Search Institute’s current research-to-practice initiative focuses on studying and strengthening the developmental relationships that help young people succeed. The initiative began in 2013 with the creation of the Developmental Relationships Framework, which has since been the basis of several quantitative and qualitative studies. These studies have found that sharing power is the area most strongly […]
The Aspirations component of Search Institute’s new REACH Framework introduces the importance of helping all young people develop a positive view of themselves in the future and connecting their ability to become that positive possible self to the actions they do—or do not—take every day. For this reason, having a clear, positive idea of their […]
When Search Institute senior research scientist Dr. Amy Syvertsen asked staff members at the Student Conservation Association (SCA) if they think of themselves as a youth development organization, she received a resounding “no.” In fact, “they laughed and said ‘absolutely not,’” said Syvertsen of the exchange. SCA staff members think of themselves as environmentalists, but […]
Students have “hot” and “cold” systems for thinking. Hot thinking is intuitive, automatic, and reactive. Cold thinking helps them learn to analyze, reflect, and integrate complex ideas. One of the frustrations adults often have about the teenage years is that young people seem to have poor judgment—even when they have developed strong cold thinking skills […]
The REACH Framework brings the big conclusions from diverse bodies of research on social-emotional skills and academic motivation together into a single structure that is both understandable and actionable at the school and classroom levels. Join Dr. Kent Pekel for a webinar in which he introduces the five components of the framework, each of which […]
When we help young people to think about their own thinking—the Cognition component of our REACH Framework—it strengthens their ability to manage learning and control impulses. Those skills, in turn, strengthen students’ abilities to complete tasks and achieve goals. Students have “hot” and “cold” systems for thinking. Hot thinking can express enthusiasm and energy. Cold thinking […]
By: Peter C. Scales, Ph.D., Senior Fellow School sports have been cut back or eliminated in hundreds of districts in recent years, especially in urban schools serving families of low socioeconomic status and schools with more females. The evidence suggests this is a short-sighted move. The research is overwhelmingly consistent: Sports are good for students. […]
In this video, Dr. Kent Pekel introduces the REACH Framework and outlines ways schools and organizations can work with Search Institute to improve academic motivation and influence the educational outcomes that are related to it, such as grades, attendance rates, discipline rates, and college-going rates. Interested in learning more about REACH? Fill out this form […]
Lately there has been a contentious discussion in the media about self-report surveys that measure students’ social and emotional skills. For example, in a recent New York Times Op-Ed, University of Pennsylvania researcher Angela Duckworth expressed her concerns about using measures of character strengths in evaluations of school and teacher quality, in response to others […]
