This study explores the experiences of primarily Latina/o children with learning music in a Music and Arts-Based Program (MABP) the context of a low-income neighborhood on the U.S- Mexico border. This year-long ethnographic study was conducted in an after-school art program in the Rio Grande Elementary School, in a low-income neighborhood located…

New advances in neurobiology are revealing that brain development and the learning it enables are directly dependent on social-emotional experience. Growing bodies of research reveal the importance of socially-triggered epigenetic contributions to brain development and brain network configuration, with implications for social-emotional…

Executive function (EF) has been linked to many important aspects of child and adolescent functioning, such as academic achievement, self-regulated learning, social-emotional development, physical well-being, and behavioral problems. Planning and organization, two key executive functions, are found to be the most important predictors of school…

Optimal talent development can only occur when high ability students are willing to take opportunities for growth in a domain and are able to persist when presented with challenges that accompany performance or production at the highest levels. This paper proposes the use of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development to provide a framework…

Allison Jones and Jacqueline Cossentino have taken the term child study to describe the work they do with children experiencing challenges. Their approach to child study attempts to change the typical question of "What is wrong with this child?" to "What is going on with this child?" They have created a system by which they try…

Toddlers with an older sibling with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and low risk (LR) toddlers were observed at 22, 28, and 34 months during two empathy probes: a crying baby and an adult who pretended to hurt her finger. Toddlers with a later ASD diagnosis showed less empathic concern and self-distress at each age on both empathy probes than LR…

Experiential community-based learning is used for academic purposes, as well as to promote students' civic education, moral development, and the development of identity. Recent advancements in narrative identity theory may have important implications for enriching our understanding of how learning occurs in the context of community-based learning.…

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,…

The early childhood period from birth to age 8 is an exciting one for growth, development, and learning. It is when children begin to develop social-emotional competence, and it is also a time when children's emerging skills may result in behaviors adults and peers find challenging. It is important that adults who care for and teach young children…

Core deficits in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) center around social communication and behavior. For those with ASD, these deficits complicate the task of learning how to cope with and manage complex social emotional issues. Although individuals with ASD may receive sufficient academic and basic behavioral support in school settings, supports for…

Children's imitation of adults plays a prominent role in human cognitive development. However, few studies have investigated how children represent the complex structure of observed actions which underlies their imitation. We integrate theories of action segmentation, memory, and imitation to investigate whether children's event representation is…

Momentum has been growing across the country to support statewide implementation of social and emotional learning (SEL) in preschool through high school. In this brief we present an update on states' involvement in articulating goals and developing guidelines for student SEL. [Additional support for this work was provided by Pure Edge, Inc.]

Social emotional learning and the impact it has on academic achievement has been studied. The focus on previous research was tier one social emotional learning. This study researched the affect tier two social emotional learning has on academic achievement for targeted students identified as having a need for tier two social emotional learning. A…

Stress and anxiety are pervasive in education and society. Schools are initiating policy and programs aimed at addressing resiliency and wellbeing of students; yet, research and practice are lagging. This phenomenological study sought to explore social emotional teaching and learning with a specific focus on the potential impact on stress and…

Use these proven strategies for mediation to maintain a safe, productive classroom environment, model positive social interactions, and allow students to increase their personal responsibility.