Search

Schools have become increasingly interested in social-emotional learning (SEL) over the past decade, and that interest has grown due to concern about student well-being resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is confusion around SEL. Christi Bergin, Christina Cipriano, Tia Barnes, Shannon B. Wanless, researchers who have studied and designed SEL for decades, respond to questions frequently asked by educators as they consider an SEL approach for their school. They discuss what SEL is, its benefits, how it aligns with other programs, how to select an SEL program, and where to learn more about SEL programs.

The changing landscape of early childhood education related to accountability-driven assessments is creating the need to understand how these changes effect engagement. Children's engagement in school is one of the leading predictors of learning (Carini et al. in Research in Higher Education 47(1):1-32, 2006; Fredricks et al. in Review of Educational Research 74(1):59-109, 2004). However, there appears to be a range of ideas about the conceptualization and measurement of engagement. This review investigates the conceptualization and measurement of engagement in early childhood education and how measures align with conceptualizations. Findings reveal engagement is defined as solely behavioral in eight (38%) of the 21-articles reviewed, with most articles (67%) measuring engagement through observations. Additionally, most articles (95%) align their conceptualization and measurement of engagement. Opportunities for fine-tuning approaches to measuring engagement in early childhood are discussed.

Toddler tantrums are a typical part of child development but can cause stress to the teacher--child relationship (Schindler et al., 2015). Understanding how to resolve tantrums is an important skill, yet there is little research to guide teachers. The present study observed two toddler-classrooms, examining teachers' responses to 46 tantrums, and the results of these responses. Exploratory analysis examined the applicability of a popular framework for conceptualizing tantrums as emotional or cognitive. Results suggest when toddler teachers used a combination of emotionally supportive strategies, 91% of tantrums were resolved. The use of controlling strategies suggests teachers need support on effective responses to tantrums. The ability to categorize tantrums suggests a framework many practitioners endorse could be useful in communicating effective strategies.

The majority of parents in the United States recognize that social and emotional skills are a high priority for their children's success (Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 2015), but most cannot readily articulate how they are utilizing or promoting these skills in their own families (Zero to Three, 2016). Even professionals in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) may struggle in making the translation between their professional knowledge and their personal parenting practices. In the present study, we aimed to understand the connection between the scholarly field of SEL and the lived experiences of parents who engage with SEL in a practical setting. Specifically, we studied SEL professionals who were also parents to determine how they see the overlap between school-based SEL and the role of SEL in families. Survey items assessed their priorities for their children's development and their parenting. Responses were analyzed for the degree to which they aligned with a prominent SEL framework created by the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning. This framework has not yet been applied extensively to parenting, but results from this study suggest that even when terminology differs, underlying social and emotional priorities for children and parenting show substantial overlap. The purpose of this investigation--built upon the research base of SEL in schools--is to raise questions, offer a model for further inquiry, and draw connections between our knowledge of school-based social and emotional learning and parenting.

This study examined the effect of a social-emotional intervention implemented in one St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) institution (called a Baby Home, BH) on the general behavioral development of preterm children (gestational ages of 30-36 weeks) during their first 2 years of life. The intervention consisted of training caregivers and implementing structural changes to create a more family-like environment. The study included preterm (N = 56) and full-term (N = 93) children from one BH that implemented the intervention and from another BH with no intervention. Children were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 months of age with the Battelle Development Inventory (LINC Associates, 1988). The results showed that the intervention positively influenced the general behavioral development of BH preterm children throughout their first 2 years of life compared with preterm children from the no intervention BH. Also, results indicated that the intervention effect was developmentally similar for preterm and for full-term children, but preterm children consistently scored lower than full-term children during their first 2 years living in the BH. In general, our research emphasizes the crucial role of warm, sensitive, and responsive interactions with a constant and emotionally available caregiver for healthy child development for both term and preterm children.

Political and societal pressures are influencing kindergarten teachers and their classroom practices on a national level. Teachers' receptivity to reforms depends to a large degree on their buy-in to the change effort. Drawing on analyses of interviews with kindergarten teachers across school and districts, this study examined teacher buy-in to an increased academic focus in kindergarten and in turn the factors that influence buy-in. Research Findings: Analyses revealed that kindergarten teachers in the same schools and districts had qualitatively different responses to the increased academic focus in kindergarten. Teachers' professional identity, sense of control, and interactions with school leaders emerged as factors influencing teacher buy-in. Practice or Policy: The role of teacher buy-in as a crucial component in times of change is discussed. Specifically, situating reforms in the context of implementation science and teacher well-being is discussed.

