Social Emotional Learning and Development Lab
Embedded Files
About the SELD Lab
The Social Emotional Learning and Development Lab at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is directed by Dr. James Graham, a professor of Psychology at TCNJ.
This lab is geared for students who wish to research and study the behavioral and social patterns of children in different group and environmental settings.
The lab team is directly involved in the research and evaluation of school- and community-based education programs, such as Embright Education.
Our Research With Embright Education
Embright Education is a program that strives to equip children and adolescents with social and emotional tools they need to succeed.
Embright offers programs that lead to measurable improvements in self-management, self awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness.
This Laboratory, in partnership with Embright Education, combined experiential learning and research with children in over 120 schools from pre-kindergarten to the 12th grade.
The lab prioritizes demonstrating the value and evaluating the effectiveness of Embright education's programming through observational and survey-based methods.
Embright Education. (n.d.). https://embrighteducation.org/research/
Lab Assistants
Lab assistants work directly with children, parents, teachers, and Embright Education staff in school and community settings. In this laboratory, students are involved in the central core of research that includes activities such as research planning, writing, data collection, data entry, data analysis, and presentation.
Our Work
Our Research team is involved in several projects with Embright Education
Current Projects
Evaluating the Impact of Confident Kids: An SEL Program Evaluation among Second-Grade Students in a Catholic School
Evaluating the Impact of Confident Kids: An SEL Program Evaluation among Second-Grade Students in a Trenton City Public School
Evaluating a Social-Emotional Competency Assessment Battery for Upper Elementary Children: Evidence from the Confident Kids Program
A Multi-tiered Approach to Promoting SEL
Representative Lab Publications
Chiu, I., & Graham, J. A. (2017). The effect of a peer-based personal stories intervention on focus of anxiety and social distance towards the mentally ill. Journal of College Student Development, 58(1), 101-107. doi:10.1353/csd.2017.0006
Kanthan, S., Graham, J.A., & Azarchi, L. (2016). Media Detectives: Bridging the relationship among empathy, laugh tracks, and gender in childhood. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 8 (2), 35-53. Available at: http://digitalcommons.uri.edu/jmle/vol8/iss2/3
Dell'Armo, K., & Graham, J.A. (2016). Kidsbridge Differing Abilities Room: The effectiveness of an intervention on attitudes towards different disability types. TCNJ Journal of Student Scholarship, 18. Available at: https://joss.tcnj.edu/
Scott, K., & Graham, J.A. (2015). Service-learning: Implications for empathy and community engagement in elementary school children. Journal of Experiential Education, 38 (4), 354 – 372. doi: 10.1177/1053825915592889
Conference Presentations
Colasanti, A. R., Estime, J. E., Ferreras, M. A., & Graham, J. A. (2026, April 28). Evaluating the Impact of Confident Kids: An SEL Program Evaluation in a Catholic School Setting [Poster session]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Barrera, D., Hood, E., DelSordi, J., & Graham, J. A. (2026, April 28). Evaluating the Impact of Confident Kids: An SEL Program Evaluation om Trenton Pubic Schools [Poster session]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Gudisey, T., Buker, A., Weir, M., Magchilov, I., & Graham, J. A. (2025, April 29). Assessing the Efficacy of Educational Support Interventions for Adolescent Parents [Poster session]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Moran, B., & Graham, J. A. (2024, April 30). Social-Emotional Learning in Special Education: Observations of Decision-Making and Engagement [Poster session]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Ondria, C., & Graham, J. A. (2024, April 30). Understanding the Assessments Used to Identify Students with Disabilities [Paper Presentation]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Napoli, A., & Graham, J. A. (2022, April 26). Academic Pressure and Mental Health in High Achieving Schools [Paper Presentation]. Celebration of Student Achievement, Ewing, NJ, United States. COSA
Page updated
Report abuse