Background: Transition Year (TY) is a quasi-gap year offered midway through post-primary education in Ireland. TY is intended to provide a low-stakes environment to promote maturity and social skills, and to prepare students for adult life. Previous interview-based research has found that TY is seen as a positive experience by many students and…

Two experiments examined relations among social maturity, executive function, language, and cochlear implant (CI) use among deaf high school and college students. Experiment 1 revealed no differences between deaf CI users, deaf nonusers, and hearing college students in measures of social maturity. However, deaf students (both CI users and…

This study identifies student characteristics that predict participation in Transition Year, an optional developmental year (Grade 10) offered midway through secondary education in Ireland. One thousand eighty five students (51% female; mean age = 15.4 years) completed a questionnaire in Grade 9, providing information on demographic, attitudinal…

This article discusses why it has become considerably more difficult for the rising generations to enter the system of social and civic relations in today's Kazakh society. This situation is due to the transition from the Soviet model of socialization (which was unitary in terms of its normative character, with equal starting social opportunities…