This Global Agenda is the product of a three-year collaborative initiative undertaken by three international organisations representing social work practice, social work education, and social development. All three of these international bodies were founded in 1928 and have held formal consultative status for many decades with the United Nations…

The aims of this study were to evaluate the physiological stress and anxiety responses in children with autism following completion of a standardized, social-evaluative stressor (Trier Social Stress Test-Child version), document the relationship between verbal ability, stress, and anxiety, and determine the association between stress and anxiety…

This paper constructs a new set of institutional indicators for Malawi. We develop indicators of political rights, of freehold, traditional (communitarian) and intellectual property rights, based on the Malawian legislative framework. In exploring the association between our rights measures and a range of indicators of socio-economic development,…

Divergent thinking shows the ability to search for new ideas, which is an important factor contributing to innovation and problem solving. Current divergent thinking tests allow researchers to study children's divergent thinking from the age of 3 years on. This article presents the first measure of divergent thinking that can be used with children…

Whether an individual lives in a rural or urban setting may have direct impact on a wide variety of psychological patterns adopted by students. In this study, the effects of positive and negative social behaviors on the relationship between social and emotional learning needs and skills gaps of students who reside in both rural and urban areas…

Gifted learners have special characteristics which make them unique individuals. However, just like their normative group, gifted learners experience some psychological issues that hinder their ability to adjust in new environments. This study aims to examine levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and adjustments (psychological, social and…

The purpose of this pilot study was to compare the effects of 2 professional development approaches on teachers' implementation of the "Pyramid" model, a classroom-wide approach for fostering social-emotional development and addressing challenging behavior. The study had 2 goals: (a) to examine the differential effects of workshop…

Play is generally identified as a basic tool for effective learning and development in children. This study explores the ways in which amorphous or unstructured play contributes to children's overall development at the pre-primary level, helping to develop cognitive, social, and motor skills. The findings indicate that through unstructured play,…

Research Findings: This research examines preschoolers' use of mental state terms in naturally occurring peer conflicts in the classroom to determine how children use mental state terms for organizing their social interactions. Analyses focus on the types, frequencies, and social interactive functions of mental state terms. Utterances (N = 166)…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulties in theory of mind (ToM) and executive function (EF), which may be linked because one domain (EF) affects the other (ToM). Group differences (ASD vs. typical development) were examined in both cognitive domains, as well as EF's associations and regressions with ToM. Participants…

An important line of research relates to whether school personnel, such as paraprofessionals, who are present during unstructured social periods, such as lunch-recess, could successfully implement interventions to improve socialization between students with ASD and their typical peers in a group setting. Therefore, within the context of a multiple…

Students with emotional or behavioral disorders (EBD) are being included to a greater degree in the general education classroom. Due to the least restrictive environment mandate in the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004, more students with EBD are being taught in inclusive settings. As a result, general education…

This article, written from an insider perspective, and in a personal capacity (the author has been involved with the Council of Europe's work on religion and education since its inception in 2002), gives an account of the developing interest in the study of religions (and latterly non-religious convictions) in publicly funded schools by the…

The worldwide spread of English, especially through the tenets and assumptions of the mainstream English language teaching (ELT) has had ideological, socio-cultural and political implications in the field of education. Reviewing these tenets and assumptions, this paper attempts to reveal this growing industry through publicizing the spread of…

The purpose of this study was to better understand the process of engaging in critical literacy practices with kindergarteners. The researcher spent six months in a kindergarten classroom taking extensive field notes on the ways in which the teacher and students explored issues of social justice through literacy activities. Data analysis using a…