Research Findings: Self-regulation in young children predicts later social adjustment and academic success across cultural contexts. Therefore, it is crucial to identify factors that promote or inhibit behavioral self-regulation skills. In this study, we focus on gender and socioeconomic status (SES; parental education and income) as possible predictors of 2 types of self-regulation in Norwegian children: individual behavioral regulation (assessed directly using the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task) and classroom behavioral regulation (rated by teachers using the Survey of Early School Adjustment). A total of 243 children age 5 (85% of those invited) participated. Results indicated that Norwegian girls outperformed boys in both types of behavioral regulation. In addition, parental SES related positively to girls' individual behavioral regulation but not boys'. Practice or Policy: The present study supports the idea that boys may be vulnerable to low individual and classroom behavioral regulation in certain contexts and cultures and that parental SES may influence girls' and boys' individual behavioral regulation differently. Future research and practice should look at interventions specially designed to stimulate and motivate behavioral regulation among boys in general and among girls with lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Research suggests that behavioral self-regulation skills are critical for early school success, but few studies have explored such links among young children in Europe. This study examined the contribution of early self-regulation to academic achievement gains among children in France, Germany, and Iceland. Gender differences in behavioral self-regulation skills were also explored. A total of 260 children were followed longitudinally over one to two years (average age at Wave 1 was 74.5 months). Behavioral self-regulation was assessed using a structured direct observation (Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task) and assessment. Multilevel analyses revealed that higher levels on both ratings of self-regulation predicted higher academic skills after controlling for gender, age, maternal education, and previous achievement, but the relations depended on the cultural context. Teacher ratings were more consistently related to achievement gains than directly assessed behavioral self-regulation. Girls outperformed boys only in Iceland. We discuss universal and culture-specific findings and implications for educational practices.

The present study investigated a direct assessment of behavioral self-regulation (the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders; HTKS) and its contribution to early academic achievement among young children in Germany and Iceland. The authors examined the psychometric properties and construct validity of the HTKS, investigated gender differences in young children's behavioral self-regulation, and explored relations between the HTKS and a teacher report of behavioral self-regulation (the Child Behavior Rating Scale; CBRS) and emerging academic skills. Findings supported the construct validity of the HTKS when used with young German and Icelandic children. Multilevel analyses revealed gender differences, particularly on the CBRS teacher-rated measure. Finally, higher levels of behavioral self-regulation were related to higher academic skills after important background variables were controlled, although some cross-cultural differences in the predictive utility of the HTKS and CBRS were observed. Overall, these results extend prior psychometric work on the HTKS to samples of young European children and support the importance of understanding of the role behavioral self-regulation in young children's development. (Contains 6 tables.)

The present observational study used hierarchical linear modeling to examine predictors of children's social and self-regulatory outcomes in first-grade classrooms. Specifically, goals were the following: (1) to explore relations between emotionally supportive teacher-child interactions and children's social behaviors (aggression with peers, exclusion by peers, prosocial behaviors) and self-regulatory skills (behavioral self-control); and (2) to examine whether emotionally supportive teacher-student interactions contributed differentially to social and self-regulatory outcomes for first-graders at risk for school difficulty based on sociodemographic characteristics compared to counterparts with fewer sociodemographic risk characteristics. Participants were 178 students and 36 teachers in seven rural schools. Results indicated higher teacher emotional support related to lower child aggression and higher behavioral self-control. Emotional support was equally important for all children regardless of the number of sociodemographic risk factors. Results provide evidence for the contribution of teacher behaviors to students' social behaviors and self-regulatory skills, and suggest the importance of classroom interactions in children's acquisition of social and emotional competence. Discussion focuses on plausible mechanisms and implications for interventions. (Contains 4 tables.)

The present study examined the psychometric properties of scores from a direct measure of behavioral regulation, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task (HTKS) with 3- to 6-year-old children in the United States, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Specifically, we investigated (a) the nature and variability of HTKS scores, including relations to teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation; and (b) relations between the HTKS and early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills. Higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher teacher ratings of classroom behavioral regulation in the United States and South Korea but not in Taiwan and China. Also, higher HTKS scores were significantly related to higher early mathematics, vocabulary, and literacy skills beyond the influence of demographic variables and teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation. These initial findings suggest that HTKS scores may be interpreted as reflecting early behavioral regulation in these 4 societies and that behavioral regulation is important for early academic success in the United States and in Asian countries. (Contains 4 tables and 1 footnote.)

