The Impact of a Social Emotional Learning Curriculum on the Social-Emotional Competence of Elementary-Age Students

This study investigated the impact of a social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum on the social-emotional competence skills of second grade students in the general education classroom. Twelve classrooms across three schools in a school district in the Southeastern United States participated; one school was considered low poverty and two schools were considered high poverty. Results indicated medium to large effect sizes in all dependent measures in the low poverty treatment condition (.83 to 10.69). All but one teacher rating were also medium to large (.53 to 1.49). The student ratings were inconsistent across conditions, with medium and large positive and negative effects in both treatment and control conditions. Results revealed greater gains in the intervention classrooms for both teacher and self-rated social-emotional competence when compared with the scores from the control classrooms. ANOVA results did not reveal any significant interactions, indicating the impact of the SEL lessons was inconsistent across conditions, poverty status, and individual teachers within groups. Fidelity of implementation was high, and results of the social validity surveys found that both teachers and students rated the lessons favorably

Predicting NCLEX-RN Success Utilizing Standardized Testing

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if Assessment Technologies Institute\u27s (ATI) comprehensive predictor accurately predicts student results on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for graduates of an Associate Degree nurse program at a community college in the Northwestern part of North Carolina. The study was also used to determine the feasibility of the School of Nursing (SON) continuing to purchase the ATI standardized testing products for student use. This study evaluated the comprehensive predictor scores and first time pass/fail rates for graduates (N=285) from 2007 to 2011. All data was analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 software, as well as a predictive accuracy spreadsheet provided by ATI to determine the overall predictive reliability. The mean on the predictor is significantly different for those who passed versus those who failed, which indicated that ATI\u27s comprehensive predictor is predictive of success or failure on the NCLEX-RN for graduates of the Associate Degree Nurse program at the college (p = 0.000 \u3c α = 0.05). Further analysis with ATI\u27s Predictive Accuracy spreadsheet demonstrated an overall predictive reliability of only 78% for the population of students served by the SON at the college, which is less than the 87.5% predictive reliability reported by ATI. While 78% accuracy is high, it may not justify the cost of purchasing ATI\u27s standardized tests for this student population

(Re)defining Our Stories: A Narrative Study of Black Women’s Experiences of Mental Health and Spiritual Healing

The unique healing and coping perspectives of Black women that have been silenced and traditionally left out of education and mental health offer diverse, unique, and critical understanding of healing and mental health that has not been considered in the past. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of Black women’s mental health and methods of spiritual healing from intersecting oppressions. The research questions that guided this study were centered on identifying how Black women understand and narrate their experiences of mental health, the role of misrepresentations on Black women’s mental health, and the methods of spiritual healing and coping. In this Black/endarkened feminist narrative study, four Black women were interviewed using unstructured interviews to understand how the participants narrated, processed, and coped with experiences of intersecting oppressions. Daughtering was used as the methodological tool to engage in the process of analyzing and interpreting the data. The findings revealed that Black women experienced a lack of self-care and increased stress due to a perceived obligation to take on multiple role responsibilities. The participants were empowered to take control of harmful deficit-fueled narratives of Black women to (re)define their identities and mental health experiences. Lastly, the study showed the use of spirituality and the (re)narration of experiences as a diverse method of healing and coping that was individualized to each participant. Keywords: Black women’s mental health, healing, spirituality, daughtering, Black feminist theory, endarkened feminism, narrative inquiry, controlling image

Learning From Coalitions' Efforts to Promote Equity and Justice.

Coalitions and collaboratives are working to address many of the most pressing contemporary health and social issues. The articles in this special issue provide numerous insights into these complex collaborative processes across different contexts and focal issues. All emphasize and scrutinize the strategies that groups are using in their work. These strategies seek to navigate not only conventional notions of effectiveness but also the challenges of pursuing greater equity and justice. In this concluding article, we distill some of the key insights from these articles as a collective. This special issue on collaborating for equity and justice can serve as a launching point for new efforts by coalitions and researchers pursuing policy, systems, and structural changes, particularly those intent on addressing root causes of health and social disparities

White certificates and white certificate trading schemes as greenhouse gas mitigation policy options for South Africa

A white certificate, which is also referred to as an Energy Saving Certificate (ESC), or an Energy Efficiency Credit (EEC), is an instrument awarded by an authorisation body to guarantee that a specific amount of energy savings has been achieved. Each certificate is a unique and traceable commodity carrying a property right over a certain amount of additional energy savings and certifying that the benefit of these savings has not been accounted for elsewhere (EuroWhiteCert Project, 2006)

Emissions trading as a policy option for greenhouse gas mitigation in South Africa

An emissions trading scheme (ETS) is based on the allocation of allowances to emit pollutants, which in the case of climate change are greenhouse gases. Allowances are allocated to a defined set of emitters, who are required to hold sufficient allowances to cover their emissions at the end of a compliance period, or face penalties. Scarcity is created in the scheme through the allocation of fewer allowances than emissions, resulting in emitters having to choose between reducing their emissions in line with their allowance allocations, or purchasing additional allowances to cover their excess emissions levels

Influence of Alternative Break Program Participation on College Students\u27 Development of

Although an ample amount of research on college students\u27 moral reasoning exists, little has been written about the degree to which participation in community service and alternative break programs results in growth of moral reasoning. This study investigated the extent to which participation in alternative break programs resulted in the development of college students\u27 moral reasoning. Results of pre- and post-Defining Issues Tests showed statistically significant differences between males and females and between White and non-White students. Implications regarding the influence of gender and ethnicity on alternative break programs outcomes and further research are discussed