abstract: The purpose of this exploratory study was to determine which social-emotional skills may predict postsecondary enrollment for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are less likely to enroll in any form of postsecondary education and in turn experience poorer post-education outcomes than their general education peers. Using data from the second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2), a classification tree analysis was conducted on teacher-rated social-emotional behaviors in an attempt to determine which social-emotional skills were the strongest predictors of postsecondary enrollment. Items assessing social-emotional skills were selected from the second wave of teacher surveys based on their alignment with the broad taxonomy of social-emotional skills created by Caldarella and Merrell. The results of the classification tree analysis showed that one of the selected social-emotional items, teacher rated ability to follow directions, was the most significant predictor of postsecondary enrollment for students with disabilities. In general, the results suggest that compliance and, to a lesser extent, peer-relations skills, in addition to family income, predict postsecondary enrollment for students with high-incidence disabilities. This finding suggests that social-emotional skills play an important role in postsecondary enrollment for SWD, providing support for the use of social-emotional skills interventions in improving postsecondary enrollment rates and potentially post-educational outcomes for SWD. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011

Esta tese se compõe de três ensaios que conjuntamente pretendem explorar o papel da família no desenvolvimento humano, destacando especialmente sua função de cuidado na primeira infância e sua influência na formação das habilidades cognitivas e socioemocionais. A hipótese geral parte da premissa que a família é o espaço social com maior influência no desenvolvimento infantil e que determina inclusive os efeitos que outros espaços de educação e cuidado como a creche podem ter nos resultados das crianças. A família representa uma rede de cuidados e afetos, mas também pode constituir um lugar de privações para o bem-estar humano. As características das famílias tanto estruturais como de dinâmicas internas definem os fatores de proteção e os fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento infantil. Nesse sentido, no primeiro ensaio realiza-se uma discussão teórica a partir de abordagens da psicologia e da neurociência sobre como as experiências na família e nos períodos sensíveis da infância determinam resultados das crianças, definindo, por exemplo, o desenvolvimento do cérebro e da personalidade. Nessa linha, apresentam-se as práticas parentais positivas e os estilos parentais participativos como referências para ambientes adequados e de estímulo. O ensaio também analisa o conceito de resiliência e que permite identificar fatores que explicam por que algumas crianças que ainda expostas a ambientes adversos podem atingir boas competências e desempenho. De igual forma, o ensaio discute sobre as habilidades cognitivas e não cognitivas e o papel central das emoções no desenvolvimento humano. No segundo ensaio, avalia-se o desenvolvimento infantil do Chile contemplando diferentes dimensões das crianças, como a cognitiva, socioemocional e motricidade. Considera-se também, ao mesmo tempo, a influência de fatores familiares sobre o nível de desenvolvimento atingido pelas crianças. Para esse objetivo aplica-se o modelo “Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes – MIMIC” que faz parte dos Modelos de Equações Estruturais (SEM). Neste artigo, também se operacionaliza parte da concepção da Abordagem das Capacitações fundamentada por Amartya Sen e Martha Nussbaum ao considerar as oportunidades das crianças atingirem seu desenvolvimento de acordo às condições impostas por suas famílias, seja por suas características estruturais ou socioeconômicas como a renda ou por dinâmicas interna da família associadas ao grau de sensibilidade, práticas de envolvimento parental e exercício de práticas de disciplina. Por fim, no terceiro ensaio avaliam-se os efeitos da creche no desenvolvimento cognitivo e socioemocional das crianças chilenas de 4 a 5 anos, condicionado às características da família, como o status socioeconômico, o grau de sensibilidade materna e as práticas de envolvimento parental. Os resultados mostram que a maior exposição à creche tem maiores benefícios nas habilidades cognitivas de crianças de baixo status socioeconômico do que nas crianças de famílias de maior status. No entanto, há evidências de efeitos negativos da creche sobre os resultados das crianças quando o grau de sensibilidade e envolvimento parental é baixo. Desta forma, este ensaio contribui ao entendimento da importância do engajamento parental para que programas de cuidado à infância como a creche tenham maior sucesso e possam cooperar no desenvolvimento infantil. / This thesis consists of three essays that together aim to explore the role of family in human development, focusing on its care function during the early childhood and its influence on the formation of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The general hypothesis consists that family is the social space with most influence on child development and it even could determine the effects that other social spaces like the daycare may have on child outcomes. Family is a network of care and affection, but it can also be a place of deprivation for human well-being. The structural characteristics of family as well as internal dynamics define protective and risk factors on child development. In the first essay, a theoretical discussion is done from the approach of psychology and neuroscience, and it explains how experiences in families during sensitive periods in childhood determine child outcomes, defining, for example, brain development and personality. In that sense, positive parenting practices and authoritative parenting style are indicated as references of suitable environments that encourage child development. The essay examines the concept of resilience and through this is possible to identify factors to explain why some children exposed to adverse environments can achieve good performance and skills. Also, the essay discusses about cognitive and non-cognitive skills and the central role of emotions in human development. In the second essay is evaluated the child development in Chile. This analysis includes different dimensions of children, such as cognitive, social-emotional and motor skills and considering at the same time, the influence of family factors on the level of development achieved by the children. For this objective, it is applied the model "Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes - MIMIC" which is part of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In this paper also is used the Capability Approach founded by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum considering the real opportunities of children to achievement their development according the conditions imposed by their families, either by their structural or socioeconomic characteristics such as income or by family internal dynamics associated with the degree of sensitivity, parenting practices and practices of discipline. Finally, the third essay evaluates the effects of daycare on cognitive and socio-emotional development of Chilean children of 4-5 years conditioning to family characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, degree of maternal sensitivity and parental involvement practices. The results showed that more exposure to daycare has more benefits in cognitive skills of children of low socioeconomic status than in children from families of higher status. However, there are evidences of negative effects of daycare on children's outcomes when the degree of sensitivity and parental involvement is low. Thus, this paper contributes understanding the importance of parental involvement for that child care programs like daycare have greater success and these can cooperate in the child development.

