The aim of the present study was to examine elementary and middle school students' (N = 49) perceptions of their gifted and talented program using eight focus group interviews. Qualitative analyses revealed several themes regarding students' academic and social-emotional functioning and how teachers influenced students' experiences within their…

Adult influenza vaccination rates remain suboptimal, particularly among African Americans. Social norms may influence vaccination behavior, but little research has focused on influenza vaccine and almost no research has focused on racially-specific norms. This mixed methods investigation utilizes qualitative interviews and focus groups (n = 118)…

Intention, as the starting point of pursuing self-employment and creating new ventures, is crucial before actually establishing a business enterprise. Entrepreneurship is understood to be an essential ingredient for enhancing a country's economic competitiveness, growth, and sustainability while confronting the escalating challenges of…

Lying is an interpersonal exercise that requires the intentional creation of a false belief in another's mind. As such, children's development of lie-telling is related to their increasing understanding of others and may reflect the acquisition of basic social skills. Although certain types of lies may support social relationships, other types of…

This study examined the extent to which teacher ratings of student behavior via the "Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener" (SAEBRS) predicted academic achievement in math and reading. A secondary purpose was to compare the predictive capacity of three SAEBRS subscales corresponding to social, academic, or emotional…

A systematic review was conducted to analyze the scope and breadth of the existing training protocols for establishing social and communicative behavior using high-tech, touchscreen devices. This review aimed to determine the degree to which studies evaluating high-tech communication aides have established procedures to extend, or completely…

Objectives: Drumming may have therapeutic and learning benefits but there exists little causal evidence regarding the benefits for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Methods: Six EBD pupils (EBD Drum) and six peers (Peer Drum) were given 2, 30-min rock drumming lessons per week, over 5…

Children and adolescents with the genetic, tumor predisposition syndromeneurofibromatosis type I (NF1) have varying degrees of physical stigmata characteristic of the disease and experience high rates of social difficulties. The present study was the first to formally examine the rate (i.e., percentage of participants) and frequency of bullying…

Service engagement is critical to many higher education institutions. Past research has looked at spiritual change as a result of service engagement, but few studies have looked at how spirituality might contribute to engagement in service projects, particularly from a reasoned action approach. This quantitative study looked at God concept and…

Youth have astute observations about site-specific personal and environmental factors that contribute to littering and marine debris, and they have a strong potential to act as change agents in communities. Interactions with youth in Pinellas County Florida add insights into a growing body of research on environmental education and marine debris…

There has been a progressive move towards the adoption of social media in formal post compulsory learning. This qualitative study evaluated the readiness of teachers and students to use Facebook to enhance learning in a tertiary vocational setting in Australia despite a lack of support from the institute. Readiness was understood to be the balance…

Sexual health policies explicitly aim to encourage young people to take responsibility for their sexuality to prevent adverse outcomes such as unintended pregnancies, STIs and sexual assault. In Europe and North America, 'choice' has become a central concept in sexual and reproductive health policy making. However, the concept of choice is not…

To fulfill the criteria for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), symptoms must be present across domains and contexts. We assessed preschool staff's ratings of social communication and interaction (SCI) and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRBs) in 3-year-old siblings of children with ASD, either diagnosed (n = 12) or not diagnosed (n = 36) with…

The aim of the study was to profoundly gain understanding into specific cultural values that underlie traditional practices which pose as barriers to rural girls' education in Zambia. A pairwise case study approach was used to identify and describe types of cultural values prevalent in the Bemba and Tonga ethnic groups of Zambia. A total of 28…

Gratitude has been widely regarded by philosophers, psychologists and educational theorists as a personal and/or pro-social response of some moral significance. Indeed, beyond its more obvious value as a basic form of social association and reciprocation, gratitude has also been conceived as a moral virtue--if not, more grandly, as a "parent…