Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century ― Theory, Research, and Practice

This book provides a comprehensive overview and in-depth analysis of research on psychosocial skills, examining both theory and areas of application. It discusses students’ psychosocial skills both as components of academic success and desired educational outcomes in grades K through 12. The book describes an organizing framework for psychosocial skills and examines a range of specific constructs that includes achievement, motivation, self-efficacy, creativity, emotional intelligence, resilience, and the need for cognition. In addition, it reviews specific school-based interventions and examines issues that concern the malleability of psychosocial skills. It addresses issues relating to the integration of psychosocial skills into school curriculum as well as large-scale assessment policies. 

Topics featured in this book include:

Psychosocial Skills and School Systems in the 21st Century is a must-have resource for researchers, graduate students, clinicians, mental health professionals, and policymakers in child and school psychology, educational policy and politics, public health, social work, developmental psychology, and educational psychology.

Anastasiya Lipnevich, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at Queens College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research interests include instructional feedback, attitudes toward mathematics, alternative approaches to non-cognitive assessment, academic emotions, and the role of psychosocial characteristics in individuals’ academic and life achievement. Dr. Lipnevich has over 40 publications in refereed journals and edited volumes, has delivered more than 60 conference presentations and invited addresses, has chaired 10 symposia, serves on several editorial boards, and has co-edited several special issues in flagship journals. Dr. Lipnevich’s professional honors include, among others, Excellence in Dissertation Award from Rutgers University, the New Investigator Award 2010 from Division 3 (Experimental Psychology) of the American Psychological Association, and Postdoctoral Fellowship from Educational Testing Service.

Franzis Preckel, Ph.D., is Professor for Giftedness Research and Education at the Department of Psychology of the University of Trier, Germany. Her main research interests are intelligence (assessment and structural analysis), giftedness (fostering options and program evaluation), cognitive motivation (development and predictive validity for academic achievement), self-concept (development and reference group effects), and the influence of chronotypes on student learning and achievement. Dr. Preckel has edited or coauthored 19 books and she published 46 articles in peer-refereed journals as well as 15 book chapters. She is coauthor of 5 intelligence tests and 2 self-report scales on academic anxiety and on cognitive motivation. She has presented her research in more than 80 talks and is on the editorial board of Diagnostica and Gifted and Talented International.

Richard D. Roberts, Ph.D., is Vice President and Chief Scientist, Center for Innovative Assessments, Professional Examination Service, New York, New York. A former National Research Council Fellow who conducted research at Brooks Air Force Base (1996-1998), he has also been a Senior Lecturer at The University of Sydney (1998-2003), and a Managing Principal Research Scientist at the Educational Testing Service (2003-2014). His main area of specialization is measurement, with a special emphasis on developing and researching innovative new items types for the assessment of both cognitive and noncognitive factors, as well as constructs that have elements that straddle these two domains (e.g., emotional intelligence). Dr. Roberts has co-authored over a dozen books, and about 200 peer-review articles and book chapters on these topics in diverse sub-disciplines (including, education, psychology, business, medicine, health policy, and wind engineering), with nearly 400 presentations across the globe. Among Dr. Roberts’ professional honors are two ETS Presidential Awards, two PROSE book awards, and various early (and then later) career awards. He is currently Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences and serves on the boards of various international journals and organizations.