Maurice Elias, psychologist

Maurice Elias

Maurice Elias, a professor in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University, focuses on development of positive, constructive life paths for children and youth and the organization of opportunities to allow this to happen in equitable ways. Elias is director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab and principal investigator for its Developing Safe and Civil Schools initiative. He is also academic director of Rutgers's Civic Engagement and Service Education Partnerships program, coordinator of the university's internship program in applied, school, and community psychology, president of the Society for Community Research and Action and the American Psychological Association's Division of Community Psychology, and a founding member of the Leadership Team for the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL).


Syndicate content Subscribe to this blogger's RSS feed

A New Model of Schooling: Creating Knowledgeable, Responsible, Nonviolent, Drug-Free, Caring Kids

By Maurice Elias

4/10/08

Around the world, people want to improve education. Some want to strengthen basic academic skills; others want to focus on critical thinking. Some want to promote citizenship or character; others want to admonish against the dangers of drugs, violence, and alcohol. Some demand more from parents; others accent the role of community. Some emphasize core values; others the need to respect diversity. Through all the positions lies a consistent concern: Schools must become better at producing knowledgeable, responsible, nonviolent, drug-free, and caring adults.

On Location at ASCD: SEL Is Alive and Well

By Maurice Elias

3/21/08

I am writing this at the end of the annual conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), in New Orleans, where 10,000 attendees chose from over 400 sessions. But the big news, as far as I am concerned, is that social and emotional learning (SEL) is alive and well, represented by presentations from all over the United States and internationally.

A Stand for What's Right: Courageous Leaders and the Future of No Child Left Behind

By Maurice Elias

3/11/08

When leaders know something's wrong but find it difficult to step up and generate needed changes, it's the time for courageous leadership.

Courageous leadership is, above all else, not followership. It is not safe. But it has integrity. It is developmentally, theoretically, empirically, pragmatically, and morally grounded. From this grounding, good people can embark on different paths and agree to disagree. However, they share a common goal of visualizing and relentlessly pursuing what their students truly need for success in school and life.

Character Development: The Other Side of the Report Card

By Maurice Elias

3/5/08

Both in school and after school, teachers, administrators, and staff feel as if they are working harder and harder without seeing proportional results. Frustration is mounting, especially in low-performing districts, over fleeting academic gains despite the ever-increasing efforts teachers make to improve test scores.