Using a person-centered approach, we aimed to identify different executive functioning profiles to assess heterogeneity across individuals within the same school grade through latent profile analysis. A sample of 150 Grade 2 (7-8 years old), 150 Grade 6 (11-12 years old), and 150 Grade 10 (15-16 years old) children and adolescents were assessed on 11 different executive tasks representative of the three main executive functioning subcomponents (i.e., inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory), fluid intelligence, processing speed, problem-solving, and reading comprehension. Three different executive functioning profiles of different patterns of interactions based on inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory within and between grades were identified. Moreover, these profiles were differentially related to reading comprehension and mathematical achievement. Second, as expected, we did not find these profiles to be associated with sociodemographic variables such as chronological age or sex. Still, fluid intelligence and processing speed were differentially related to the different profiles at each grade. We also found that the executive functioning profiles interacted with each cognitive skill (i.e., fluid intelligence and processing speed) in predicting reading comprehension and math achievement. These findings provide valuable insights for developing preventive and intervention strategies in education.

Social emotional learning (SEL) has a robust evidence basis, but there remains a large gap in literature on the effectiveness of programs across educational settings in low- and middle-income countries and conflict-affected settings. The present study was a pilot trial aimed at evaluating the effects of a classroom based SEL program on dimensions of classroom climate and individual student social emotional skills. In the present study, fourth through sixth grade classrooms in 10 schools (N = 39 teachers, 75.68% female; N = 1048 students, 62.3% female) were randomly allocated to the SEL or wait-list control condition. The SEL program was associated with significant improvements in teacher reports of student achievement orientation (d = 1.21) and responsible decision-making (d = 0.49). There were no significant differences between conditions on peer sensitivity, teacher-pupil interactions, student interpersonal skills, or overall social emotional skills. Findings suggest that this community-developed, contextually relevant SEL curriculum may hold promise even in the context of ongoing adversity, including the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened insecurity due to political violence.

Many studies have indicated an alarming prevalence of anxiety among Chinese adolescents, highlighting the critical need for prevention protocols. DNA-V (Discoverer, Noticer, Advisor-Values model) is an adapted version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy designed to prevent mental health problems in adolescents. This study investigated the effects and underlying mechanisms of DNA-V. The DNA-V prevention program was culturally adapted and optimized in both content and form specifically for Chinese adolescents, with the aim of reducing anxiety levels. A total of 139 participants (59 females) from six eighth-grade classes at an average middle school in Beijing were randomly assigned to one of three groups consisting of the DNA-V face-to-face group (two classes), the DNA-V web-based group (two classes), or the active control group (two classes). Adolescents' anxiety and cognitive fusion were measured before (Time 1), immediately after (Time 2), and 2 months after (Time 3) the program using the Chinese Secondary School Students Anxiety Scale (CSSSAS) and Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ). Results showed that in the DNA-V face-to-face group, the anxiety score at Time 3 was significantly lower than the scores at Time 1 (p < .001, Cohen's d = 0.56) and Time 2 (p = .043, Cohen's d = 0.24). The cognitive fusion score at Time 3 was significantly lower than the scores at Time 1 (p = .001, Cohen's d = 0.51) and Time 2 (p = .003, Cohen's d = 0.37). The results of the study suggest that the DNA-V prevention program could serve as an effective tool for reducing anxiety in adolescents.

Emergent Bilinguals (EBs) comprise nearly a third of children enrolled in early childhood classrooms across the United States. Unfortunately, EB populations are often met with barriers that limit their opportunity to thrive in the school setting. Bilingual school psychologists (BSPs) are uniquely positioned to provide culturally and linguistically responsive academic and behavioral services to these young students. However, to date, there are no empirical studies exploring the graduate preparation received by early childhood BSPs and the services provided to young EBs. The present study involved the development and administration of a national survey examining the role of BSPs in early childhood settings. A convergent mixed-methods approach was used to analyze survey results from 97 participants. The results indicated that most early childhood BSPs felt unprepared by their graduate programs, although most indicated receiving early childhood preparation and almost half indicated receiving bilingual preparation. Four qualitative themes also emerged from the data. Implications for future research and preparation are discussed.