Esta tese se compõe de três ensaios que conjuntamente pretendem explorar o papel da família no desenvolvimento humano, destacando especialmente sua função de cuidado na primeira infância e sua influência na formação das habilidades cognitivas e socioemocionais. A hipótese geral parte da premissa que a família é o espaço social com maior influência no desenvolvimento infantil e que determina inclusive os efeitos que outros espaços de educação e cuidado como a creche podem ter nos resultados das crianças. A família representa uma rede de cuidados e afetos, mas também pode constituir um lugar de privações para o bem-estar humano. As características das famílias tanto estruturais como de dinâmicas internas definem os fatores de proteção e os fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento infantil. Nesse sentido, no primeiro ensaio realiza-se uma discussão teórica a partir de abordagens da psicologia e da neurociência sobre como as experiências na família e nos períodos sensíveis da infância determinam resultados das crianças, definindo, por exemplo, o desenvolvimento do cérebro e da personalidade. Nessa linha, apresentam-se as práticas parentais positivas e os estilos parentais participativos como referências para ambientes adequados e de estímulo. O ensaio também analisa o conceito de resiliência e que permite identificar fatores que explicam por que algumas crianças que ainda expostas a ambientes adversos podem atingir boas competências e desempenho. De igual forma, o ensaio discute sobre as habilidades cognitivas e não cognitivas e o papel central das emoções no desenvolvimento humano. No segundo ensaio, avalia-se o desenvolvimento infantil do Chile contemplando diferentes dimensões das crianças, como a cognitiva, socioemocional e motricidade. Considera-se também, ao mesmo tempo, a influência de fatores familiares sobre o nível de desenvolvimento atingido pelas crianças. Para esse objetivo aplica-se o modelo “Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes – MIMIC” que faz parte dos Modelos de Equações Estruturais (SEM). Neste artigo, também se operacionaliza parte da concepção da Abordagem das Capacitações fundamentada por Amartya Sen e Martha Nussbaum ao considerar as oportunidades das crianças atingirem seu desenvolvimento de acordo às condições impostas por suas famílias, seja por suas características estruturais ou socioeconômicas como a renda ou por dinâmicas interna da família associadas ao grau de sensibilidade, práticas de envolvimento parental e exercício de práticas de disciplina. Por fim, no terceiro ensaio avaliam-se os efeitos da creche no desenvolvimento cognitivo e socioemocional das crianças chilenas de 4 a 5 anos, condicionado às características da família, como o status socioeconômico, o grau de sensibilidade materna e as práticas de envolvimento parental. Os resultados mostram que a maior exposição à creche tem maiores benefícios nas habilidades cognitivas de crianças de baixo status socioeconômico do que nas crianças de famílias de maior status. No entanto, há evidências de efeitos negativos da creche sobre os resultados das crianças quando o grau de sensibilidade e envolvimento parental é baixo. Desta forma, este ensaio contribui ao entendimento da importância do engajamento parental para que programas de cuidado à infância como a creche tenham maior sucesso e possam cooperar no desenvolvimento infantil. / This thesis consists of three essays that together aim to explore the role of family in human development, focusing on its care function during the early childhood and its influence on the formation of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The general hypothesis consists that family is the social space with most influence on child development and it even could determine the effects that other social spaces like the daycare may have on child outcomes. Family is a network of care and affection, but it can also be a place of deprivation for human well-being. The structural characteristics of family as well as internal dynamics define protective and risk factors on child development. In the first essay, a theoretical discussion is done from the approach of psychology and neuroscience, and it explains how experiences in families during sensitive periods in childhood determine child outcomes, defining, for example, brain development and personality. In that sense, positive parenting practices and authoritative parenting style are indicated as references of suitable environments that encourage child development. The essay examines the concept of resilience and through this is possible to identify factors to explain why some children exposed to adverse environments can achieve good performance and skills. Also, the essay discusses about cognitive and non-cognitive skills and the central role of emotions in human development. In the second essay is evaluated the child development in Chile. This analysis includes different dimensions of children, such as cognitive, social-emotional and motor skills and considering at the same time, the influence of family factors on the level of development achieved by the children. For this objective, it is applied the model "Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes - MIMIC" which is part of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In this paper also is used the Capability Approach founded by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum considering the real opportunities of children to achievement their development according the conditions imposed by their families, either by their structural or socioeconomic characteristics such as income or by family internal dynamics associated with the degree of sensitivity, parenting practices and practices of discipline. Finally, the third essay evaluates the effects of daycare on cognitive and socio-emotional development of Chilean children of 4-5 years conditioning to family characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, degree of maternal sensitivity and parental involvement practices. The results showed that more exposure to daycare has more benefits in cognitive skills of children of low socioeconomic status than in children from families of higher status. However, there are evidences of negative effects of daycare on children's outcomes when the degree of sensitivity and parental involvement is low. Thus, this paper contributes understanding the importance of parental involvement for that child care programs like daycare have greater success and these can cooperate in the child development.

