There is a demand for more STEM professionals. Early elementary students' conceptions about engineering can influence whether or not they explore STEM career paths and ultimately select an engineering career. This study examined the conceptions elementary students have regarding the work that engineers perform. The research questions were the…

Young children's social and emotional skills (SE skills) are highly predictive of the ease with which they transition to kindergarten as well as their success in the K-12 school system and in life after graduation (Belfield et al., 2015; Blair, 2002; Denham, 2006; Denham et al., 2014; Graziano et al., 2007; Jones et al., 2017; Moffitt et al.,…

The Big Lift™ (Big Lift) is a preschool-third-grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the County of San Mateo, San Mateo County Office of Education, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency by third grade…

This study aims at highlighting the reasons behind the variation of the level of the parents' satisfaction with the services provided by the resources rooms to their children with learning disabilities in Saudi Arabia. The study sample consisted of 283 parents of female students. The instrument of data collection was a questionnaire consisting of…

Enriched environments may moderate the effect of genetic factors on prosocial leadership (gene-environment interaction, G × E). However, positive environmental experiences may also themselves be influenced by a genetic disposition for prosocial leadership (gene-environment correlation, rGE). Relating these processes to friendships, the present…

Despite its importance in social development, social understanding has hardly been studied in high-ability children. This study explores differences in social understanding between children in high-ability and regular classrooms, specifically theory of mind (ToM) and perception accuracy, as well as associations between individual characteristics…

Even with increased risks, many children demonstrate resiliency and avoid being labeled for special education; however, research on risk and resilience has been problematic because of inadequate statistical models, limitations of available data, and the exclusion of key protective factors. This study used a national sample to examine the influence…

A recent meta-analysis found that across studies individual differences in aspects of children's emotionality predict social status [Dougherty, L.R., (2006). Children's emotionality and social status: a meta-analytic review. Social Development, 15, 394-417.]. In the present study we extended these findings by examining the emotion of interest and…

In this study, the authors investigated the characteristics that predict best friend status in young children. One hundred and twenty-four preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade children identified their "best friend" and up to four "other friends" in their class. Teachers completed a questionnaire about each friendship to determine positive and…

Open-ended questions were used to obtain narrative accounts of what makes a girl (or a boy) popular (or unpopular) at school. The participants were 489 African American students in Grades 1, 4, and 7 recruited from high-risk inner-city neighborhoods. Appearance and self-presentation were mentioned the most in Grades 4 and 7. Prosocial…