Fostering knowledgeable, responsible, and caring students is one of the most urgent challenges facing schools, families, and communities. Promoting Social and Emotional Learning provides sound principles for meeting this challenge. Students today face unparalleled demands. In addition to achieving academically, they must learn to work cooperatively, make responsible decisions about social and health practices, resist negative peer and media influences, contribute constructively to their family and community, function in an increasingly diverse society, and acquire the skills, attitudes, and values necessary to become productive workers and citizens. A comprehensive, integrated program of social and emotional education can help students meet these many demands. The authors draw upon scientific studies, theories, site visits, and their own extensive experiences to describe approaches to social and emotional learning at all levels. Framing the discussion are 39 concise guidelines, as well as many field-inspired examples for classrooms, schools, and districts. Chapters address how to develop, implement, and evaluate effective strategies. Educators who have programs in place will find ways to strengthen them. Those seeking further direction will find an abundance of approaches and ideas. Appendixes include a curriculum scope for preschool through grade 12 and an extensive list of contacts that readers may follow up on for firsthand knowledge about effective social and emotional programs. The authors of Promoting Social and Emotional Learning are members of the Research and Guidelines Work Group of the Collaborative for the Advancement of Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL).

Aimed at providing a foundation for increasing the quantity and quality of physical and mental health care for children, this book describes the latest research and theories about family, school, and community prevention and health-promotion programs to improve the health status of children during the next decade. This impressive group of researchers examine such pertinent questions as: + Why do problem behaviors occur together (like substance abuse, delinquency, and school failure)? And, to what extent can common strategies prevent each of these difficulties? + Are we effectively using what we know to prevent drug use among children? + What strategies are the most promising for preventing unwanted pregnancy and AIDS? + Does violent/aggressive behavior result from unmet developmental needs? + What programs have been most effective in preventing depression and suicide in young people? + Are there reliable prevention strategies that can reproduce the risk of unintentional injury among children? This thought-provoking book identifies innovative and empirically based preventive and health-promotion strategies that schools and communities may implement to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness and thus will be interest to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

What determines the focus of a researcher's interest, the sources of inspiration for a study, or the variables scrutinized? If we were to examine the antecedents of these decisions, they would surely emerge as accidents of circumstance--the personal experiences of the researcher, the inspiration of early mentors, the influence of contemporary colleagues--all tempered by the intellectual currents that nurture the researcher's hypotheses. Among the accidents that mold the careers of researchers is geographic location. The culture in which a research program emerges helps determine both its very subject and its method. The primary purpose of this book is to assist those interested in the scientific study of children's social competence in transcending the boundaries imposed both by geography and by selective exposure to the highly diverse schools of thought that have led to interest in this field. Most of these ideas were presented and exchanged at an Advanced Study Institute entitled "Social Competence in Developmental Perspective" held in Savoie, France, in July 1988. This Institute was attended by scholars from France, England, Northern Ireland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Canada, the United States and Brazil. Those who participated will recognize that the metamorphosis from lecture to chapter has necessitated many changes. In order to accommodate the reader who may be unfamiliar with the field, more attention has been paid here to identifying the theoretical contexts of the research described.

What determines the focus of a researcher's interest, the sources of inspiration for a study, or the variables scrutinized? If we were to examine the antecedents of these decisions, they would surely emerge as accidents of circumstance--the personal experiences of the researcher, the inspiration of early mentors, the influence of contemporary colleagues--all tempered by the intellectual currents that nurture the researcher's hypotheses. Among the accidents that mold the careers of researchers is geographic location. The culture in which a research program emerges helps determine both its very subject and its method. The primary purpose of this book is to assist those interested in the scientific study of children's social competence in transcending the boundaries imposed both by geography and by selective exposure to the highly diverse schools of thought that have led to interest in this field. Most of these ideas were presented and exchanged at an Advanced Study Institute entitled "Social Competence in Developmental Perspective" held in Savoie, France, in July 1988. This Institute was attended by scholars from France, England, Northern Ireland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Canada, the United States and Brazil. Those who participated will recognize that the metamorphosis from lecture to chapter has necessitated many changes. In order to accommodate the reader who may be unfamiliar with the field, more attention has been paid here to identifying the theoretical contexts of the research described.

Currently, only about 50% of American youths live in traditional two-parent, first-marriage families. This fact, combined with often bleak economic and social realities, creates the backdrop of interactions between families, children, and schools are examined in this probing volume. Answering a need for evaluative research in this area of increasing public interest, the contributors build a model for evaluation, focusing on the dynamics of family-school connections. How is school achievement influenced by parent-child interactions and the family environment? How do school, family, community, and peer-group connections affect early adolescents? What is the family's role in the success of learning-disabled youth or in school truancy? What effect does parental discord and divorce have on a child's learning? These questions, as well as proposals for intervention and prevention, create the crux of this book designed to inform and motivate readers to respond to one of our country's most fundamental social concerns. Vital reading for everyone who wants to better understand child-school-community interaction, this book especially warrants reading by students, researchers, and other professionals in developmental psychology, family studies, psychology, and social work. "The book should be read by professionals who have contact with schools as part of their brief; by those educators who train the new generation of social workers, psychologists, and teachers; and by researchers who seek to understand the tapestry of social influences on children's development. The book is worth buying alone for the fruits of great scholarship evident in the extensive lists of up-to-date references at the end of each chapter, and in a superb appendix that offers a tour de force of a 19-page bibliography on the topic." --Child and Family Social Work

