2015 AWARDS CEREMONY

research prize best practice prize THE KLAUS J. JACOBS AWARDS

In honor of its founder, the entrepreneur Klaus J. Jacobs, who passed away in 2008, the Jacobs Foundation has awarded two annual prizes since 2009. Endowed with a total of 1.2 million Swiss francs, the awards recognize exceptional achievements in research and practice in the field of child and youth development.

The Research Prize acknowledges scientific work of high social relevance to the development of children and young people. The Jacobs Foundation attaches great importance to scientific findings from interdisciplinary research which can yield practical applications. The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize is endowed with one million Swiss francs.

The Best Practice Prize recognizes the exceptional com- mitment of institutions or individuals who put innovative solutions in the field of child and youth development into practice. The Best Practice Prize is worth 200,000 Swiss francs.

3 LITTLE KIDS, LITTLE WORRIES – BIG KIDS, BIG WORRIES?

As a mother of two little boys, I – like most parents – look forward to adoles- cence with some trepidation. When we moan about the teething stage, the “terrible twos” or yet another sleepless night, the response from parents of adolescents is often “little kids, little worries – big kids, big worries”. In this context, it may not be entirely encouraging to hear this year’s recipient of the Research Prize describe adolescence as a time when the brain is undergoing massive reorganization. Well into the third decade of life, the brain is still changing, both structurally and functionally. The teenage brain is by no means fully mature. the school takes advantage of opportunities afforded by the sensitive period of adolescence, using innovative teaching methods to promote social and This may help to explain typical adolescent behavior – risk-taking, sullenness at emotional intelligence. The new curriculum for German-speaking Switzerland the dinner table, problems in school. Such behavior, according to Sarah-Jayne known as Lehrplan 21 makes no explicit mention of interdisciplinary social and Blakemore, is due not only to hormones and changes in the social environment, emotional skills, so Gesamtschule Unterstrass has developed its own internal but also to natural, and inevitable, biological changes in the brain. Perhaps we “skill passport” to make social learning part of the curriculum. To that end, it as parents need to be more understanding as our children enter this critical uses the “reciprocal teaching” approach in which older students teach younger phase. children. This approach takes into account adolescents’ heightened sensitivity to social cues and their socio-cultural environment, and helps them develop the And Blakemore’s research can tell us a great deal more. For example, it shows social and emotional skills that are so important for school, career and every that the adolescent behavior that can be so annoying to parents is intrinsically aspect of life. rooted in human development, and that it makes sense from an evolutionary and social perspective. It should be seen not simply as risky and problematic, Our congratulations go to Sarah-Jayne Blakemore and Gesamtschule Unterstrass but also as exploratory and potentially socially beneficial. Adolescence is a pe- for their impressive and important work. riod of heightened sensitivity during which the individual’s brain and behavior are strongly influenced by the environment – both positively and negatively. While teenagers are exceptionally willing to take risks, they are also receptive to social learning.

The work of Gesamtschule Unterstrass, this year’s recipient of the Best Practice Prize, focuses on the opportunities afforded by this stage in life. With its pro- Lavinia Jacobs ject on “Self-Management and Social Behavior at School and in the Classroom”, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Jacobs Foundation

4 5 ——— Moody, erratic, impulsive – teenagers can be all of these things. Adults have complained about youthful behavior throughout human history – despite the fact that many adolescents reach adulthood having experienced relatively little drama and few real crises. All the same, adolescence – the period of life between puberty and relative independence – is a puzzling time for parents, teachers and researchers. With emotional turmoil, conflicts at home and at school, and enormous physical changes, adolescence is a time of transformation. The brain too is still changing. While scientists believed until about 20 years ago that the nervous system was more or less fully developed by the end of mid-childhood, we know today that this is not the case.

Adolescents are particularly receptive to social learning Sarah-Jayne Blakemore’s research has shown that the social brain – the brain and social experiences. regions involved in understanding how other people think and how they feel – continues to change during the second decade of life. As the brain undergoes a process of structural and functional reorganization, changes occur in how teenagers process emotional and social information about other people. Blake- more’s research demonstrates that adolescence is a period when the brain is AN EXTRAORDINARY especially receptive to social learning and social experiences.

