Rápidos avanços da tecnologia e desenvolvimentos em diversos campos da ciência têm provocado mudanças profundas no mercado de trabalho. Nesse contexto, é bem documentado o papel relevante das competências socioemocionais no desenvolvimento de competências para o trabalho, sugerindo que os retornos do mercado de trabalho para habilidades não cognitivas têm aumentado ao longo do tempo e que os retornos são particularmente fortes para indivíduos que possuem habilidades cognitivas e não cognitivas. Nosso estudo busca trazer evidências do retorno associado às competências socioemocionais no mercado de trabalho brasileiro. Encontramos evidências de que existe um retorno positivo associado às competências socioemocionais e que esse retorno é diferente entre grupos de ocupação. Acreditamos que este conhecimento possa incentivar e reforçar as parcerias entre governos, educadores, formadores, trabalhadores e empregadores, a fim de gerir melhor o impacto transformador da Quarta Revolução Industrial no emprego, nas competências e na educação do Brasil. / Rapid advances in technology and developments in various science fields are driving deeply changes in the labor market. In this context, the relevant role of social-emotional skills in the development of job skills is well documented, suggesting that labor market returns to non-cognitive skills have been increasing over time and the pay-offs are particularly strong for individuals who have both cognitive and non-cognitive skills. Our study seeks to bring evidence of the return associated with social-emotional skills in the Brazilian labor market. We found evidence that there is a positive return associated with socialemotional skills and that this return is different between occupation groups. We believe that this knowledge can encourage and strengthen partnerships between governments, educators, trainers, workers and employers in order to better manage the transformative impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on employment, skills and education in Brazil.

The participation of children and young people (CYP) in decisions affecting them is high on the political agenda. CYP with special educational needs (SEN) in the form of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) continue to be under-represented in the literature with regard to participation and sharing their views. CYP with a statement of SEN must be formally reviewed on an annual basis, which is referred to as the annual statement review (ASR). The current research investigates how CYP with SEBD are presently participating in this formal and regular process that involves reviewing, decision-making and planning around their individual needs. A multiple case study was carried out, which involved two educational provisions, a resource based provision and a special provision, both for CYP with SEBD. Participants included the special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) in each provision, two CYP from the resource based provision, and one CYP from the special provision. Each of the three CYP were the focus of each individual case, with the two CYP from resource based provision being in Key Stage 2 and the individual CYP in special provision in Key Stage 4 of the National Curriculum. Main methods of data collection were semi-structured interview and observation throughout the ASR process. Data was analysed using thematic and content analysis. From a critical realist perspective, the investigation revealed that current practice to enable CYP with SEBD to participate in their ASR was found to be good, although it was proposed it could be better. This overall finding is based on the perspective that CYP should have the opportunity to make an impact on the ASR process as well as the outcome through decision-making, no matter how small the decision is that they are involved with. This was not always the case in the current practice examined in the study, more so with the younger CYP attending the resource based provision. The findings contribute to developing a good practice model for schools to support CYP with SEBD to effectively participate in review, decision-making and planning around their needs in statutory processes. A further research opportunity would be to investigate such practice in specialist provision for CYP with SEBD on a wider scale by using the survey design, to consider the current findings in a wider context.

The purpose of this Master’s thesis was to determine the efficacy of a preventative intervention, MindMasters 2. In order to do so, an outcome evaluation was conducted to explore the extent to which MindMasters 2 impacted specific social and emotional skills in Grade 3 children. Additionally, a process evaluation was conducted to attain teachers’ perspectives on the acceptability of the program in a classroom setting. Teachers also provided suggestions for program improvement. A total of 98 Grade 3 children were recruited and randomly allocated to either a control or experimental group, and evaluated before and after a 3-month implementation period. Six Grade 3 teachers were recruited to partake in semi-structured interviews to share their experiences of program implementation. Overall, both quantitative and qualitative results support the notion that MindMasters 2 may play a role in improving children’s emotional regulation, relaxation ability, and social relationships. Furthermore, qualitative results indicate that the program was well adhered to in a classroom setting, and implementation of the program on a larger scale is supported by teachers. School administrators, teachers, caregivers, parents, researchers, and program administrators may find useful information in this thesis when attempting to promote positive living in the youth population.

