The circle pedagogy in the Maltese Islands is practised in a range of settings, including the Personal, Social and Career Development (PSCD) subject, provided to all students within the Maltese Education system. During the subject, the PSCD teacher aims to enhance social and emotional competences, whilst encouraging positive and healthy…

To determine the impact of an administrator's decision on student placement in kindergarten classrooms, teachers were asked to share their perceptions on how that decision impacted their ability to deliver instruction and follow the district scope and sequence, as well as how that decision impacts student academic achievement and social and…

We examined the efficacy of an early autism intervention for use in early childhood intervention (ECI) and mutual gaze as a contributor to social development. Seventy-eight families were randomly assigned to one of three 12-week interventions: Pathways (with a mutual gaze component), communication, or services-as-usual (SAU). The Pathways/SAU…

Despite its importance, replication has remained in the background of social development research. The aim of this special section was to elucidate and elevate the role of replication in peer relations research, examining its challenges and its utility for moving the field forward. To accomplish this aim, five sets of researchers undertook…

Introduction: Leadership support has been identified as a key facilitator to successful implementation of school-based initiatives. School leadership contributions to student academic success and school reform have been documented, but less work has focused on the effects of leadership on school mental health initiatives such as social, emotional,…

Introduction: Due to usability, feasibility, and acceptability concerns, observational treatment fidelity measures are often challenging to deploy in schools. Teacher self-report fidelity measures with specific design features might address some of these barriers. This case study outlines a community-engaged, iterative process to adapt the…

The American School Counselor Association calls for counselors to utilize multitiered systems of support to minimize gaps. Specifically, Tier 2 interventions provide a method to address equity issues and foster growth. Black male students experience the greatest disparities in schools; therefore, school counselors should consider culturally…

Students present with mental health needs and posttraumatic stress symptoms, yet they largely do not receive necessary services. Since schools are an ideal setting for students to receive mental health services, Mental Health Action Plans (MHAPs) were developed to define and detail the ways in which student mental health needs can be addressed at…

Purpose: A novel, Project- and Collaborative Learning-based educational method is proposed, implemented and evaluated in this paper. The aim is to exploit hands-on laboratory modules in Vocational Education in order to experientially introduce students to green, ecofriendly practices and the principles of sustainability and circular economy.…

Reviews concerning the enhancement of preschool children's social competencies reveal areas within which teacher approach, definitions of social competence and methods of study can be enhanced. In response, teachers and researchers co-developed and introduced a peer-based relational intervention to support children's communication, empathic…

This article examines the negative effects social media has on adolescents' health and well-being, and how it impacts their academic life. Research was conducted by using scholarly search engines to locate several articles that examined the effects of social media use on adolescents within the last ten years. After reviewing the articles, five…

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Social-Emotional Assessment Measure (SEAM) (33-66 months), which is designed to assess social-emotional difficulties and behavior disorders in young children. In this case, the SEAM was translated and back-translated. The sample included 2477 preschoolers (1256 boys;…

Many studies have established that there are important life-long benefits of attending pre-K. At the same time, recent research suggests that pre-K attenders may enter and exit kindergarten exhibiting less optimal social and learning behaviours than their non-attending peers, and little attention has been paid to what factors may contribute to…

Although academic benefits of pre-K are well established, the associations between pre-K attendance and social and learning behaviours are less clear. Some research suggests that pre-K attenders may enter and exit kindergarten exhibiting less optimal social and learning behaviours than their non-attending peers, and little attention has been paid…

Animal-assisted interventions (AAI) are increasingly used in clinical and school settings to promote psychological and social-emotional well-being among youth. However, the precise role of youth-animal relationships in shaping developmental trajectories is understudied. Research is needed to expand human-centric models of child development,…