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This groundbreaking research volume addresses the topic of educational inequality from a global perspective. It includes 16 chapters from an international group of scholars who examine how well city school systems from around the world are preparing young people, particularly poor and minority students, with the skills they will need for further study, work, and life overall. While skills in key domains such as science, math, language, and civics have been center stage in international comparisons, there has been growing recognition of the effects that education has on the development of broader sets of capabilities such as social and emotional skills (also known as \"noncognitive\" or \"21st-century\" skills) that can affect the success of students in school and beyond. This volume aims to address the shortage of international data on the wide range of skills that students need to learn, enabling researchers to compare the types and causes of educational inequality in skills within and between cities.

How should we live? That question was no less urgent for English men and women who lived between the early sixteenth and late eighteenth centuries than for this book's readers. Keith Thomas's masterly exploration of the ways in which people sought to lead fulfilling lives in those centuries between the beginning of the Reformation and the heyday of the Enlightenment illuminates the central values of the period, while casting incidental light on some of the perennial problems of human existence. Consideration of the origins of the modern ideal of human fulfilment and of obstacles to its realization in the early modern period frames an investigation that ranges from work, wealth, and possessions to the pleasures of friendship, family, and sociability. The cult of military prowess, the pursuit of honour and reputation, the nature of religious belief and scepticism, and the desire to be posthumously remembered are all drawn into the discussion, and the views and practices of ordinary people are measured against the opinions of the leading philosophers and theologians of the time. The Ends of Life offers a fresh approach to the history of early modern England, by one of the foremost historians of our time. It also provides modern readers with much food for thought on the problem of how we should live and what goals in life we should pursue.

Background: Mental health issues have become more prevalent among institutionalised adolescents. Therefore an effective intervention programme is needed to improve their mental health. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the Super Skills for Life (SSL) programme in improving the mental wellbeing of institutionalised adolescents and determine the factors associated with their mental wellbeing. Methods: A quasi-experimental study involving 80 female institutionalised adolescents divided into intervention and control groups was conducted. Intervention involved implementation of the SSL programme. The effectiveness of the programme was evaluated based on several outcome parameters. Results: Factors including age, number of family members, perceived social support and self-esteem had significant correlations with mental wellbeing of participants. The SSL programme significantly improved the anxiety and stress levels of participants. Conclusion: SSL programme exclusively improves the mental wellbeing in institutionalised adolescents.

Emotional difficulties in children are often shown to be associated with peer problems and low prosocial behaviors. Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic protocol for the prevention of emotional problems in children and has also obtained improvements of other comorbid symptoms. This study aimed at comparing the effects of SSL in reducing peer problems and increasing prosocial behaviors in children aged 8 to 12 years between the group and the individual modalities. For this purpose, 140 children (35% girls) received the program, 70 in group format and 70 in individual format, and were evaluated at the baseline, posttest, and after one year. Both modalities were effective in enhancing social relationships in children, although the individual modality showed more promising results. Children belonging to the individual modality group presented fewer peer problems (less social isolation and rejection, greater social acceptance, more friends) and greater prosocial behaviors (helping, empathy, kindness, and sharing) compared to children receiving the therapy in group modality, both in the short and in the long term. In conclusion, this study provides evidence of SSL protocol efficacy for improving children’s peer relationships and prosocial behaviors and encourages the implementation of transdiagnostic interventions in both clinical and educational settings.

Effectiveness of video-feedback with cognitive preparation to treat anxiety problems (especially social anxiety) has been scarcely explored on children. Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a CBT-based intervention to reduce anxiety and comorbid problems that, apart from social skills training and behavioural activation, integrates video-feedback with cognitive preparation. This study aimed to evaluate SSL effects, implemented in a school setting, on social performance and to test self-concept and social skills as potential mediators of pre- and post-test changes in social anxiety and generalized anxiety. Sample comprised 57 children aged 8–11 years with emotional symptoms. Children were video recorded in the first and last session to assess social performance. Anxiety and self-concept measures were completed by children pre-test and post-test. Participants reduced anxiety behaviours and improved social and communication skills after treatment. In general, girls showed better social performance than boys, but SSL impact was greater in males. Social self-concept was the only mediator of change in pre- to post-treatment social anxiety. This study provides evidence of SSL to improve children’s social performance and reduce anxiety through video-feedback with cognitive preparation. Improving social concept seems essential to reduce social anxiety. An SSL programme is an ideal prevention protocol for anxious children.

Super Skills for Life (SSL) is a transdiagnostic prevention program designed for children with anxiety and depressive symptoms based on cognitive-behavioral therapy. This study is a trial of the efficacy of the SSL program to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms in a representative sample of Spanish children aged 6 to 8. This cluster randomized controlled trial involved 123 Spanish-speaking children recruited from 10 schools. Schools were the unit of randomization, and were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions: intervention group (SSL) and waiting list control (WLC) group. Assessments were conducted before and after the 8-week intervention. Generalized estimating equations showed that, compared with WLC, the intervention significantly reduced emotional symptoms of anxiety and depression. Significant improvements were also found in specific symptoms of anxiety disorders, and in the interference of anxiety in the child´s life. The findings of this study provide initial support for the immediate effects of SSL, suggesting that it is a valuable resource for the early reduction of anxiety and depressive symptoms in young Spanish-speaking children.