Esta tese se compõe de três ensaios que conjuntamente pretendem explorar o papel da família no desenvolvimento humano, destacando especialmente sua função de cuidado na primeira infância e sua influência na formação das habilidades cognitivas e socioemocionais. A hipótese geral parte da premissa que a família é o espaço social com maior influência no desenvolvimento infantil e que determina inclusive os efeitos que outros espaços de educação e cuidado como a creche podem ter nos resultados das crianças. A família representa uma rede de cuidados e afetos, mas também pode constituir um lugar de privações para o bem-estar humano. As características das famílias tanto estruturais como de dinâmicas internas definem os fatores de proteção e os fatores de risco para o desenvolvimento infantil. Nesse sentido, no primeiro ensaio realiza-se uma discussão teórica a partir de abordagens da psicologia e da neurociência sobre como as experiências na família e nos períodos sensíveis da infância determinam resultados das crianças, definindo, por exemplo, o desenvolvimento do cérebro e da personalidade. Nessa linha, apresentam-se as práticas parentais positivas e os estilos parentais participativos como referências para ambientes adequados e de estímulo. O ensaio também analisa o conceito de resiliência e que permite identificar fatores que explicam por que algumas crianças que ainda expostas a ambientes adversos podem atingir boas competências e desempenho. De igual forma, o ensaio discute sobre as habilidades cognitivas e não cognitivas e o papel central das emoções no desenvolvimento humano. No segundo ensaio, avalia-se o desenvolvimento infantil do Chile contemplando diferentes dimensões das crianças, como a cognitiva, socioemocional e motricidade. Considera-se também, ao mesmo tempo, a influência de fatores familiares sobre o nível de desenvolvimento atingido pelas crianças. Para esse objetivo aplica-se o modelo “Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes – MIMIC” que faz parte dos Modelos de Equações Estruturais (SEM). Neste artigo, também se operacionaliza parte da concepção da Abordagem das Capacitações fundamentada por Amartya Sen e Martha Nussbaum ao considerar as oportunidades das crianças atingirem seu desenvolvimento de acordo às condições impostas por suas famílias, seja por suas características estruturais ou socioeconômicas como a renda ou por dinâmicas interna da família associadas ao grau de sensibilidade, práticas de envolvimento parental e exercício de práticas de disciplina. Por fim, no terceiro ensaio avaliam-se os efeitos da creche no desenvolvimento cognitivo e socioemocional das crianças chilenas de 4 a 5 anos, condicionado às características da família, como o status socioeconômico, o grau de sensibilidade materna e as práticas de envolvimento parental. Os resultados mostram que a maior exposição à creche tem maiores benefícios nas habilidades cognitivas de crianças de baixo status socioeconômico do que nas crianças de famílias de maior status. No entanto, há evidências de efeitos negativos da creche sobre os resultados das crianças quando o grau de sensibilidade e envolvimento parental é baixo. Desta forma, este ensaio contribui ao entendimento da importância do engajamento parental para que programas de cuidado à infância como a creche tenham maior sucesso e possam cooperar no desenvolvimento infantil. / This thesis consists of three essays that together aim to explore the role of family in human development, focusing on its care function during the early childhood and its influence on the formation of cognitive and socio-emotional skills. The general hypothesis consists that family is the social space with most influence on child development and it even could determine the effects that other social spaces like the daycare may have on child outcomes. Family is a network of care and affection, but it can also be a place of deprivation for human well-being. The structural characteristics of family as well as internal dynamics define protective and risk factors on child development. In the first essay, a theoretical discussion is done from the approach of psychology and neuroscience, and it explains how experiences in families during sensitive periods in childhood determine child outcomes, defining, for example, brain development and personality. In that sense, positive parenting practices and authoritative parenting style are indicated as references of suitable environments that encourage child development. The essay examines the concept of resilience and through this is possible to identify factors to explain why some children exposed to adverse environments can achieve good performance and skills. Also, the essay discusses about cognitive and non-cognitive skills and the central role of emotions in human development. In the second essay is evaluated the child development in Chile. This analysis includes different dimensions of children, such as cognitive, social-emotional and motor skills and considering at the same time, the influence of family factors on the level of development achieved by the children. For this objective, it is applied the model "Multiple Indicator Multiple Causes - MIMIC" which is part of the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). In this paper also is used the Capability Approach founded by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum considering the real opportunities of children to achievement their development according the conditions imposed by their families, either by their structural or socioeconomic characteristics such as income or by family internal dynamics associated with the degree of sensitivity, parenting practices and practices of discipline. Finally, the third essay evaluates the effects of daycare on cognitive and socio-emotional development of Chilean children of 4-5 years conditioning to family characteristics, such as socioeconomic status, degree of maternal sensitivity and parental involvement practices. The results showed that more exposure to daycare has more benefits in cognitive skills of children of low socioeconomic status than in children from families of higher status. However, there are evidences of negative effects of daycare on children's outcomes when the degree of sensitivity and parental involvement is low. Thus, this paper contributes understanding the importance of parental involvement for that child care programs like daycare have greater success and these can cooperate in the child development.