TIME: SOCIAL AND EMO- Teenagers are particularly sensitive to social and contextual cues and socio- cultural environments. In its project “Self-Management and Social Behavior at TIONAL DEVELOPMENT School and in the Classroom”, Zurich’s Gesamtschule Unterstrass takes advan- tage of this sensitive period to teach them social and emotional skills. Its first step was to identify the interdisciplinary skills its students needed to develop. IN ADOLESCENCE It then chose to emphasize so-called “reciprocal teaching”, in which older stu- dents teach younger ones. Mixed-age learning, in various forms, is an ideal way to teach both self-management and leadership skills.

As they teach younger children, adolescents are required to manage their own Research Prize recipient Sarah-Jayne Blakemore studies behavior and subordinate their impulses. They learn to regulate their emotions social brain development in adolescence. Gesamtschule and respond to the needs of others. The extraordinary period of adolescence, a time when young people are highly sensitive to social experiences, is an ideal Unterstrass, recipient of the Best Practice Prize, focuses opportunity to develop social and emotional skills. This is the focus of the 2015 on the development of social and emotional skills. Klaus J. Jacobs Awards.

6 7 THE SOCIAL BRAIN IN ADOLESCENCE: A WORK IN PROGRESS

★ RESEARCH PRIZE 2015

——— Sarah-Jayne Blakemore studies social brain development in adolescence, a peri- od that begins with the physical, cognitive and social changes that accompany the onset of puberty and ends with the independence and stability of adulthood. Sarah-Jayne Blakemore could demonstrate that the adolescent With the help of behavioral studies and magnetic resonance imaging (mri), brain is still developing. a tool that allows researchers to see what is happening inside the living human brain, Blakemore has shown that the adolescent brain is still developing. The social brain, in particular, is undergoing structural and functional changes, including a significant decrease in the volume of gray matter – which is where neurons and connections (synapses) reside in the brain. Reduction in gray matter may in part reflect a process of synaptic reorganization in which unused synapses are eliminated, much like the pruning of a rosebush. Weaker branches Evidence that the human brain continues to develop during the second decade are cut back to allow more important ones to thrive. In some parts of the human of life and is highly sensitive to social and contextual cues has implications for brain, synapses increase gradually during childhood, peak in late childhood, education, health and other public policy areas affecting young people. Adoles- and are then reduced by approximately 40 percent during adolescence before cents go through a period of social reorientation during which the opinions of stabilizing. their peers is particularly important and social exclusion is especially distress- ing. This heightens peer influence on decision-making and risk-taking. Linking The teenage brain is also undergoing functional reorganization. Over the period typical adolescent behavior to approval from friends and avoiding social of adolescence, activity within the social brain shifts from anterior to posterior exclusion opens up new ways for researchers to think about how young people brain regions, leading Blakemore to conclude that the mental and cognitive learn and make decisions, and about how their behavior might be positively strategies used to make social decisions differ between adolescents and adults. influenced, for example through mixed-aged learning and mentoring. Such changes in the brain are not without consequences. It is therefore inade- quate to attribute typical adolescent behavior – moodiness, carelessness, risk In recognition of her research aimed at gaining a better understanding of emo- taking – solely to hormones and changes in the social environment; substantial tional and social brain development in adolescence, the Jacobs Foundation is changes are also taking place within the brain itself and this might partly under- pleased to present Sarah-Jayne Blakemore with the 2015 Klaus J. Jacobs Research lie behavioral changes during adolescence. Prize.

8 9 GESAMTSCHULE

To that end, it provides further training for teachers and employs various types UNTERSTRASS: A MODEL of mixed-age learning, encouraging older students teach younger children subjects such as mathematics and reading. They also share their hobbies, OF SOCIAL AND accompany younger children on trips and excursions, and help with school projects. In these settings, adolescents learn to manage themselves and to EMOTIONAL LEARNING put the needs of the younger students first. They also need to be alert to mood shifts – their own or those of their pupils – so that they can recognize them and respond appropriately. They set goals for themselves and the younger children, ★ BEST PRACTICE PRIZE 2015 organize work spaces and draw up timetables, taking into account the level of learning they and the group have achieved. Even teenagers who find it difficult to control their impulsive behavior learn to take responsibility, solve conflicts, actively listen and communicate with others.

