The purpose of this study is to explore the perspectives of teacher educators and school principals on the value and importance they place on social emotional competencies (SEC) in new teachers currently entering PK-12 school systems; and to investigate the strategies these educators and administrators use to assess the SEC levels of new teachers…

The study explores whether physical activity (PA) in early adolescence limits the risk of internalizing and externalizing problems in youth with difficult temperaments, from low-income families, or exposed to impaired family functioning. Participants (N = 1312; 53% girls) were drawn from the Quebec Longitudinal Study of Child Development (QLSCD).…

To illuminate individual differences in the development of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the general population, psychometric measures are needed that can capture general population-level symptom variation reliably, validly, and comparably from childhood through to the transition to adulthood. The ADHD subscale of the…

Unlike the independent path of first-generation college students in the West, first-generation college students in China tend to integrate personal development with family responsibility. Using a sample of 16 first-generation college students who serve as elder siblings and the first in their family to go to college, this qualitative inquiry…

This study investigates the progression of students' meaning-making of epigenetic phenomena while discussing multiple visual representations depicted at different levels of biological organization. Semi-structured focus group sessions involving ninth-grade students (aged 15-16) from a Swedish lower secondary school were video recorded. Students'…

Adolescence is a complex developmental stage with challenges that affect transitioning to adulthood. The success in managing the transition depends on personal capabilities, circumstances, and support systems. Contextual situations in adolescent development are understudied in developing countries. In this qualitative study, we explored what South…

Are young children just random explorers who learn serendipitously? Or are even young children guided by uncertainty-directed sampling, seeking to explore in a systematic fashion? We study how children between the ages of 4 and 9 search in an explore-exploit task with spatially correlated rewards, where exhaustive exploration is infeasible and not…

One long-standing theoretical model of shyness proposes that the origins and maintenance of shyness are associated with an approach-avoidance motivational conflict (Asendorpf, 1990), such that shy individuals are motivated to socially engage (high approach motivation) but are too anxious to do so (high avoidance motivation). However, this model…

Student development of critical consciousness is essential in higher education if we are to promote civic engagement and educate students to be constructive global citizens. Research on consciousness raising reveals that instructors who have done due diligence in developing their own critical consciousness are best equipped to promote its…

This article focuses on transitioning from boys to men -- the possibilities of "becoming-man" -- through outdoor education programs, while acknowledging that a similar investigation could be carried out in relation to girls and women, as well as other gender identities. In relation to becoming-man, contact with nature through an…

The natural pedagogy hypothesis proposes that human infants preferentially attend to communicative signals from others, facilitating rapid cultural learning. In this view, sensitivity to such signals is a uniquely human adaptation and as such nonhuman animals should not produce or utilize these communicative signals. We test these evolutionary…

Youth with disabilities benefit from being included in extracurricular activities. However, often youth with a disability do not participate in extracurricular activities. The purpose of this basic, qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Extension Youth Development Professionals (YDPs) as they serve youth with disabilities in their…

The Georgia 4-H program is the largest youth organization in the state and empowers youth participants to become autonomous and productive members of society. 4-H involvement has been linked to positive youth development outcomes, including leadership and vocational skills, increased self-confidence, and meaningful relationships. The focus of this…

This qualitative study examined how novice leaders perceive mentoring in the development of their leadership identity in higher education. The study explored novice leaders in higher education and the tools needed to develop their leadership identity. Mentoring was examined as a tool that provides a strong support structure and supports the…

This paper explores the concept of potential through a Deleuzean lens and argues that what is commonly understood as potential is often confused with possibility. It moves through four parts: an introduction exploring the language and context in which potential is ordinarily used in order to uncover underlying presuppositions; the next section…