Topic: SEL

Michael T. Warren, Summer S. Braun & Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl (2023) A virtues approach to children’s kindness schemas, The Journal of Positive Psychology, DOI: 10.1080/17439760.2023.2170822

In order to advance the science and practice of the assessment of prosocial behaviors used in interventions designed to promote prosocial behaviors, there is a need to synthesize the available evidence regarding the ways in which prosocial behaviors have been defined and measured in intervention studies.

Thomson, K, C., Richardson, C. G., Gadermann, A. M., Emerson, S. D., Shoveller, J., & Guhn, M. (2019). Association of childhood social-emotional functioning profiles at school entry with early-onset mental health conditions. JAMA Network Open, 2(1):e186694.

Guhn, M., Emerson, S. D., Mahdaviani, D., & Gadermann, A. M. (2020). Associations of birth factors and socio-economic status with indicators of early emotional development and mental health in childhood: a population-based linkage study. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 51(1), 80-93.

Guhn, M., Gadermann, A., Almas, A., Schonert-Reichl, K. A., & Hertzman, C. (2016). Associations of teacher-rated social, emotional, and cognitive development to self-reported wellbeing, peer relations, and academic test scores in middle childhood. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 35, 76-84.

This research article investigates teacher adaptations in social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. The study, using data from two SEL program evaluations, found that all participating teachers adapted lessons, employing both structural (content, sequencing, timing) and process (teacher-focused, student-focused) changes. These adaptations were driven by program factors (e.g., lesson difficulty), student factors (e.g., attention spans), and contextual factors (e.g., time constraints).

Rimm-Kaufman SE, Strambler MJ, Schonert-Reichl KA, editors. Social and emotional learning in action creating systemic change in schools. New York, NY: Guilford; 2023.

Schonert-Reichl, K.A. Encouraging Advances in the Science on Mindfulness and Compassion in Schools: Current Research, Lingering Questions, and Future Directions. Mindfulness 14, 300–306 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-023-02070-2

Oberle, E., Domitrovitch, C. E., & Meyers, D., & Weissberg, R. P. (2016). Establishing systemic social and emotional learning approaches in schools: the need for school-wide implementation. Cambridge Journal of Education, 46, 277- 297.

This research paper explores the neurophysiological development of empathy for nature in children aged 5-12 using EEG/ERP methods. The study investigated neural responses to images depicting nature in distress versus no distress, revealing age-related shifts from affective arousal to cognitive appraisal. Findings suggest a correlation between increased frontal brain activity and higher dispositional empathy for nature.

Andreu CI, García-Rubio C, Melcón M, Schonert-Reichl KA, Albert J. The effectiveness of a school mindfulnessbased intervention on the neural correlates of inhibitory control in children at risk: A randomized control trial. Devel Sci. 2023:e13403. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/desc.13403

Asgari M, Whitehead J, Schonert-Reichl K, Weber B. The impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) on middle school students’ empathy, perspective-taking, and autonomy: preliminary outcomes. Analytic Teaching and Philosophical Praxis. 2023;43(1):26-44. Available from: https://journal.viterbo.edu/index.php/atpp/article/view/1227

Whitehead J, Schonert-Reichl KA, Oberle E, Boyd L. What do teachers do to show they care? Learning from the voices of early adolescents. J Adoles Res. 2023;38(4):726-60. Available from: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/07435584221076055.