Adolescents with higher levels of the basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy, and relatedness report better school functioning compared to their peers with lower levels of these needs. This study extended previous work by examining associations in within-person changes of these psychological needs in the school context, with a special focus on the secondary school transition period. We examined within-person relations between academic self-efficacy, intrinsic academic motivation, and school relatedness. Dutch adolescents (N = 290; M = 11.58 years, SD = 0.44 at T1) who were in their last year of primary school were followed for four waves across 2 years. Results from random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) showed moderate to strong positive concurrent associations between academic self-efficacy, intrinsic academic motivation, and school relatedness at both the within- and between-person levels. Moreover, within-person increases in school relatedness predicted increases in intrinsic academic motivation 6 months later. Thus, it is vital that researchers, teachers, and educators are aware that social connections and belongingness are important after the school transition for increasing intrinsic academic motivation.

School psychologists have many roles and responsibilities that often lead to high stress levels. Wise (1985) authored the School Psychologists and Stress Inventory (SPSI), but it has not been updated substantially since its publication. We developed two studies to address the stressors faced by currently practicing school psychologists. Study 1 included 229 practicing school psychologists who evaluated the relevancy of the SPSI items and who listed five highly stressful events experienced considering the current context of practice. Based on these results, 13 SPSI items were removed, 21 SPSI items were revised, and 12 new items were added. The resulting measure, the School Psychologist Distress Inventory (SPDI), consists of 33 items and an additional item addressing overall stress. Study 2 examined validity evidence associated with the SPDI score structure. Using data from a sample of 350 practicing school psychologists, a sequence of exploratory factor analytic methods indicated the presence of a general factor of distress as well as four more specific factors, including Heavy Workload, Student Needs, Lack of Professional Support, and Parental and Legal Conflicts. Convergent relations and discriminant relations were evident between (a) SPDI total and subscales and (b) measures reflecting general stress level, role stressors, role overload, and job satisfaction. Examination of SPDI scores revealed they were not significantly related to age in years, educational levels, or school-psychologist-to-student ratio by state; however, lack of professional support was statistically significantly but weakly related to years of experience. Student needs were significantly more stressful across participants in the Western region of the United States than the Midwest region. Results from these two studies suggest the promise of using the SPDI to examine general and specific experiences of school psychologists' distress and they reveal that distress across school psychologists is remarkably high-especially in the area associated with having a heavy workload. Additional research with more racially and ethnically diverse samples of school psychologists would enhance confidence in using the SPDI as a measure of distress. Results suggest an urgent need to address structural influences on stress and personal coping strategies employed by school psychologists.

In response to patterns of educational inequity, many schools implement system-wide behavioral frameworks to reduce exclusionary discipline. School-wide positive behavior supports (SWPBS) is one such framework that seeks to support socially appropriate behavior by enhancing the capacity of schools to implement research-validated practices. However, there remains to be a systematic analysis of the extent to which SWPBS improves educational equity by reducing disparities in exclusionary discipline. The purpose of the systematic review was to evaluate research on the association of SWPBS with exclusionary discipline and racial discipline disproportionality. In total, 42 articles met the full inclusion criteria of a literature search conducted between 2018 and 2020. Study results were mixed regarding whether SWPBS was associated with reductions in exclusionary discipline and only a few studies provided evidence that SWPBS helps reduce exclusionary discipline disproportionality. Limitations of this research signal a need for attention to both data disaggregation and root causes of continued disproportionate discipline practices.

