Parents naturally alter their behavior and the home environment to suit the differing needs of their children, explain researchers Sophie von Stumm and Jasmin Wertz to science writer Holly Cave. Through within-family studies of siblings and their parents, these researchers hope to eventually identify ways to match a learner’s characteristics with an optimal type of classroom instruction in pace, style and complexity. Learn more here. 

Hope has been linked to academic and athletic performance and physical health, writes science journalist Juanita Bawagan. In fact, according to Shazly Savahl, an associate professor at the University of the Western Cape, hope is important for children’s development and survival. Savahl studied hope among school children in South Africa and found high levels despite dramatic differences in wealth and income. Of course, hope is not enough; practitioners must help children to harness hope to develop goal-directed thinking, and provide support to remove obstacles to their success. Read more here. 

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