School Psychology International

Do expansive body postures increase self-esteem in children? Power posing is a popular but also controversial topic. Still, there has been no research on the possible effects in children. To investigate the influence of power posing in children, 108 German fourth graders were randomly assigned to a high versus a low power posing group. Self-esteem was self-reported; feelings were assessed indirectly. There was an effect of power posing on self-reported global and school self-esteem. Furthermore, children who had performed high power poses in comparison with those who had performed low power poses mentioned more positive feelings, higher power feelings, and a more positive student–teacher relationship. Results are interpreted with regard to the context and the cultural dependency of the power posing effect. Implications for school practice are addressed.

Many studies have examined significant factors associated with school delinquency among adolescents, including relationship violence, property damage, and other serious threats to students’ safety. However, students’ coping behaviors after being victims of or witnesses to violence and other forms of delinquency have not been thoroughly examined. This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by identifying significant factors at the individual, family, and school levels that affect 226 Caribbean students’ actual reporting of school delinquency to school personnel. The data for this study were obtained from the Caribbean Youth Violence Survey, which studied middle and high school students in five Caribbean countries. The findings of hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that female students were more likely than male students to report delinquent behaviors. Family cohesion and family disorganization significantly decreased students’ reporting behaviors after they experienced or witnessed school delinquency. On the other hand, school bonding significantly increased students’ reporting behaviors. This paper concludes with practical implications and future research agendas for developing a comprehensive mechanism to address the dynamics of multidimensional factors that influence students’ active coping behaviors for dealing with school delinquency.

Teacher stress is evident in many developed countries; however, teacher stress is also evident in many low-income sub-Saharan countries such as Uganda where teachers face additional challenges compared to their North American/European counterpart. The goal of this study was to pilot test a mindfulness and yoga self-care workshop designed for teachers working in post-conflict Northern Uganda to help them cope with stress. Twenty teachers participated in the workshop and were compared to a group of matched wait-list teachers on psychological well-being measures. Results show that self-care teachers showed greater reductions in levels of anger, fear, sadness and perceived hostility, and greater increases in levels of emotional support and friendship compared to wait-list teachers. Moreover, longitudinal exploratory data analyses suggest that many of these effects gradually emerge over the course of the three-month school term. These finds are discussed in the context of how school psychologists can help teachers in developing countries through from yoga-based, mindfulness-type programs, and the need for more scaled-up research.

China’s education reforms might affect students’ academic emotions (and hence their motivation and learning outcomes). This study examines Chinese adolescents’ academic emotions across time via a cross-temporal meta-analysis of 96 studies published between 2004 and 2017. Our results indicate that in later years, adolescents’ positive high-arousal and positive low-arousal emotions were higher, while negative low-arousal emotions were lower. Compared to 2004, positive high-arousal and positive low-arousal emotions in 2017 were both over half a standard deviation higher, while negative low-arousal emotions were over half a standard deviation lower. Positive high-arousal and positive low-arousal emotions were higher in later years in Eastern China but not in Central China and Western China. In later years, negative low-arousal emotions were lower in Eastern and Western China than in Central China. Gender differences were not significant. These results are consistent with both control-value theory and the claim that curriculum and instruction reform helped improve students’ academic emotions in China.

Anti-immigrant sentiment, policy, and practice are deeply rooted in the US tradition. Because of this, a series of laws have been passed to restrict immigration, which has resulted in millions of children and families being designated as “undocumented”. These individuals reside in the US, yet do not receive the same protections as citizens. Schools, however, have historically been supportive institutions for undocumented children because of various laws and court decisions that uphold their access to a free and appropriate education. Various barriers exist to the successful implementation of these laws and they are often not followed. School psychologists, as professionals with an ethical responsibility to advocate for the well-being of all students and families—regardless of their immigration status—can help overcome these barriers. This article first reviews the historical and legal context surrounding undocumented immigration in the US as it impacts public K-12 education. Second, it details how ethical standards influence the applied practice of school psychology when working with undocumented students and families. Finally, it concludes with a brief discussion on resolving legal and ethical dilemmas.