Social Identity Theory proposes that a positive in-group social identification fosters students' academic motivation and psychological well-being. The present study, grounded in Social Identity Theory, investigated the roles of racial/ethnicity identity (REI) in the development of school adjustment among Black and Latinx youth as well as the psychological mechanisms underlying these longitudinal associations. We hypothesized that REI would positively predict the development of academic achievement and emotional symptoms. In addition, we hypothesized that the development of school belonging would mediate the predictive effects of REI on the growth of academic achievement and emotional symptoms. Participants were 475 (n = 182 Black, 48.9% female; 293 Latinx, 47.8% female) students in Grades 7-9. Students self-reported their REI, school belonging, and emotional symptoms. Academic achievement was assessed using standardized achievement test scores. The longitudinal mediation models indicated that REI indirectly predicted the development of academic achievement and emotional symptoms through students' sense of school belonging. Specifically, higher REI embedded achievement and lower REI awareness of racism predicted higher school belonging in Grade 7. Higher Grade 7 school belonging in turn predicted faster academic growth in Grade 7 to Grade 9 as well as lower emotional symptoms in Grade 7. In addition, the three dimensions of REI also directly predicted the growth of academic achievement and emotional symptoms in Grades 7-9. The mediated effects were smaller in size than the direct effects. These findings highlight the importance of fostering positive REI and a strong sense of school belonging in promoting school adjustment among racial/ethnic minoritized, academically at-risk youth.

Violent extremism in the United States has surged over the past 25 years, with attacks on and threats to major governmental and other institutions, infrastructure (e.g., electric grid), and specific segments of the population, including immigrant and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) communities. Violent extremism can take multiple and diverse forms, such as bombings in public spaces or specific sites (e.g., house of worship, governmental office), mass and more targeted types of shootings, bombings, fire setting, and vehicle-based ramming attacks. This article provides an overview of key issues surrounding terrorism and violent extremism, especially as they can impact youth, schools, and families. Characteristics of violent extremism, radicalization processes, subsequent types of harm, and prevention approaches are discussed. Issues impacting students and schools and the work of school psychologists are also considered. The article closes with broader recommendations for moving forward.

As rates of adolescent hospitalization for suicide-related crises increase, so does the urgency for improving adolescent school reintegration. Communication and collaboration are considered key mechanisms for continuity of care during times of transition; however, to date, few studies have identified critical information to share or have explored strategies for navigating challenges to information sharing during and following school reintegration. The present study explored previously hospitalized adolescent (n = 19), parent (n = 19), school professional (n = 19), and hospital professional (n = 19) views of information sharing and their perceptions of facilitators and barriers to this communication. Applied thematic analysis revealed three key themes related to the best information to share across entities, including the (a) need to consider environmental relevance to information (i.e., informing school supports and hospital treatment), (b) importance of considering information unique to each patient's circumstance (i.e., sharing information on a "case-by-case basis"), and (c) duality between families preferring to share minimal information but school professionals desiring the maximum (i.e., less is more vs. more is better). Regarding facilitators and barriers to information sharing, six key themes emerged, including (a) understanding risks and benefits of information sharing; (b) trust in hospitals and schools; (c) mental health stigma; (d) communication processes; (e) navigating individual, family, school, and community contexts; and (f) "push and pull" between privacy and need. Findings inform key considerations for collaborating with families in determining if and what information to share during school reintegration.

Violent extremism (VE; i.e., terrorism) is an issue of increasing relevance in school settings. Worldwide, terrorist actors have increasingly targeted youth in schools both for victimization via attacks as well for radicalization and recruitment to their ranks. Although violent extremism as an ideologically motivated act can be distinguished from mass shootings in school settings in that most school-based mass shootings are not ideologically motivated, there is obvious overlap. The threat of violent extremism, however, also represents a distinct issue that warrants increased attention from school professionals. We present an overview of several related issues before exploring strategies to mitigate the threat of targeted violence in school settings, including opportunities for school personnel to assist in identifying, assessing, and managing threats of violent extremism. In the final section, we focus specifically on ways that school psychologists can increase awareness and help bring about individual and systemic changes to prevent violent extremism in schools.