The Early Childhood Educators’ Knowledge of Self-Regulation Skills Questionnaire (ECESRQ) was devised to measure current teacher knowledge and implementation of pedagogical tools that enhance self-regulatory skills in the early childhood classroom. The purpose of the first phase of this study was to conduct test validation on the ECESRQ. The purpose of the second phase of this study was to (a) assess if teacher knowledge of self-regulation skills predicted teachers’ attitudes and beliefs in the classroom, and if (b) the results from the ECESRQ predicted knowledge of instruction of self-regulation skills. To address the first phase of the study an exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the Likert Style items in the ECESRQ. Three factors were extracted and named as teacher attitudes and beliefs (factor 1), children’s behavior (factor 2), and child behavior (factor 3). Cronbach’s Alpha was reported as high for factor 1 (.718), moderate for factor 2 (.552) and factor 3 (.529), suggesting that the survey demonstrated high to moderate estimates of internal consistency. To address the two questions in the second phase of the study, linear regression and multiple regression analysis were conducted. It was found that teacher attitudes and beliefs (represented by the three factors found in phase one) did not significantly predict teacher knowledge where factor 1 was the dependent variable (R2=.003, F(1, 172)=.503, pR2=.010, F(1, 172)= 1.732, pR2=.007, F(1, 172)=1.221, p However, in the second equation, predicting knowledge of instruction, both variables (age and factor 2) were significant in predicting knowledge of instruction accounting for 7% of the variance in the model. Overall, the results suggest a discrepancy between teachers’ attitudes and beliefs and reported classroom management implementation. This indicates that teachers believe children are capable of internal control, yet implement external over internal control in the classroom. Possibilities for this phenomenon are discussed and implications for future research are presented in the discussion of this study.