Refugee children are at risk of experiencing social, emotional or behavioural needs (SEBN) due to the stressful events they have experienced. These events may have occurred whilst in their country of origin, or when travelling to and seeking asylum in a new country. There are a high number of refugee children in the local authority where the current research takes place. Educational Psychologists (EPs) in the authority have become aware of some of the needs of these pupils through individual case work. However there is an acknowledgement that more detailed information about their needs is still required. There is also a role for EPs in working with school staff to support refugee and asylum seeker children. The current research was carried out by a Trainee Educational Psychologist (TEP) in a primary school with a high number of refugee children (10%). An action research design was employed, using the RADIO model to structure collaborative working with school staff. The focus of the action research was to identify the SEBN of refugee children in the school and to develop school practice. A whole staff questionnaire was completed for each class (15 classes in total) to explore the needs of all refugee children and identify the provision they had received. The ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’ (SDQ) (Goodman, 1997) was incorporated into this questionnaire to obtain scores for all 46 refugee children in the school. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. In order to further explore this data, three focus groups were run, one with members of staff and two with groups of children in Key Stage 2. The focus group data was analysed using thematic analysis. The SDQ data revealed that just less than 50% of the refugee children scored in the abnormal range for total difficulties. The themes emerging from the thematic analysis highlighted a range of ‘pupils’ emotions and behaviours’ and ‘reasons for different emotions and behaviours’. Provision in school was discussed in relation to ‘newly arrived pupils’, ‘social, emotional and behavioural support in school’ and ‘links with parents’. Somali refugee pupils were also highlighted as a group who had particular SEBN.An action planning group undertook further development work in response to the issues highlighted during the data collection phase. The group devised an action plan to focus on areas of the school’s provision to improve upon. The TEP supported the action planning group to focus on further developing the induction procedure in school. The implications of this research are discussed at the individual child level, the whole school level and for the role of the EP. The TEP also reflects on the role of the EP in identifying the SEB needs of refugee children and in supporting a school to carry out action research.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a chronic health condition that is increasingly affecting both children and adolescents (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). Although many studies have investigated the impact of HIV on cognitive, physical, academic, and psychosocial functioning, little is known about the self-perception of health-related quality of life, subjective well-being, social-emotional well-being, and psychopathology risks of youth who are infected with HIV. This study is one of first to examine the presence of these positive and negative health indicators and the relationship among these factors in youth with HIV and a community-based sample. A total of 84 youth (n=42 in each group) between 13-18 years old participated in this study. All participants completed a packet of self-report measures, which included the Pediatric Quality of Life Scale (PedsQL™ 4.0; Varni, Burwinkle, Seid, & Skarr, 2003), Student Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS; Huebner, 1991), Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale-Children (PANAS-C; Laurent et al., 1999), Social Emotional Assets and Resiliency Scale-Adolescent Form (SEARS-A; Merrell, 2011), and Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BASC-2 BESS; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007). The data were analyzed for significant correlations, group differences, and social-emotional predictors of physical functioning and subjective well-being. Specifically for youth with HIV, several health-related quality of life indicators were found to be positively correlated with life satisfaction and social-emotional strengths indicators, but negatively correlated with negative affect and psychopathology symptoms. Stronger, but non-significant correlation coefficients were noted for participants in the HIV group than youth in the community-based sample. In particular, stronger associations between the positive mental health indicators (i.e., subjective well-being and social emotional strengths) were observed for youth with HIV than youth in the community-based sample. Youth with HIV also reported a greater association between their subjective well-being and psychopathology when compared to youth in the community-based sample. Additionally, there was a significant main effect of family structure on participants’ perceptions of their social functioning and psychopathology symptoms. When the differences in family structure were controlled for, the overall mean ratings of participants’ health-related quality of life, subjective well-being, social-emotional well-being, and psychopathology risks did not significantly differ between groups. Furthermore, family structure and self-rated empathy skills significantly predicted physical functioning of youth with HIV, but no significant or meaningful variables were found to predict their subjective-well being. Finally, no significant variables were found to predict the physical functioning or subjective well-being of youth in the community-based sample. The limitations of the current study, implications of findings, and directions for future research are discussed.

Thesis advisor: Mary E. Walsh / Poverty has many deleterious effects on child development, including negative impacts on social-emotional health, a developmental domain schools refer to as non-cognitive skills (Dearing, 2008). Unfortunately, children growing up poor often have underdeveloped non-cognitive skills, which significantly predict academic success and well-being (Farrington et al., 2012). Integrated Student Support (ISS) is one emerging approach that holistically supports cognitive and non-cognitive student development (Moore & Emig, 2014). While ISS has been found to improve academic outcomes, limited research examines its impact on social-emotional outcomes. This study focused on one ISS intervention, City Connects, which provides tailored student support plans to every child in a school via school and community-based services (Walsh et al., 2014). The study had three aims. The first was to examine the percentage of City Connects students with and without a social-emotional-behavioral (SEB) Need across levels of risk and service characteristics (i.e., domains, intensity levels, types) in second grade (N=896). The second was to examine improvement in three teacher-rated non-cognitive student outcomes (Prosocial Behavior, Self-Regulated Learning, Academic Effort) from second-fifth grade for City Connects students with and without a SEB Need (N=896). The third was to compare improvement in the same three non-cognitive student outcomes from second-fifth grade for students with a SEB Need in City Connects schools and comparable schools without the intervention (N=1,778). Multilevel modeling assessed aims 2 and 3. Significantly more students with a SEB Need were deemed higher risk and received more health, early intervention, and SEB/counseling services compared to students without a SEB Need in City Connects schools. Further, significant improvements from second-fifth grade were found in Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Effort for City Connects students with a SEB Need compared to those without a SEB Need. Significant improvements were also found over time in Academic Effort for students with a SEB Need in City Connects schools compared to those in comparison schools. Findings support that ISS improves non-cognitive functioning for students attending high-poverty schools. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

