The individuals continue to live with the achieved skills and behaviors. The inefficiencies in these skills affect the acquisition of new skills, learning and quality of life. Social-emotional learning skills are the skills that are necessary in various areas from social life to academic life. Social-emotional learning skills can be improved…

Though violence in schools is a highly topical issue, very few studies have examined the issue in early years classrooms in the Caribbean. Using Jamaica and Belize as case studies, four teachers were interviewed to ascertain how they respond to children from harsh ecological environments in which they teach. Using thematic analysis, the findings…

Research Findings: Addressing factors that influence children's self-regulation is a critical step toward closing achievement gaps that have consistently been found for African American and Latino children as well as children living in poverty. Cumulative sociodemographic risk in childhood is now widely understood to be a developmental risk factor…

This article is based on findings drawn from a large-scale study aimed at mapping barriers to education in the context of social disadvantage. The research sites focused on in this paper are: one early childhood facility, four primary schools and the communities of these learning centres. Participants included learners, teachers, caregivers and…

This study examined parental reports of children attending Head Start programs in high- (N = 200) and low- (N = 188) violence communities to determine whether differences existed in the level of risk and protective factors as measured by the Devereux Early Childhood Assessment (P. A. LeBuffe & J. A. Naglieri, 1999). Previous research has indicated…

More than 20 percent of children (ages 2-17) in the United States have witnessed and/or been victims of multiple forms of violence. Children from birth through age 5 are more likely to experience maltreatment and neglect than other age groups. Violence and trauma (including neglect), whether in the home or the community, have lasting effects on…

Responses to AIDS have often neglected children. Drawing on a qualitative study of young children aged 7-9 years, this paper draws attention to their understandings of HIV and AIDS. It is argued that young children are able to give meaning to the disease in ways that link to their social contexts, where gender inequalities and sexual violence are…

The "Handbook of Youth Prevention Science" describes current research and practice in mental health preventive interventions for youth. Traditional prevention research focused on preventing specific disorders, e.g. substance abuse, conduct disorders, or criminality. This produced "silos" of isolated knowledge about the…

Hurricane Katrina resulted in a disaster of proportions not previously known in the United States. The traumatic experiences of children and families during Hurricane Katrina, the flooding that resulted from the breach of the levees, the evacuation, and the aftermath are unprecedented. In responding to the enormous mental health needs of children…