Extensive literature on school misbehavior has largely focused on teachers' perceptions of the most frequent and troublesome classroom behaviors and the most commonly used strategies to manage them. Students' perspectives on this topic have received comparatively little attention and most of the few existing studies were conducted with secondary…

This phenomenological qualitative study describes students' experiences and counter-stories of school climate and how school climate matters for their academic achievement in an urban school district. The study uses a critical race perspective to help understand contextual influences on school climate. Data were collected through eight focus group…

This qualitative case study explored the influence of self-reported intercultural competence (IC) on the teaching practices of adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in culturally diverse online classrooms. The researcher examined how EFL teachers used IC test results to inform their teaching. The research used a bounded system,…

Autism is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and the presence of restricted and/or repetitive behaviors that can negatively impact adaptive, academic, and social functioning. Those diagnosed with ASD may be at an increased risk for poorer life outcomes such as poorer academic achievement and social relationships if they…

Noncognitive constructs such as self-efficacy, social awareness, and academic engagement are widely acknowledged as critical components of human capital, but systematic data collection on such skills in school systems is complicated by conceptual ambiguities, measurement challenges and resource constraints. This study addresses this issue by…

Youth who are exposed to more adversities in life and at-risk for engaging in delinquent behaviors have been found to be less likely to have a caring adult in their life. Mentoring is among one of the most evidence-based preventative interventions/supports applied to at-risk youth in order to promote resilience/protective factors. Youth mentoring…

From the spring of 2020 to the spring of 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic forced teachers in a Midwestern U.S. state to engage in emergency remote teaching (ERT). The new challenges included increased workloads, shifts in instructional methods, altered teacher identities, and changing student-teacher dynamics. As schools reopened, these ERT-related…

Despite decades of concern about disparities in educational outcomes for low SES students and students of color, there has been limited rigorous study of programmatic approaches for reducing these disparities in elementary or middle schools. We conducted integrative data analysis (IDA) of the combined data from eight Institute of Education…

Social skills training (SST) interventions are evidence-based approaches to building prosocial behavior. When used in schools, SSTs are commonly situated within Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) as Tier 2 interventions. Despite promising gains in social skills and social understanding from SST participation, criticism is noted that gains do…

In this study, we investigated preservice mathematics teachers' growth and application of their emotional intelligence skills after participating in monthly social emotional learning (SEL) workshops for an academic year. SEL workshops were led by a local nonprofit specializing in universal prevention tools for systemic changes that benefit…

From its inception, the Center for Gifted Education at William & Mary has been committed to the education of gifted students. Dr. Joyce VanTassel-Baska, founder of the CFGE, created a learning environment to work directly with gifted students and parents by providing diverse university-based pre-collegiate programs in both residential and…

Pragmatics, the social language skills human beings use through everyday social interaction, is a critical and complicated segment of learning a new language. Thus, it is essential to teach pragmatics in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms and ESL teachers have pragmatic knowledge. This qualitative case study was designed to investigate…

Social skills are dynamic developmental constructs typically measured using assessments developed via cross-sectional methods. The measurement model of derivatives (MMOD), a factor analytic approach targeting individual growth trajectories, was used to evaluate the longitudinal factor structure of the Social Skills Improvement System--Rating…

Background: Early childhood leadership leads to positive outcomes for young children, including social competence. Objective: The purpose of the present study was to examine the leadership behavior exhibited by three preschool aged children and to determine if teacher prompting could increase the frequency of leadership behaviors exhibited by…

Parent-implemented Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBIs), rooted from applied behavioral and developmental sciences, focus on empowering families by training and coaching natural change agents to embed evidence-based strategies during regular events or contexts (e.g., play time). No research, however, has relied on…