McGuire, Stevahn, and Bronsther (2019) focused on civic education in elementary grades, an important but sorely missing topic in schools. Using Storypath, a simulation-like approach to address the housing affordability in Seattle, the authors showed how motivated and engaged students were with the topic. A major strength of the study is the…

Immordino-Yang and Gotlieb provide an elegant and helpful framework that integrates neuroscientific and education research on social affective development in their article, "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development." Based on previous research,…

Immigrant youths' frequent and skillful use of new media technologies outside of school has generated discussion on the need to integrate their expertise in formal literacy instruction in school. This commentary argues that braiding old and new literacies for English learners in empowering ways needs to be guided by a connection to the future (new…

Lillard et al. (2013) concluded that pretend play is not causally related to child outcomes and charged that the field is subject to a "play ethos", whereby research is tainted by a bias to find positive effects of play on child development. In this commentary, we embrace their call for a more solidly scientific approach to questions in this…

A review of education reform policies reveals a shift from an input guarantee approach aimed at providing funds to level the playing field for all students to an output guarantee approach based on the expectation of achieving standardized results regardless of inputs. The shift reflects a belief that where a child starts his or her cognitive,…

Early childhood educators frequently look for new ways to help children build social and emotional skills. Teachers want to use effective tools and strategies whether they are redirecting aggressive behavior or encouraging self-esteem and friendship. Persona dolls are one approach to supporting children's social-emotional development. Persona…

Early engagement with the world around us provides opportunities for learning and practising new skills and acquiring knowledge critical to cognitive and social development. Children with autism typically display low levels of engagement, particularly in their social world, which limits the opportunities for learning that occur for their typically…

In this essay, Susan Engel argues that curiosity is both intrinsic to children's development and unfolds through social interactions. Thus, it should be cultivated in schools, even though it is often almost completely absent from classrooms. Calling on well-established research and more recent studies, Engel argues that interactions between…

If we want the best academic outcomes, the most efficient and cost-effective route to achieve that is, counterintuitively, "not" to narrowly focus on academics, but to also address children's social, emotional, and physical development. Similarly, the best and most efficient route to physical health is through also addressing emotional, social,…

In this article, the author states his belief that community based learning among adults can be a powerful force for encouraging personal development and for strengthening democracy in this multicultural, globally interdependent, battered world. To do so, however, it needs to pervade all the curricula, degree programs, learning contracts, and…

David Carr argues that the intelligibility of spiritual development as an educational activity is dependent upon there being a framework of propositions that relates to spiritual experience and that there is a methodology for establishing their truth. These propositions and the accompanying methodology need to be constructed along the lines of a…

Children learn more about themselves when they explore the special joys and responsibilities of friendship. Activities that encourage students to think about what it is to be or to have a friend are suggested. (DF)

With the increased public attention to a rapidly growing number of children being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), it seems as if there is an equally rapid growth of new specialized programs catering to this group of children. The question to be considered is, if there are indeed promising models based on inclusive settings, why does…

Sets forth a theory of social development (represented by Maslow), a theory of moral development (represented by Kohlberg), and then synthesizes these theories to develop a set of student needs and teaching techniques for each stage of social and moral development. (CT)

Early childhood education must bolster basic cognitive and social-emotional competencies to prepare children for authentic learning. The preschool educators should view academic skills and concepts as valuable tools in the process of developing essential competencies.