Handbook of Prosocial Education
This magnum opus provides an important and timely vision of quality education that prepares students to be knowledgeable, responsible, caring, and contributing citizens. Leading scientists and educators have contributed chapters that are scholarly, research-based, and practical. This landmark volume will shape education research, practice, and policy for years to come!(Roger P. Weissberg, NoVo Foundation Endowed Chair of Social and Emotional Learning, University of Illinois at Chicago)This handbook is a much-needed comprehensive volume that brings together the compatible components of research and practical experience on how to foster prosocial growth in children and adolescents. For far too long the considerable body of knowledge about how to foster positive social and moral growth in students has remained scattered about in research reports and books often with little communication across disciplines or research groups. In part this is because of genuine differences in goals and orientations. Those differences have masked congruent discoveries and shared practices that can bring great benefits to our schools and children. Kudos to this team of editors for seeing beyond ideology and theory to provide us with access to the shared wisdom that has emerged from the work of leading scholars and practitioners – even when they are not always aware of their own compatibility. This is an invaluable resource for school leaders seeking to make use of “what works” to support the growth of caring responsible citizens, and young scholars seeking to build on the progress that has been made in understanding children’s prosocial development.(Larry Nucci, University of California, Berkeley)This comprehensive book reports the scholarship of dozens of American education experts to offer a new course of action for America’s struggling schools. As a call to action, this book encourages each of us to remember that our schools enshrine our national values and must support the development of engaged young citizens.In the context of broad education reform, the emphasis on prosocial learning is a strategic force multiplier for numerous other reform agendas. Detailing the core mission of education as the cornerstone of a healthy democracy, this book is a foundational text for any educator or policy maker who seeks to improve the perilous state of America’s education environment.(David M. Abshire, former US Ambassador to NATO and Special Counselor to President Reagan)