Editorial

1. Eccomi Pronto: Implementation of a Socio-Emotional Development Curriculum in a South Korean Elementary School
   Donghyun Kim, Jung H. Hyun, Jihee Lee, Jessica Bertolani, Luigina Mortari and John Carey
   pp. 2 - 14
   ‘Eccomi Pronto’ (EP), an elementary school socio-emotional learning curriculum that was originally developed and evaluated in Italy was translated in Korean and implemented and evaluated in 4th grade classrooms of a primary school in South Korea. Qualitative data from teachers indicated that EP improved the self-reflection and self-direction of students, resulted in pedagogically useful insights into the psychological functioning of students, and enhanced the quality of teacher-student interaction. However, statistically significant changes in students’ engaged, academic behavior (as measured by an 8-item survey) were not noted. Teachers reported that the core of the EP curriculum was appropriate for the South Korean educational context. Teachers also recommended modifications in the follow-up learning activities to make these activities more consistent with South Korean education practices.
   
   
2. Developmental and gender trends in emotional literacy and interpersonal competence among Japanese children.
   Elina Saeki, Yayoi Watanabe and Mayumi Kido
   pp. 15 - 35
   This study explored cross-sectional gender and grade level trends in emotional literacy and interpersonal competence among 913 elementary and middle school students in Japan. Students were presented with two hypothetical scenarios involving mixed emotions and potential interpersonal dilemmas. Results indicated that older children possess greater emotional literacy when compared to younger children. Additionally, girls identified a greater number of emotions, were better able to identify mixed emotions, and were more likely to identify empathic interpersonal behaviours. These gender and grade level considerations may be incorporated into social-emotional learning curricula to enhance the utility and effectiveness of programs for diverse populations.
   
   
3. Offering Behavioral Assistance to Latino Students Demonstrating Challenging Behaviors
   Gerardo Moreno and Lyndal M. Bullock
   pp. 36 - 48
   Challenging behaviors can significantly alter the learning environment of any classroom. Traditionally, schools have implemented practices that remove the offending student from the classroom, deliver punitive disciplinary actions, or refer the student to special education evaluation. Unfortunately, such practices have demonstrated little longitudinal effectiveness, with detrimental outcomes for the referred student, particularly students from Latino backgrounds. With enrollment projections indicating Latinos will become the majority in U.S. schools, educators are presented with the opportunity to shift away from past practices and implement evidence-based practices that concurrently assist students while addressing challenging behaviors. In this paper, the authors discuss past disciplinary practices, the adverse effects on Latino students, and offer recommendations on implementing functional behavioral assessment as a means to better meet the needs of Latino students demonstrating challenging behaviors.
   
   
4. Not-so Random Acts of Kindness: A Guide to Intentional Kindness in the Classroom
   John-Tyler Binfet
   pp. 49 - 62
   Much has been written about random acts of kindness – acts performed spontaneously and often to strangers.  The topic of kindness and the benefits arising from performing kind acts holds both empirical and applied interest in the fields of education and psychology.  Encouraging students to reflect upon and perform intentional acts of kindness develops perspective-taking, increased social membership, and a structured way of encouraging kindness within the school context. This paper provides an overview of kindness research and argues for the need to promote intentional acts of kindness by providing a framework for teachers to support students in the performance of intentional kindness.
   
   
5. Short Research Report: A Comparison of Emotional Intelligence Levels between Students in Experiential and Didactic College Programs
   Wayne L. Davis and Paul J. Leslie
   pp. 63 - 65
   
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