Background: Risk factors for poor school functioning rarely occur in isolation, but instead are likely to cluster together. As they accumulate, cumulative risk theory (CRT) predicts that the likelihood of negative outcomes increases, often disproportionately. Aims: We build upon and extend previous research by (i) examining two critical aspects of…

Background: Refugee children might have experienced violent and traumatic events before settling into a new country. In the United Kingdom, the number of refugee children is increasing; however, little is known about their psycho-social and physical well-being. Aim: This study aims to investigate the psychological well-being and behaviour of…

Background: According to self-determination theory, teachers can support their students' engagement in learning by providing autonomy support and structure. Within classes, however, there appears to be great diversity in the extent to which students experience autonomy and structure. Aims: This study aimed to investigate the degree to which…

Background: A successful transition from primary to secondary school for typically developing (TD) children is associated with academic and psychosocial outcomes. Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) tend to have pervasive needs in both of these domains, yet little is known about their experience of this transition. We have no…

Background: Further developing students' thinking about knowledge and knowing in science (epistemic beliefs) is considered a normative goal of science education in many countries around the world, even for elementary-school-aged children. Aims: The goal of the present study was to introduce and evaluate a new intervention in science education…

Background: A growing body of research shows that the beliefs we hold about the nature of knowing and knowledge (epistemic beliefs) may mediate moral reasoning. However, a limitation of much of the research in the area of epistemic beliefs is the lack of a longitudinal approach. Aims: The study investigated longitudinal changes in Australian…

Background: Causes produce effects via underlying mechanisms that must be inferred from observable and unobservable structures. Preschoolers show sensitivity to mechanisms in machine-like systems with perceptually distinct causes and effects, but little is known about how children extend causal reasoning to the natural continuous processes studied…

Background: Children's comprehension of single texts relies on both foundational and higher-level skills. These are also assumed to support multiple-document comprehension, but their relative importance has not been examined, to date. Multiple-document comprehension additionally requires the identification and use of information about each…

Background: Although emotion is central to most models of children's well-being, few studies have looked at how well-being is related to the ways in which children regulate their emotions. Aims: The aim of this study was to examine the associations among children's emotion regulation strategy choice and their emotional expression, behaviour, and…

Background: Friendships have been linked to mental health and school attainment in children. The effects of friendlessness and friendship quality have been well researched, but less is known about the role of friendship stability (i.e., maintaining the same friend over time), an aspect of friendship which is often interrupted by the transition…

Background: Traditionally writing instruction at the start of school has focused on developing students' ability to spell and handwrite. Teaching children explicit self-regulatory strategies for developing content and structure for their text has proved effective for students in later grades of primary (elementary) education. Aims: The present…

Background: Social and emotional learning (SEL) positively impacts children's school achievement and adult productivity. Successful implementation of SEL relies on teachers' pedagogical beliefs and practices. Aims: We examined whether the "Teachers' SEL Belief Scale" designed in the United States is adoptable in low-income countries such…

Background: Perspective taking, defined as the aptitude to understand the cognitive, affective, and visual point of view of others, represents a fundamental social ability for the development of socio-cognitive and affective skills. Aims: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the possibility of promoting perspective taking in typically…

Background: Positive school attitudes defined as students' school liking and school attachment are positively related to many desirable outcomes. Student-teacher relations have often been considered to be an important determinant of school attitudes. Aims: Students' perceived teacher acceptance was used as an indicator for student-teacher…

Background and aims: Children with special educational needs (SEN) are generally less accepted by peers in school and have fewer friendships than those without SEN. However, little research has examined peer relations across multiple dimensions, relative to severity of need and in relation to classroom experiences and individual behavioural…