REASONS WHY
The following articles are a sample of the research that multiple scientists and researchers have conducted into compassion, early learning, and social and emotional development. The selected research ranges from neuroscientists demonstrating the positive impact of compassion acts on the brain, to how social and emotional development can positively impact school performance.
Compassion
The following links highlight the leading researchers who are investigating the role that compassion plays in the development of children.
Leading researchers have proven that compassion creates real changes in the brain and in the body. By making a concerted effort to practice compassion, children and adults can realize real changes in their behavior which are positively reflected in their community.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child
A growing body of scientific evidence tells us that emotional development begins early in life, that it is a critical aspect of the development of overall brain architecture and that it has enormous consequences over the course of a lifetime. This report discusses the far-reaching implications of these findings for policy makers and parents.
Daniel Siegel
Daniel J Siegel, M.D. received his medical degree from Harvard University and completed his postgraduate medical education at UCLA with training in pediatrics and child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. He served as a National Institute of Mental Health Research Fellow at UCLA, studying family interactions with an emphasis on how attachment experiences influence emotions, behavior, autobiographical memory and narrative.
Ross Thompson
Ross Thompson, Ph.D. focuses on early personality and socioemotional development in the context of close relationships, an interest that contributes to the cross-disciplinary field of developmental relational science. This interest takes his work in two directions. First, his research explores the influence of relational processes on emotional growth, conscience development, emotion regulation, and self-understanding. Second, he has worked on the applications of developmental relational science to public policy problems concerning children and families, such as divorce and child custody, child maltreatment, grandparent visitation rights, and research ethics.
Daniel Goleman
Daniel Goleman, Ph.D., is an internationally known psychologist who lectures frequently to professional groups, business audiences, and on college campuses. Working as a science journalist, Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for The New York Times for many years. His 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Books) was on The New York Times bestseller list for a year-and-a-half; with more than 5,000,000 copies in print worldwide in 30 languages. His latest book, Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships, will be published on Sept. 26, 2006. Social intelligence, the interpersonal part of emotional intelligence, can now be understood in terms of recent findings from neuroscience. Goleman’s book describes the many implications of this new science, including for altruism, parenting, love, health, learning and leadership.
Nancy Eisenberg
Nancy Eisenberg, Ph.D. is a leading theorist in the field of empathy and altruism. She and ASU professor Richard Fabes are interested in learning what factors, if any, might tilt a child in one direction or the other along the continuum of altruistic, apathetic, and destructive behaviors. Eisenberg has pioneered the use of psychophysiological measures to study the development of emotion and empathy in children. She and Fabes use a blend of developmental and social psychology to examine how children develop positive behaviors and how parents and educators affect the formation of these behaviors. Eisenberg thinks that engendering empathy, altruism, and other humanitarian behaviors among the world’s children could lead to a human global perspective that focuses on peace and cooperation.
Dacher Keltner
Dacher Keltner, Ph.D., focuses on the social functions of emotion, showing that emotions enable individuals to respond adaptively to the problems and opportunities that define human social living. Based on this approach to emotion, his work has documented the appeasement functions of embarrassment, the commitment enhancing properties of love and desire, and how awe motivates attachment to leaders and principles that transcend the self. In r
Early Learning
The latest research on early learning has proven that the brain begins development from the moment of birth. This research has proven that 80% of the neural pathways that are formed in the brain occur before the age of 6. These neural pathways form the key social, emotional, language and intellectual foundations that will guide children through the rest of their lives.
Department of Early Learning, Washington State – Childhood Development
This site from the Washington State Department of Early Learning showcases resources for parents of young children. Particular emphasis is placed on practical steps for nurturing children
National Child Care Information Center
Technological advances in the past decade have allowed scientists to study the brain in ways that have led to new understanding about how young children develop. There is a new understanding of both the capabilities and the vulnerabilities of infants and young children and that understanding is has influenced the work of caregivers and teachers. This site has an exhaustive list of resources including a sample of national and State organizations (listed in alphabetical order) with an interest in sharing information on brain development and brain development research in order to promote healthy growth among young children. Additional publications describe the research about brain development and the implications for parenting and public policies about early care and education.
Pre-K Now
Pre-K Now is a public education and advocacy organization that advances high-quality, voluntary pre-kindergarten for all three and four year olds. Supported by The Pew Charitable Trusts and other funders and a project of the Institute for Educational Leadership,
Pre-K Now:
• supports state-based children's advocates;
• educates policymakers about the need for pre-k; and
• raises public awareness about the need for pre-k for all children.