Single-case experimental designs (SCEDs) have been used with increasing frequency to identify evidence-based interventions in education. The purpose of this study was to explore how several procedural characteristics, including within-phase variability (i.e., measurement error), number of baseline observations, and number of intervention observations influenced the magnitude of four SCED effect sizes, including (a) non-overlap of all pairs (NAP), (b) baseline corrected tau (BC-Tau), (c) mean-phase difference (MPD), and (d) generalized least squares (GLS) when applied to hypothetical academic intervention SCED data. Higher levels of measurement error decreased the average magnitude of effect sizes, particularly NAP and BC-Tau. However, the number of intervention observations had minimal impact on the average magnitude of NAP and BC-Tau. Increasing the number of intervention observations dramatically increased the magnitude of GLS and MPD. Increasing the number of baseline observations also tended to increase the average magnitude of MPD. The ratio of baseline to intervention observations had a statistically but not practically significant influence on the average magnitude of NAP, BC-Tau, and GLS. Careful consideration is required when determining the length of time academic SCEDs are conducted and what effect sizes are used to summarize treatment outcomes. This article also highlights the value of using meaningful simulation conditions to understand the performance of SCED effect sizes.

Racial stereotypes are salient to Black adolescents and to the academic domain of mathematics; however, few studies have examined the socio-cognitive mechanisms through which racial stereotypes impact math achievement. This 2-year longitudinal study (N = 790 Grade 6, 8, and 10 students during Year 1; 50.7% girls and 49.3% boys) investigated (a) the extent to which the endorsement of positively and negatively biased racial stereotypes predicted Black adolescents' math performance through their cognitive engagement and ability mindset and (b) whether gender and ethnic-racial identity moderated these links. Results suggested that endorsement of negatively biased stereotypes was associated with diminished cognitive engagement and lower math scores across 2 years (p < .05). Additionally, adolescents' ethnic-racial identity commitment moderated the negative links between stereotype endorsement and math cognitive engagement in Year 2 (p < .05). When considering the mediating role of math ability mindsets, the endorsement of both positively and negatively biased racial stereotypes operated on math performance via its links to stronger fixed ability mindset beliefs in both years (p < .05). Gender also moderated the effects of racial stereotype endorsement on math mindset beliefs in Year 1 (p < .01). This study's findings advance the field's understanding of the psychosocial mechanisms through which racial stereotypes operate, thus enabling educators to develop tailored practices that facilitate equitable access to math learning opportunities.

Most perpetrators of terrorist violence have had some level of post-secondary school education, with many enrolled in education at the time of their attacks. Exploring this premise in the context of prevention, this article draws from data gathered on a purposive sample (N = 206) of radicalized individuals from Europe and North America, half of whom became involved in terrorist violence at the end of their radicalization trajectories. Through a lens of educational participation, we propose novel, non-linear frameworks for understanding radicalization outcomes. To do so, two factors are explored that uniquely intersect when an individual enters a school setting: Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) and the human capital provided by education. As hypothesized, exposure to ACE was found to be associated with radicalization trajectories culminating in terrorist violence at the bivariate level (OR = 2.08). Consistent with the developmental-assets framework, it was further hypothesized that this relationship would be mediated by enrollment in education; however, results did not support this hypothesis. Instead, consistent with resiliency-based models, it was found that the relationship between ACE and involvement in terrorist violence was significant for those who abandoned education during radicalization (OR = 2.07). As well as contributing to theoretical models of radicalization to terrorist violence, identifying the furtherance of education as a moderator of risk may signal an important preventative strategy for violent extremism. Keeping enrolled students engaged in their programs, even if only nominally, may also forego the need for educators to engage in potentially controversial practices such as alerting the authorities to students who display signs of radicalization.