No description available.

No description available.

African American children experience risks due to heightened socio-environmental problems and responding to negative racial messages in their environments. Child Centered Play Therapy (CCPT) is one viable intervention for the development of social emotional competence among African American children to help mediate adverse conditions. I sought to explore the effects of CCPT on the social emotional competencies of African American children utilizing Social Emotional Assets and Resilience Scale-Parent & Teacher (SEARS-P; SEARS-T) reports. Thirty-seven African American participants with a mean age of 6.68 years were recruited from four suburban elementary schools in the southwest U.S. Twenty participants were randomly assigned to the intervention group receiving a mean of 13.3 CCPT sessions over 8 weeks, and 17 participants were assigned to the waitlist control group. Factorial ANOVA results indicated that parents reported statistically and practically significant improvement for children who participated in CCPT in overall social-emotional competencies. Follow-up analysis revealed statistical and practical improvement in children’s empathy, as well as practical improvement in self-regulation/responsibility and social competence. Teacher-reported results indicated practical but non-statistically significant improvement in overall social-emotional competencies for children who participated in CCPT, including statistical and practical improvement in children’s responsibility, as well as practical improvement in self-regulation, social competence, and empathy. Thus, CCPT showed promise as a culturally responsive treatment intervention to improve African American children’s social-emotional competencies

Students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD) are at greater risk for dropping out of high school than other students, and are likely to experience fewer employment options and more societal marginalization. Alternative schools have been viewed as a last chance and best option for educating many students with EBD who have not actually been diagnosed. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore persistence and retention in the alternative school setting for students who may or may not have been diagnosed with EBD. Students in this study will be referred to as EBD. Although they have not been formally diagnosed, all of the students suffered with symptoms of emotional and behavioral disorders. Interview and observational data were examined through the theoretical lens of the Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. The research questions focused on the meaning of academic persistence for students in an alternative school, the institutional efforts to retain students, and the processes and consequences to improve student engagement and retention. Seven teachers and administrators from an alternative school in Georgia were interviewed, and analysis and interpretation of data from the interviews, observations, and field notes revealed five major themes: support, acknowledgment for incremental gains, struggle to focus, and we are family. These results indicated that some of the most challenging students can persist when they are provided with support (parental, academic, emotional, and community), and future longitudinal research is needed on students' post-high school functioning. The results also showed the need for systemic changes that include formal assessments and diagnoses because access to psychological services are not provided until students have been properly diagnosed.

This study aims to explore children’s perspectives on conflict resolution within their peer groups. Children’s peer groups and cultures are a crucial setting for social and emotional development and can be reflective of broader peer cultures. This is an area of great importance within child studies and has been influenced by Corsaro’s ideas around children’s social worlds (Corsaro, 2009:321). More specifically, this study is built around the following research questions: 1) What do children perceive as positive ways to solve a conflict? 2) What do children perceive as negative ways to solve a conflict? 3) How do children perceive the role of adults in conflict resolution? Previous literature provides an insight into this topic that comes often through the adult lens (Jones, 2020: 479). This study aimed to include direct child participation in research, allowing agency and voice in the research made about them (Corsaro, 2009:321). To address the research questions, a qualitative study with twelve children in their second year of school, around the ages of seven and eight, was conducted. The children were given an opportunity to talk about their perspectives and viewpoints by engaging in discussions, by using arts-based methods and creating visual materials in the forms of mind-maps and lists as are common within Participation Visual Methods (PVM) research.The written data that was derived from the creative methods was analysed using thematic analysis, with the direct observations and visual drawings used to support our interpretations. The main themes that arose from this study can be explained using verbal, non-verbal and ambiguous strategies for resolving conflicts. Further subthemes such as displaying pro-social behaviours, apologising, compromising, and hostile expressions were identified through our data analysis. This study contributes to sociocultural research in child studies. This study grants insight into child-centred research about navigating conflicts as fundamental components of human relations.