There is growing awareness of the benefits of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs in Early Childhood Education and Care settings for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. While many SEL programs aim to strengthen teachers’ capacity and capability to foster children’s social and emotional skills, research effort has focused on understanding the impact on child outcomes, with less emphasis on improvement in teaching quality. This systematic literature review examined the effectiveness of universal curriculum-based SEL programs on teacher outcomes. Fifteen studies met inclusion criteria, capturing ten distinct SEL interventions. The findings suggest SEL programs may strengthen teaching quality, particularly the provision of responsive and nurturing teacher-child interactions and effective classroom management. Data were insufficient to ascertain whether participation improved teachers’ knowledge, self-efficacy, or social-emotional wellbeing. The potential pathways between SEL intervention, teaching quality and children’s developmental outcomes are discussed.

Early childhood educators play an important role in supporting children’s social and emotional development. While a growing body of research has examined the impact of curriculum-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs on child outcomes, the approaches educators use to strengthen children’s social and emotional functioning through their everyday practices are less defined. This study explored Australian early childhood educators’ perspectives on children’s social and emotional development, the approaches educators use to encourage children’s social and emotional skills, the enablers and barriers to SEL within the preschool environment, and the additional support needed. Thirty Early Childhood Education and Care professionals participated in semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Findings suggest children’s social–emotional development is at the forefront of educator planning, practice, and reflection. Participants described utilising various approaches to support children’s social and emotional skills, embedded within interactions and relationships with children and families. Specifically, strategies could be grouped into four broad categories: a nurturing and responsive educator–child relationship; supporting SEL through everyday interactions and practice; utilising the physical environment to encourage SEL; and working in partnership with caregivers. There was, however, inconsistency in the variety and type of approaches identified. Time constraints, group size, educator confidence and capability, high staff turnover, and limited guidance regarding high-quality social and emotional pedagogy were identified as key barriers. Participants sought practical strategies that could be embedded into daily practice to build upon current knowledge.

A growing body of research evidence suggests universal (Tier 1) Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) interventions in early childhood education and care settings can improve children’s social and emotional development. Less is known however about the effectiveness of targeted (Tier 2) programmes for preschoolers experiencing social, emotional or behavioural challenges. A systematic literature review was conducted to examine the outcomes associated with targeted (Tier 2) SEL interventions; 19 studies were captured in the review. Findings revealed that while evidence for targeted SEL programming is still emerging, it may offer a promising early intervention approach to strengthen aspects of children’s social and behavioural functioning. Based on the evidence reviewed, the impact of targeted SEL intervention on emotional competencies could not be established. Programmes were predominately directed to preschoolers with externalizing problems and there appears to be a dearth of approaches focused on internalizing behaviour. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Trauma in early childhood is a significant public health concern. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services are uniquely positioned to buffer the negative impact of early childhood trauma on children. This scoping review synthesized studies evaluating trauma-informed interventions in ECEC settings through a systematic search of four relevant online databases (PsycINFO, Medline, ERIC, A+ Education). Fourteen studies met the inclusion criteria, with 12 ECEC center-based trauma-informed interventions evaluated. Types and components of trauma-informed interventions, outcomes, and measures are presented. Findings suggest that trauma-informed interventions in ECEC settings are nascent but growing. Increasingly, programs are adopting multi-tiered system of support to address early childhood trauma, with these models suggesting promising results. The predominant focus of ECEC center-based trauma-informed interventions was upskilling teachers through training and coaching, with studies focused on assessment of teacher-level outcomes. Child, organization, and caregiver-level outcomes are not explored to the same extent, with evaluation of organizational outcomes relying predominately on qualitative methods. Whilst the short-term outcomes of trauma-informed approaches in ECEC have been examined, longer-term impacts and the causal mechanistic pathways of such programs have yet to be explored.

Objective: To systematically review research into the use of humour-based health promotion strategies for addressing public health issues during the past 10 years. Method: The systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Thirteen studies were included in the review. Mental health, breast and testicular cancer self-examination, safe sex, skin cancer and binge drinking public health issues were targeted. Humour-based strategies were used to influence health attitudes and behaviours, encourage interpersonal sharing to indirectly affect health behaviour, and investigate the level of threat and humour associated with positive outcomes. Findings provided some evidence to support the use of humour-based strategies as determined by the right combination of audience characteristics, level of humour and amusement evoked, and message persuasion and behaviour change methods underpinning strategies. Conclusion: Methodologies varied limiting comparability, although overall results indicate that humour-based health promotion strategies may be a useful tool for increasing awareness and help-seeking behaviour for public health priorities, particularly those associated with stigma. Implications for public health: Humour interventions vary widely because there can never be a standardised approach to evoking humour. Further research examining humour and public health promotion is needed.

High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) programmes can strengthen the social, emotional and cognitive skills that are crucial for future learning and wellbeing. Teacher–child interactions are the most vital component of ECEC service quality in terms of children’s social-emotional functioning. However, many children are not consistently exposed to the quality of interactions required for optimal development. We propose a conceptual model to encourage social and emotional learning in preschoolers by targeting the quality and intentionality of teacher–child interactions. We draw upon two frameworks relevant in early childhood settings, the Teaching Through Interactions Framework, describing the type of interactions associated with positive child outcomes, and The Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children, a tiered, systematic approach to implement strategies that improve social-emotional health. This model could inform the development of social and emotional learning programmes that support educators to apply responsive techniques through everyday interactions.