abstract: Social-emotional competence (SEC), or effectiveness of social interaction, plays a central role in children’s health and well-being. The three goals of the current study were to describe the development of SEC during a preschool year; identify an appropriate factor structure for observed teacher-child interactions; and predict SEC growth from children’s characteristics (emotional competence, language risk, gender, and race/ethnicity), teacher-child relationship quality, and classroom characteristics (relational climate, observed teacher-child interaction quality, and curriculum). Children’s social competence, anger/aggression, effortful control, and emotion knowledge (N =822) was assessed at three time points during a preschool year via teachers’ reports and behavioral assessments. In the fall, teachers reported the quality of their relationships with children and teacher-child interactions were observed in classrooms. Aim 1 results indicated that children exhibited linear increases in effortful control and social competence and stability in anger/aggression, although social competence was the only construct where linear change varied among children. Due to a lack of longitudinal measurement invariance, growth in latent emotion knowledge could not be evaluated. Several gender and racial/ethnic differences were identified in SEC intercepts, but not the social competence slope. Language risk and impulsivity were consistent predictors of SEC intercepts. Aim 2 results indicated that teacher-child interaction quality was primarily unidimensional. Finally, results from aim 3 indicated that children’s emotional competence at the beginning of the year and classroom relational climate were predictive of growth in social competence. End-of-year social competence levels were associated with supportive teacher-child relationship quality (particularly among girls), high emotional competence, low language risk, and supportive classroom relational climate; girls had higher social competence than boys. Although not directly associated with social competence, observed teacher-child interaction quality was conditionally predictive of the social competence in the context of supportive teacher-child relationships. Further, when observed teacher-child interaction quality was average or high, children with low emotional competence exhibited greater growth in social competence than children with high emotional competence. The results inform our understanding of SEC development, the nature of teacher-child interactions in preschool classrooms serving high-risk populations, and potential school-based mechanisms for promoting social competence. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Psychology 2020

School-wide screening can be used to effectively identify students within schools struggling with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD), so that school teams can implement instructional strategies and interventions to provide early and timely supports for all students. While research has explored many aspects of screening within schools, the extant research lacks studies reviewing screening data interpretation process. This research study was designed to investigate how school teams could use a discussion guide to facilitate using their screening data. This involved having school leadership teams answer a series of guiding questions about data from the Student Risk Screening Scale -- Internalizing and Externalizing (SRSS-IE). The SRSS-IE Discussion Guide was presented to teams to use as they reviewed their data and then explored the usefulness of the discussion guide in practical settings. This qualitative study sought to understand feedback from seven teams who used the Discussion Guide during their data interpretation meetings, inviting participants to share what they found helpful and what was not helpful as well as what they might add to the Discussion Guide. Content analysis was used to understand qualitative data gained through focus groups. The results yield a variety of praise for the Discussion Guide, valuing its ability to guide teams through the data analysis process and focusing team discussions. Data from the focus group participants included changing the Discussion Guide to include ideas for strategies and supports that matched student needs, encouraging several meetings to review data and use the discussion guide, and adding charts for further student information organization and exploration in regard to higher risk students.

This quantitative, nonexperimental study addressed the gap between research-established benefits and outcomes of social-emotional learning implementation as compared to actual instances of implementation. It has been suggested that social-emotional learning as a systemic initiative is necessary for school health (Elias et al., 2013). Additionally, most educators relay some confidence in the importance of social-emotional learning; however, around half report actual implementation within their school (Atwell & Bridgeland, 2019). Focusing on social-emotional learning as a whole as well as the specificity of use of CASEL SELect programs, the research questions of this study explored differences between implementation and usage, length of implementation, poverty classification, student growth composite (as measure by TVAAS composite), and attendance in elementary schools in Tennessee. There were two significant findings in this study. First, Tennessee elementary schools using a social-emotional learning program that is not CASEL SELect were found to have significantly higher attendance than schools using a CASEL SELect program. Additionally, Tennessee elementary schools classified as Title I were found to be more likely to use a CASEL SELect program than a program that is not CASEL SELect.

The problem this study addresses is the extent to which social-emotional learning programming is effectively implemented. Since social-emotional learning programming has emerged as a significant aspect of U.S. education, man states have included social-emotional standards and programming as an essential part of the curriculum. Researchers have found that effective reform includes not only emphasis on academic and standardized test scores, but also on social-emotional influences. As a school reform initiative, a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program is being implemented at a Midwestern high school. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive interview study was to explore the perceived effectiveness of the implementation. The conceptual framework was drawn from Fullan's 6 assertions that serve as a guide to monitor school success when implementing education reforms. The study's guiding questions concerned teachers' perceived supports and challenges in the process of implementation, as well as any perceived role changes they experienced during the process. Eight high school teachers who had taught the SEL classes were interviewed. Data were transcribed, coded for themes using Hatch's typology, and thematically analyzed. The key findings included that participants were supported by the counselors and their peers. However, they encountered implementation challenges including the class schedule, lack of student buy-in, and the need for ongoing supports to facilitate social emotional learning. This study contributes to social change by informing school leaders of best practices necessary to ensure the implementation and sustainability of SEL practices. Social-emotional learning initiatives that implemented with fidelity can improve both the academic and personal success of students.