Super Skills for Life (SSL) is an innovative transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral prevention program that has demonstrated positive results targeting children's internalizing problems. SSL has a strong component aimed at enhancing social competence, including strategies such as video-feedback with cognitive preparation. This study examined for the first time the immediate impact of SSL on improving social skills in young children with anxiety symptoms, as well as mediating factors predicting SSL anxiety outcomes. Participants were 67 Spanish-speaking children aged 6-8 years old. Children were video-recorded and assessed behaviorally through a 2 minute speech task, before and after the 8-session program. The results revealed significant positive behavioral changes related to children' social skills in several domains. Depression acted as a mediator of change in pre- to post-intervention generalized anxiety scores. This study provides initial support for the usefulness of SSL to immediately improve social skills in young children with anxiety symptoms.

Introduction: Differences in sports disciplines impact athletes' life skills (LS), and this is greatly influenced by the model and strategy of integrating LS into the training program. Objective: This study aims to examine the differences in LS between male and female athletes and to identify the factors contributing to the improvement of LS. Methodology: The researcher used a mixed method with an explanatory sequential design. The quantitative study sample totaled 51 young athletes (23 males and 28 females). Quantitative data was collected using the 47-item Life Skills for Sport Scale and analyzed descriptively and statistically independent samples t-test. There were six qualitative respondents. Qualitative data were collected using 47 semi-structured interview guidelines and analyzed thematically. Results: There were no significant differences between the two sample groups, but female athletes had a better LS. Six of the eight LS indicators showed significant differences: time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem-solving and decision-making. Discussion: Experiences that contribute to improving young athletes’ LS are providing opportunities to discuss and evaluate training results, playing the role of team captain or group leader, setting a clear training schedule for each training component, being open to mistakes in order to control emotions better, training in pairs or groups to encourage closer relationships, and simulating various problems or challenges during training. Conclusions: Future researchers need to design a LS integration program to address the LS issues of young athletes.

The current complexity characterising modern society imposes the need to look at the education of the citizens of tomorrow, its principles can in fact be applied not only to school subjects but also to everyday behaviour. The International organisations involved in social development recommend the support and development, from early childhood, of a range of transferrable life skills to ensure they are capable of facing life’s challenges in a pragmatic and resilient way. The understanding of this framework sees school as an ideal setting to instil an education that meets the real needs of children and adolescents. Thus, the present work focuses on the importance of life skills and on the influence and contribution of school, in particular physical education, for the development of students’ physical, social, emotional and reasoning skills, in order to prepare them to become strong citizens and able to face life’s challenges in a positive and effective way.   L’insegnamento delle Life Skills attraverso l’Educazione Fisica Scolastica. L’attuale complessità che caratterizza la società moderna impone sempre più la necessità di guardare alla formazione dei futuri cittadini non solo verso la trasmissione di contenuti didattici disciplinari, ma di attrezzare l’individuo di strumenti di adattamento adeguati al contesto. Le stesse organizzazioni internazionali che si occupano di sviluppo sociale raccomandano ormai da tempo di sostenere e sviluppare, sin dalla prima infanzia, una serie di competenze che rimandano ad abilità trasversali di vita e che rendono l’individuo capace di affrontare in maniera pragmatica e resiliente le sfide che la vita gli riserva. In questo quadro interpretativo la scuola rappresenta il setting ideale dove poter mettere in atto una formazione che risponda a pieno ai reali bisogni dei bambini e dei ragazzi. Il presente lavoro si concentra, pertanto, sull’importanza dell’educazione alle life skills e sul contributo offerto dalla scuola ed in particolare dall’educazione fisica per lo sviluppo delle capacità sociali, emotive e di pensiero negli studenti, al fine di preparare i giovani a diventare cittadini dinamici in grado di affrontare in maniera positiva e adattiva le sfide della vita di tutti i giorni.    

The mental health impacts of climate change-related disasters are significant. However, access to mental health services is often limited by the availability of trained clinicians. Although building local community capability for the mental health response is often prioritised in policy settings, the lack of evidence-based programs is problematic. The aim of this study was to test the efficacy of the Skills for Life Adjustment and Resilience programme (SOLAR) delivered by trained local community members following compound disasters (drought, wildfires, pandemic-related lockdowns) in Australia. Thirty-six community members were trained to deliver the SOLAR programme, a skills-based, trauma informed, psychosocial programme. Sixty-six people with anxiety, depression and/or posttraumatic stress symptoms, and impairment were randomised into the SOLAR programme or a Self-Help condition. They were assessed pre, post and two months following the interventions. The SOLAR programme was delivered across five 1-hourly sessions (either face to face or virtually). Those in the Self-Help condition received weekly emails with self-help information including links to online educational videos. Multigroup analyses indicated that participants in the SOLAR condition experienced significantly lower levels of anxiety and depression, and PTSD symptom severity between pre - and post-intervention (T1 to T2), relative to the Self-Help condition, while controlling for scores at intake. These differences were not statistically different at follow-up. The SOLAR programme was associated with large effect size improvements in posttraumatic stress symptoms over time. The SOLAR programme was effective in improving anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms over time. However, by follow-up the size of the effect was similar to an active self-help condition. Given the ongoing stressors in the community associated with compounding disasters it may be that booster sessions would have been useful to sustain programme impact. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry identifier: ACTRN12621000283875..