Children's Social and Ethical Development click on a title below for a description of the resource

Project Aspire, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Association for Moral Education

Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), University of Illinois at Chicago

Character Education Partnership

Developmental Studies Center, Oakland CA

Educators for Social Responsibility

Facing History and Ourselves

The Office for Studies in Moral Development and Education, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago

Project Aspire, The Risk and Prevention Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Founded in 1999, Project Aspire is a collaborative partnership between the Risk and Prevention Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Judge Baker Children's Center, the Children's Hospital Neighborhood Partnerships and the Boston Public Schools.

Project Aspire is designed to develop schools' capacity to powerfully promote students' social and ethical development. To reach this goal, Project Aspire provides school-based services, training and support to students, teachers and administrators in public elementary schools in Boston. In cooperation with sites, Aspire mobilizes resources to develop a school's capacity to promote the social and ethical development of students.

PROJECT GOALS

• To work directly with students and teachers to promote children's social and moral development and to reduce behavior troubles in the classroom.
  
• To foster a school climate in which children feel part of a safe, respectful, caring community.
  
• To facilitate children's capacity to solve problems, manage conflict, and increase their awareness of differences among people, through an ethically rich curriculum.
  
• To improve students' academic progress, especially in literacy. Academic success is known to be an important foundation for social and ethical development.
  

ASPIRE INITIATIVES

Since Project Aspire was first introduced in two Boston elementary schools, the following interventions have been developed and implemented:

• Classroom community meetings
• Voices of Love and Freedom (VLF) supplemental reading curriculum
• Integration of VLF and Reader's/Writer's Workshop
• Individual and small group work with students
• Professional development
  • One-on-one coaching
  • Workshop series
• School-wide community building activities
• Consultation
  • School disciplinary policies
  • School climate

Participation in Student Support Team and/or Instructional Leadership Team

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Association for Moral Education to go to the web site, click on the title

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Boys & Girls Clubs of America to go to the web site, click on the title

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Collaborative to Advance Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), University of Illinois at Chicago to go to the web site, click on the title

CASEL’s mission is to establish social and emotional learning (SEL) as an integral part of education from preschool through high school. The website features SEL initiatives (i.e., family partnerships, teacher training, physical health, and SEL implementation), programs (i.e., CASEL’s evaluation of existing school-based programs), readings, publications, studies, applied research, books, videos, and links to other websites.

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Character Education Partnership to go to the web site, click on the title

The Character Education Partnership (CEP) is a nonpartisan coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to developing moral character and civic virtue in the nation's youth. The site features a national resource center, the "Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education", community programs, a "National Schools of Character" awards program, newsletters, publications, guidelines, a national forum, an assessment database, a media campaign, and employment opportunities.

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Developmental Studies Center, Oakland CA to go to the web site, click on the title

DSC develops programs and research to foster children’s intellectual, ethical, and social development. The website contains information on after school programs, school based programs, professional development, research and evaluation, selected papers and articles, books and materials, employment opportunities, and links to other sites.

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Educators for Social Responsibility to go to the web site, click on the title

ESR’s mission is to make teaching social responsibility a core practice in education. ESR strives to foster children's ethical, emotional, and social development through its various programs such as its Resolve Conflict Creatively Program. The website features conflict resolution lesson plans, the latest research on conflict resolution, job opportunities, an on-line resources store, and an archive of publications and articles dealing with violence and other social issues.

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Facing History and Ourselves to go to the web site, click on the title

Facing History and Ourselves engages teachers and students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice, and anti-Semitism. The organization offers a model of professional development for educators that encompasses in-depth training, individualized follow-up support, and classroom resources. The website offers a calendar of events, web links, classroom resources, publications, and professional development activities.

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The Office for Studies in Moral Development and Education, College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago to go to the web site, click on the title

ESR’s mission is to make teaching social responsibility a core practice in education. ESR strives to foster children's ethical, emotional, and social development through its various programs such as its Resolve Conflict Creatively Program. The website features conflict resolution lesson plans, the latest research on conflict resolution, job opportunities, an on-line resources store, and an archive of publications and articles dealing with violence and other social issues.

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