Text reading fluency (TRF) is a common reading intervention target in second and third grade. TRF requires the integration of several skills that result in several pathways to dysfluent reading. However, when applying the drill-down approach to intervention targeting, practitioners are guided to consider students' rate and accuracy when reading connected text after ruling out decoding difficulties. A question remains whether students' reading rate and accuracy alone is sensitive to differences in the underlying skills that promote TRF. We used latent profile analysis to investigate whether different profiles of component reading skills could be identified among second- (n = 127) and third-grade (n = 170) students who were referred for an intervention targeting TRF. Most students were identified as white (56%) and students were predominately English speakers (87%). At the beginning of the intervention, we measured participants' skills in listening comprehension, reading comprehension, reading vocabulary, word reading efficiency, and decoding efficiency. Four profiles emerged in both grades with similar patterns in terms of the component skills influencing TRF. Students in two of the profiles demonstrated relative strengths in word reading or reading comprehension with their other skills near the sample average. A third profile approximated the sample average across all component skills whereas the fourth profile was below the sample average in all measured skills. However, some of the empirically derived profiles did not differ in terms of students' average reading rate. For example, the average words read correct per minute did not significantly differ between students with relative strengths in comprehension and students with relative strengths with word reading. Our results suggest that differences in students' text reading rate and accuracy may not always capture potentially relevant differences in the skills that influence TRF.

Social-emotional skills are a growing area of focus for early childhood educators due to their contributions to young children's school readiness and long-term positive outcomes. Current research also highlights the need to confront biases leading to the overestimation of challenging behaviors in racially and ethnically minoritized children. When enacted into policy and practices, biases and overestimation of challenging behaviors result in disproportional, exclusionary disciplinary practices towards children from racially minoritized and economically marginalized backgrounds in early childhood educational settings. Thus, it is necessary to select and implement social-emotional learning interventions that have been designed for or culturally adapted to meet specific needs of children from these backgrounds. In the present study, we uncovered the characteristics of social-emotional learning (SEL) interventions that have been designed or culturally adapted for racially and ethnically minoritized preschool-aged children (ages 3-5 years). Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines with no restrictions on study dates, we conducted a systematic review of the literature. Our results indicate the implementation of culturally adapted SEL programs among preschool-age children from racially and ethnically minoritized backgrounds is in the preliminary stages with only six studies meeting inclusionary criteria. Overall, children demonstrated improved outcomes after participation in SEL programs. There were significant variations in the SEL curricula used. Frequent types of adaptions included reviewing the program from the original intervention, ensuring that the intervention is delivered in children's home language, and selecting or training qualified implementers.

Early career teachers experience exceptionally high rates of attrition from the profession, often due in part to elevated concerns about student behavior and poor occupational health. This study reports findings from a randomized controlled trial testing the combined effect of the PAX Good Behavior Game and MyTeachingPartner™ for 188 early career, early elementary teachers (Grades K-3). Of primary focus were observations of the quality of teachers' interactions with students and their self-reported occupational health over 2 consecutive school years. Results indicated that relative to comparison teachers, those in the intervention condition reported lower distress at follow-up (d = -0.23) and less decline in teacher affiliation across the 2-year period (d = 0.50). In addition, the intervention teachers who were highly distressed at baseline and who experienced high levels of disruptive behavior had higher quality interactions with students around emotional support (d = 0.27), classroom organization (d = 0.32), and instructional support (d = 0.69) at the end of 2 years than comparison teachers. This subgroup of intervention teachers also experienced more favorable changes over time in distress (d = -2.47) and teacher affiliation (d = 3.00) over the course of the study. Professional development focused on classroom management with coaching support may be particularly impactful for early career teachers experiencing higher levels of distress and in classrooms with higher rates of behavior problems.

