluate how begin to ECSEL (Emotional, Cognitive and Social Early Learning), an intervention designed to promote young children's emotional competence, influenced children's…

In this study we investigated how early childhood teachers' emotion socialization behaviors contribute to children's social-emotional competence (SEC), as well as whether these contributions differ by culture. Participants included 117 teachers and 381 preschoolers in US or Italian classrooms. Teachers' and children's emotions and reactions to…

Research Findings: This study examined associations between observed emotion-focused teaching practices and preschool children's emotion expression, emotion-related behaviors, and learning behaviors. Four centers located in large midwestern and mid-Atlantic metropolitan areas participated in the study. Of these, one center was a Head Start…

As part of a larger longitudinal project on the assessment of preschoolers' social-emotional development, children's social information processing (SIP) responses to unambiguous hypothetical situations of peer provocation were assessed for 239 preschoolers from Head Start and private childcare settings. SIP measurement focused on emotions children…

Neuroscientific advances and child development studies show 0-6 years represents a sensitive period for the development of emotional competence--the ability to identify, understand, express and regulate emotion, all foundational to self-regulation. Research suggests optimum teaching of emotional competence and self-regulation skills from birth is…

Research Findings: The connections between parents' emotional competence (emotion expression, regulation, and knowledge) and children's social-emotional learning (SEL) have been well studied; however, the associations among teachers' emotional competencies and children's SEL remain widely understudied. In the present study, private preschool and…

Early childhood centres are vibrant social communities where child and adult emotions are integral to learning. Previous research has focused on teaching practices that support children's social-emotional learning; fewer studies have attended to relevant centre-level factors, such as the emotional leadership practices of the centre director. The…

The connections between parents' socialization practices and beliefs about emotions, and children's emotional development have been well studied; however, teachers' impacts on children's social-emotional learning (SEL) remain widely understudied. In the present study, private preschool and Head Start teachers (N = 32) were observed using the…

Starting on positive trajectories at school entry is important for children's later academic success. Using partial least squares, we sought to specify interrelations among all theory-based components of social-emotional learning (SEL), and their ability to predict later classroom adjustment and academic readiness in a modelling context.…

Identifying and understanding the predictors of preliteracy skills can set the stage for success in a child's academic career. Recent literature has implicated social-emotional competence as a potential component in helping children learn preliteracy skills. To further understand the role of social-emotional competence in preliteracy, the…

As part of a larger longitudinal project on the assessment of preschoolers' social-emotional development, children's social information processing (SIP) responses to unambiguous hypothetical situations of peer provocation were assessed for 298 four-year-olds from Head Start and private childcare settings. Measurement focused on emotions children…

The transition into formal schooling is a crucial foundation that can set children on a cycle of success or failure in both academic and social domains. A child's abilities to express healthy emotions, understand emotions of self and others, regulate emotion, attention, and behavior, make good decisions regarding social problems, and engage in a…

Research Findings: Social-emotional learning (SEL) is increasingly becoming an area of focus for determining children's school readiness and predicting their academic success. Practice or Policy: The current article outlines a model of SEL, identifies specific SEL skills, and discusses how such skills contribute and relate to academic success.…

The infant and toddler years are a watershed of development in the emotional domain. These skills lay the foundation for positive social interactions, and ultimately, academic and life success. This article describes the development of three skills that are central in creating successful relationships: expressing emotion, understanding emotion,…

Examined how aspects of social-emotional learning (SEL)--specifically, emotion knowledge, emotional and social behaviors, social problem-solving, and self-regulation--clustered to typify groups of children who differ in terms of their motivation to learn, participation in the classroom, and other indices of early school adjustment and academic…