Based on a three-year study funded by the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (OSDFS) in the U.S. Department of Education, "Safe and Sound" is a comprehensive and inclusive guide for social and emotional learning (SEL) programming. The guide provides a road map for schools and districts that are launching or adding social, emotional,…

A growing body of scientific evidence demonstrates that emotional development begins early in life and is closely connected with the emergence of cognitive, language and social skills. Early emotional development lays the foundation for later academic performance, mental health, and the capacity to form successful relationships. Despite this…

Over 530,000 children are in foster care in the United States. These children live in a variety of settings, including non-relative foster homes, the homes of relatives, and group homes. This research brief offers a national portrait of children who had been in foster care for one year. The National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being…

Students will benefit from this unique preschool framework that integrates individually appropriate practices, literacy activities, play, and explicit instruction into content area lessons. Included are chapters on Oral language development; Phonological awareness; Early reading and writing; Print concepts; Instruction in content areas; and…

This paper examines resiliency and how it can be fostered through experiential programs. Resiliency is defined as the capacity to spring back, rebound, successfully adapt in the face of adversity, and develop social competence despite exposure to severe stress. A summary of research findings concerning resiliency presents the characteristics of…

This longitudinal study examined the associations between awareness of liking by peers and sociometric status to children's sociometric decisions and dyadic friendship choices. Subjects, 155 children in grades 1, 2 and 3, completed traditional sociometric nominations and sociometric ratings, and were asked to evaluate the nominations and ratings…

Much of the early research on the effects of all day kindergarten had serious problems with internal and external validity due to inadequate methodological standards. This digest reviews research conducted in the 1990s. The digest discusses the academic, social, and behavioral effects of all-day kindergarten, as well as parents' and teachers'…

Noting that most individuals working with young children and their families lack the knowledge and skills to identify early warning signs of significant child distress and that most communities lack resources and expertise to address early social and emotional concerns, this report discusses the importance of healthy social and emotional…

Intended for use with the Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood, this integrated ongoing student assessment toolkit, in Spanish, is designed for preschool teachers to help them focus on all aspects of a child's development, thereby giving them a way to ensure that all children in their classes are making progress. The assessment kit uses a…

Intended for parents as a companion to the Alberta Curriculum Guides, this summary uses an "at a glance" schematic to list the curricular goals for Kindergarten in Alberta. In addition to English language arts and mathematics, the goals cover creative and cultural expression, physical skills and well-being, personal and social…

In order to examine the responsiveness of federal policies to the known risk and protective factors for academic and behavior problems at the beginning of school, the Child Mental Health Foundations and Agencies Network commissioned the two papers that make up this publication. One paper reviews the last two decades of relevant scientific…

This action research project sought to improve the social skills of targeted first-, third-, and fourth-grade students. Students demonstrated an inability to collaborate with others, a disregard for the feelings and opinions of others, a lack of responsibility, excessive noise, incomplete assignments, unnecessary physical contact, inappropriate…

This action research project sought to improve social skills in targeted elementary students. The problem of poor social skills was documented by means of data revealing the number of students exhibiting inappropriate behaviors. Students exhibited a lack of social skills through: inappropriate manners, lack of cooperation, not occupying one's own…

This action research project sought to improve the social skills of targeted third-, fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-grade students in order to improve their classroom performance. The students' lack of social skills was documented by means of teacher observation checklists, teacher and student surveys, and past disciplinary records. Objectives of…

This study monitored classroom quality throughout three Head Start programs in the Southeastern United States, using the "Assessment Profile for Early Childhood Programs: Research Edition II." A random sample of classrooms was selected to represent high and low quality classrooms in urban and rural settings. Parents and teachers rated…