After a long journey in relative obscurity, qualitative research is being accepted in the field of school psychology. As more school psychology researchers and graduate students adopt it as part of their scholarly endeavors, we reflect on the qualitative research published in school psychology since 2006 in terms of what has been done so far and what can be improved going forward. This act of academic retrospection can strengthen qualitative research in school psychology by helping to identify areas of strength and weakness. We read all qualitative studies published in seven school psychology journals between 2006 and 2021 to understand their methodological character. In Section I, we discuss the methodological trends (e.g., approach to inquiry, data collection methods, data analysis strategies) we found. In Section II, we reflect upon this corpus and identify some common misconceptions about qualitative methodologies that stood out to us. We clarify these misconceptions and highlight some examples of 'good' practices in these articles that could be adopted by other researchers. Finally in Section III, we provide some general recommendations about developing school psychologists' understanding of and the ability to conduct qualitative research.

Using a large sample of students (N = 1373; 40% girls; M = 14 years) from 54 classrooms in South Korea, this study identified subtypes of bullies based on specific combinations of self-reports and peer-reports and examined the intrapersonal and interpersonal factors that explain the differences in characteristics between these identified groups. Latent profile analysis identified four subgroups of bullies: (a) non-bullies (59.5%), (b) peer-identified bullies (21%), (c) self-identified bullies (9.8%), and (d) self/peer-identified bullies (9.7%). Multinomial logistic hierarchical analysis revealed significant differences between the bully subgroups on the four intrapersonal factors (i.e., anti-bullying attitudes, perception of teachers' reaction to bullying, delinquent behavior, and depression; odds ratios [OR] ranged from 0.24 to 3.13) and three of the four interpersonal factors (i.e., overestimated popularity, rejection, and victimization; ORs ranged from 0.39 to 2.26). More specifically, compared to the peer-identified bully group, the non-bully and self/peer-identified bully groups showed opposite patterns of anti-bullying attitudes, delinquent behavior, and peer status (ORs ranged from 0.46 to 3.13). Relative to the peer-identified bully group, the self-identified bully group was more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms and perceive themselves as being victimized, was less likely to endorse anti-bullying attitudes, and had a less positive perception of teacher's reaction to bullying (ORs ranged from 0.24 to 1.40). Gender differences emerged as well. Implications for optimizing the screening of bullying perpetrators and anti-bullying interventions are discussed.

The level of psychological stress in children and adolescents has increased rapidly over the past decade. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based intervention programs targeting stress management and coping/resilience in school-aged children. The present study used more rigorous selection criteria than previous meta-analyses by only including randomized controlled trials to increase the validity of the meta-analysis. Fifty-five studies were selected for the analysis, including 66 comparisons in the case of stress and 47 comparisons in the case of coping/resilience outcomes. A meta-regression with robust variance estimation was used. Effects were calculated as the standardized mean difference (Hedges' g) between the intervention and control conditions at posttest. The results highlighted important methodological issues and the influence of outliers. Without outliers, the results indicated a small significant overall effect on stress (g = -0.15, p < .01) and coping/resilience (g = 0.14, p = .01). When outliers were included, the effect sizes markedly increased in both cases (g = -0.26, p = .022; g = 0.30, p = .009). Stress management interventions were more effective if they were delivered by mental health professionals or researchers than by teachers. Coping/resilience interventions were more effective in older age groups, in selective samples, and if they included cognitive behavioral therapy. An explanation of the results and a detailed discussion of the limitations of the study and its implications for practice are considered.

Schools have increasingly adopted multitier systems of support to address a variety of educational aims. Despite their grounding in behavioral science and the public health model of prevention, in many settings there has been a shift from a foundational focus on behavioral principles to emphasize categorization and treatment of "top of the triangle" or "Tier 3" students. Herein, we first discuss how such emphasis on situating individuals, rather than behaviors, within the continuum of supports is counter to the principles and goals of MTSS, as well as undermining efforts to support prevention and social justice. Next, we apply a critical lens to review the related literature on problem-solving, labeling, marginalization of disabled students, and discipline disparities to provide a rationale for equity-centered MTSS with corresponding recommendations for practice.