Research Findings: Behavioral regulation (the integration of attention, working memory, and inhibitory control) is critical for school readiness and early academic achievement. In Taiwan, however, where academic success is highly valued, there is a dearth of assessments available to measure young children's behavioral regulation. The present study examined the validity of a direct measure of behavioral regulation, the Head-to-Toes Task (HTT), in Taiwanese 3.5- to 4.5-year-olds. The goals were to (a) investigate the nature and variability of HTT scores and (b) explore relations between HTT scores and early math and vocabulary skills and teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation in the spring of the preschool year. Results indicated that the HTT captured substantial variability and was significantly related to early math and vocabulary skills after controlling for age, mother's education level, and teacher-rated classroom behavioral regulation but was not significantly related to teacher ratings of classroom behavioral regulation. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that the HTT may be a useful measure of behavioral regulation for Taiwanese preschoolers and provide evidence for the importance of behavioral regulation for academic achievement in Taiwan. Practical implications focus on supporting the development of behavioral regulation in early childhood settings, which can promote early school success. (Contains 4 tables.)

Research Findings: The present study examined the role of demographic risk factors in the development of children's behavioral regulation. We investigated whether being from a low-income family and being an English language learner (ELL) predicted behavioral regulation between prekindergarten and kindergarten. Results indicated that children from low-income families began prekindergarten with significantly lower behavioral regulation than their more economically advantaged peers. Furthermore, English-speaking children from low-income families exhibited a faster rate of behavioral regulation growth than low-income ELLs. English-speaking children from low-income families narrowed the gap with their more economically advantaged English-speaking peers by the end of kindergarten, but ELLs from low-income families did not. Practice or Policy: Discussion focuses on the importance of understanding the effects of being an ELL and being from a low-income family for the demands of formal schooling. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

The majority of parents in the United States recognize that social and emotional skills are a high priority for their children's success (Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 2015), but most cannot readily articulate how they are utilizing or promoting these skills in their own families (Zero to Three, 2016). Even professionals in the field of social and emotional learning (SEL) may struggle in making the translation between their professional knowledge and their personal parenting practices. In the present study, we aimed to understand the connection between the scholarly field of SEL and the lived experiences of parents who engage with SEL in a practical setting. Specifically, we studied SEL professionals who were also parents to determine how they see the overlap between school-based SEL and the role of SEL in families. Survey items assessed their priorities for their children's development and their parenting. Responses were analyzed for the degree to which they aligned with a prominent SEL framework created by the Collaborative for Academic and Social and Emotional Learning. This framework has not yet been applied extensively to parenting, but results from this study suggest that even when terminology differs, underlying social and emotional priorities for children and parenting show substantial overlap. The purpose of this investigation--built upon the research base of SEL in schools--is to raise questions, offer a model for further inquiry, and draw connections between our knowledge of schoolbased social and emotional learning and parenting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political and societal pressures are influencing kindergarten teachers and their classroom practices on a national level. Teachers’ receptivity to reforms depends to a large degree on their buy-in to the change effort. Drawing on analyses of interviews with kindergarten teachers across school and districts, this study examined teacher buy-in to an increased academic focus in kindergarten and in turn the factors that influence buy-in.Research Findings: Analyses revealed that kindergarten teachers in the same schools and districts had qualitatively different responses to the increased academic focus in kindergarten. Teachers’ professional identity, sense of control, and interactions with school leaders emerged as factors influencing teacher buy-in.Practice or Policy: The role of teacher buy-in as a crucial component in times of change is discussed. Specifically, situating reforms in the context of implementation science and teacher well-being is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research Findings:Self-regulation in young children predicts later social adjustment and academic success across cultural contexts. Therefore, it is crucial to identify factors that promote or inhibit behavioral self-regulation skills. In this study, we focus on gender and socioeconomic status (SES; parental education and income) as possible predictors of 2 types of self-regulation in Norwegian children: individual behavioral regulation (assessed directly using the Head–Toes–Knees–Shoulders task) and classroom behavioral regulation (rated by teachers using the Survey of Early School Adjustment). A total of 243 children age 5 (85% of those invited) participated. Results indicated that Norwegian girls outperformed boys in both types of behavioral regulation. In addition, parental SES related positively to girls' individual behavioral regulation but not boys'.Practice or Policy:The present study supports the idea that boys may be vulnerable to low individual and classroom behavioral regulation in certain contexts and cultures and that parental SES may influence girls' and boys' individual behavioral regulation differently. Future research and practice should look at interventions specially designed to stimulate and motivate behavioral regulation among boys in general and among girls with lower socioeconomic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]