While "city life" can be exciting, its problems can be challenging for families and children, particularly when they are members of minority groups. An interdisciplinary team of researchers examines the positive and problematic circumstances that confront children and youth living in cities and identifies the best researched-based solutions for improving or enhancing those circumstances. Divided into three parts--families, schools, and health--this impressive array of scholars explore such topics as: factors that have influenced inner-city life, including migration patterns and middle-class flights from cities and ghettos; the role of coping, resources, and skills in an urban familyÆs successful management of stress; community-university partnerships that offer workable solutions to urban children and their families; the features of homes, schools, and communities that promote academic success and healthy psychological development in adverse circumstances; barriers to urban schoolingùsuch as under funding, dangerous environments, and teacher overload--and promising avenues of reform for effective schools; strategies for preventing violence and substance abuse among city youth; the use of cultural competency training for health care providers so as to overcome the geographic, language, and ethnic barriers to the urban poorÆs access to this care; and the development and implementation of the collaborative programs across disciplines to better serve city children and their families. Clearly written so as to be more accessible to researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, sociology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, and nursing this book provides readers with the best interdisciplinary information available today on the problems with growing up in a city and ways to solve them.

The burgeoning multidisciplinary field of social and emotional learning (SEL) now has a comprehensive and definitive handbook covering all aspects of research, practice, and policy. The prominent editors and contributors describe state-of-the-art intervention and prevention programs designed to build students' skills for managing emotions, showing concern for others, making responsible decisions, and forming positive relationships. Conceptual and scientific underpinnings of SEL are explored and its relationship to children's and adolescents' academic success and mental health examined. Issues in implementing and assessing SEL programs in diverse educational settings are analyzed in depth, including the roles of school- and district-level leadership, teacher training, and school-family partnerships.

Aimed at providing a foundation for increasing the quantity and quality of physical and mental health care for children, this book describes the latest research and theories about family, school, and community prevention and health-promotion programs to improve the health status of children during the next decade. This impressive group of researchers examine such pertinent questions as: + Why do problem behaviors occur together (like substance abuse, delinquency, and school failure)? And, to what extent can common strategies prevent each of these difficulties? + Are we effectively using what we know to prevent drug use among children? + What strategies are the most promising for preventing unwanted pregnancy and AIDS? + Does violent/aggressive behavior result from unmet developmental needs? + What programs have been most effective in preventing depression and suicide in young people? + Are there reliable prevention strategies that can reproduce the risk of unintentional injury among children? This thought-provoking book identifies innovative and empirically based preventive and health-promotion strategies that schools and communities may implement to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness and thus will be interest to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

TodayAEs young people face greater risks to their current and future health and social development as shown by the involvement of younger and younger children in smoking, drinking, gang membership, and acts of violence. Emphasizing developmentally and contextually appropriate prevention service delivery models, the authors of this volume identify state-of-the-art, empirically based strategies to strengthen the environments in which children develop. Since programs with strong conceptualization, design, and implementation have the potential to enhance childrenAEs social, emotional, and physical wellness, the authors first review ways to strengthen the family, child-care systems, early childhood education, school-based health and mental health services, and community-based mental health programming. They next explore the importance of theory-guided evaluation to clarify the process of program implementation as well as highlighting strategies for disseminating programs effectively. Throughout the chapters, the authors emphasize three themes: One, that scientists, practitioners, and policy makers must collaborate to diversify the portfolio of coordinated family-, school-, and community-based prevention services. Second, that rigorous evaluations of prevention programs are critical to document their efficacy and to identify ways to improve their quality. And, three, that well-designed prevention programs must be effectively conducted in order to insure implementation quality. This important new volume will be invaluable to professionals and practitioners in the fields of developmental psychology, clinical psychology, family studies, social work, counseling, human services, nursing, and public health.

Currently, only about 50% of American youths live in traditional two-parent, first-marriage families. This fact, combined with often bleak economic and social realities, creates the backdrop of interactions between families, children, and schools are examined in this probing volume. Answering a need for evaluative research in this area of increasing public interest, the contributors build a model for evaluation, focusing on the dynamics of family-school connections. How is school achievement influenced by parent-child interactions and the family environment? How do school, family, community, and peer-group connections affect early adolescents? What is the family's role in the success of learning-disabled youth or in school truancy? What effect does parental discord and divorce have on a child's learning? These questions, as well as proposals for intervention and prevention, create the crux of this book designed to inform and motivate readers to respond to one of our country's most fundamental social concerns. Vital reading for everyone who wants to better understand child-school-community interaction, this book especially warrants reading by students, researchers, and other professionals in developmental psychology, family studies, psychology, and social work. "The book should be read by professionals who have contact with schools as part of their brief; by those educators who train the new generation of social workers, psychologists, and teachers; and by researchers who seek to understand the tapestry of social influences on children's development. The book is worth buying alone for the fruits of great scholarship evident in the extensive lists of up-to-date references at the end of each chapter, and in a superb appendix that offers a tour de force of a 19-page bibliography on the topic." --Child and Family Social Work