This article examined cognitive and behavioral changes among participants in Responsible Adult Culture (RAC), a cognitive-behavioral (especially, cognitive restructuring) treatment program in use at the Franklin County Community-Based Correctional Facility (CBCF). Participants were adult felony offenders (approximately three-fourths male). A…

This study examined the effectiveness of a multicomponent psychoeducational prevention program ("EQUIP for Educators") Two aspects were examined: (1) if there was a significant relationship among the three psychometric measures: Social Skills Rating System (SSRS), Children's Inventory of Anger (ChIA), Sociomoral Reflection and Measure-Short Form…

Peer victimization has received much attention from researchers and educators over the last decade, since it is a problem that affects children and adolescents. As more time-extensive programs do not seem to be used in schools, in this article the "EQUIP" program for "Educators" is proposed as an instrument for the prevention of peer bullying and…

A quasi-experimental pretest/posttest study using a control group was conducted to investigate the effects of EQUIP for Educators--implemented as a universal prevention program--on prevalence of antisocial behavior, attitude towards antisocial behavior, self serving cognitive distortions, and moral judgment of young adolescents. Participants were…

This study combines data from three case studies of teachers moving from their university teacher education programs into their first jobs, with data collected through observations and interviews totaling six observation cycles over the 2 years of data collection. The curricula for working class students that the three teachers taught represent a…

In 2007-08 and 2008-09, 2,500 randomly-selected middle school students completed an annual survey on school climate and character development. In examining differences based upon grade, gender, race/ethnicity, school, and length of program participation, significant differences were found for all but length of program participation. Responses of…

This study examined the effects of the Living Skills school-based intervention program as a method of improving school adjustment and the social lives of at-risk elementary school students. Youth participants were referred to the program by teachers or school counselors based on perceptions of risk due to rejection and isolation, aggressive and…

This study highlights the efforts of a U.S. Department of Education's Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools Partnerships in Character Education Program grant awarded to an Appalachian region state education agency to study the effect of the integration of character education models into rural schools. More specifically, this study focuses on data…

Character educators have a special responsibility to look after children's welfare. At a time when one out of every five children lives below the poverty line, and the United States ranks next to last among the wealthiest nations of the world in looking after the well-being of its children, character educators cannot be silent. Character educators…

This teacher research inquiry is a critical discourse analysis of second grade classroom talk about racial identity and dialect difference within the theoretical framework of moral philosophy. Participants in the study, which took place in an urban public district in a Midwestern United States city, included ten African American students and a…

The Social and Character Development (SACD) research program was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of seven elementary-school-based programs developed to promote social and emotional competence, positive behavior, a positive school climate, and academic achievement, and to decrease negative behavior. Procedures undertaken by the SACD…

This article focuses on issues related to implementing school-based social and character development programs in the context of a large multiprogram evaluation study funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Implementation analysis is a relatively new but important research area. The first…

Interventions that aim to promote social competence, reduce problem behavior, and improve school climate are common at all levels of schooling. This whole-school focus, coupled with researchers' concerns about contamination or spillover effects in evaluations that randomly assign classrooms or students to conditions, as well as advances in…

This commentary focuses on the promises and challenges facing the Social and Character Development (SACD) consortium in evaluating the effectiveness of seven universal SACD programs designed to enhance student behavior and school climate under conditions of real world practice. In this commentary, we highlight that the opportunity costs associated…

In this commentary for the special issue on the social and character development (SACD) research program, the author identifies some of the dilemmas facing practitioners attempting to do evaluation research in SACD in schools and discusses some of the related concerns raised in this issue's papers. His familiarity with the SACD program derives…