——— In recognition of the school’s innovative efforts to promote social and Social and emotional learning involves a process of introspection and interacti- emotional learning by making social skills part of its curriculum, the Jacobs on through which children and adolescents learn to deal with their emotions Foundation is pleased to present the 2015 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize to and behavior, and gain the tools they need to meet life’s challenges. Young Gesamtschule Unterstrass. people learn to recognize and regulate their feelings, enter into and maintain relationships, set and achieve goals, meet personal and social needs, and make responsible decisions. Social and emotional learning is important for the development of self-efficacy and life skills. Learning from each other: At Gesamtschule Unterstrass older students teach younger ones. These skills are a crucial resource enabling young people to deal constructively with their social environments and help them reduce problematic behavior. Research has shown that children and adolescents with highly developed social and emotional skills are more readily accepted by their peers and better integrated into their social environments. They are more successful in school and less likely to use drugs or resort to violence. Such skills are also essential for productive learning in the classroom, and they help young people do well as they progress in school and ultimately embark on a successful career.

Most cantonal curricula include the development of social and emotional skills as an important educational goal. Yet there is generally a lack of systematic support, as well as of specific programs designed to enable schools to achieve that goal. Zurich’s Gesamtschule Unterstrass is a welcome exception. For more than 34 years, this comprehensive school has dedicated itself to collaborative learning, and it has developed its own internal “skill passport” that explicitly identifies social learning as a goal for its 4- to 15-year-old students.

10 11 LAUREATES TO DATE JURY FOR THE RESEARCH PRIZE 2015 Research Prize Best Practice Prize Professor Jürgen Baumert 2014 Michael J. Meaney (McGill University, sharpz (Serenity Harm Reduction Director Emeritus of the Center for Educational Research, Max Planck Institute for Montreal) for his research on the Programme Zambia) for its evidence- Human Development Berlin mechanisms of how parental care based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Professor Jere R. Behrman becomes embedded in children’s to address the severe needs of trauma University of Pennsylvania; Philadelphia (pa), usa biology affected children and their families Professor Francesco C. Billari in Zambia University of Oxford; Oxford, England Professor Uta Frith Greg J. Duncan (University of Cali- eltern-ag for its prevention pro- 2013 University College London; England fornia, Irvine) for his research on the gram to support families that have Professor Kathleen Kiernan long-term consequences of poverty in young children and find themselves University of York; Heslington (yo), England early childhood in particularly difficult circumstances Professor Terrie E. Moffitt Duke University; Durham, usa & King’s College London;England 2012 Dante Cicchetti (University of Minne- Off Road Kids Foundation for its Professor Anne C. Petersen sota) in recognition of his research on nationwide efforts to help young University of Michigan; Ann Arbor (mi), usa children’s resilience and the effects of runaways and street children in adversity on development Germany

2011 Michael Tomasello (Max Planck Insti- Christiane Daepp for developing tute for Evolutionary Anthropology) Ideenbüro, a program for helping NOMINATION COM- for his research on the identification schoolchildren to accept respon- of uniquely human forms of collabo- sibility, to learn the benefits of MITTEE FOR THE BEST ration, communication and cultural cooperation and to consider everyday learning problems as challenges PRACTICE PRIZE 2015

2010 Terrie E. Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi Opstapje Deutschland e.V. and (Duke University and King’s College a:primo, for their sustained commit- Christoph Birkholz London) for their research into the ment to providing early support for Hub Zurich; Zurich, Switzerland interplay between genetic disposition socially disadvantaged children by Professor Mark T. Greenberg and environmental influences in the successfully implementing a play and Penn State University; University Park; (pa), usa development of children and youth development program in Germany Fabienne Odermatt and Switzerland Ashoka Switzerland; Geneva, Switzerland Professor Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl 2009 Laurence D. Steinberg (Temple Univer- Father Johann Casutt for successfully University of British Columbia; Vancouver, Canada sity) for his work in the psychopathol- adapting the Swiss model for the Eveline von Arx ogy, risk-taking and decision-making vocational training to the needs of Scientific Advisor of the Swiss parents magazine Fritz & Fränzi;Zurich, Switzerland behavior of young people young people in Indonesia

12 13 BOARD OF TRUSTEES THE JACOBS OF THE JACOBS FOUNDATION FOUNDATION

Lavinia Jacobs Chair of the Jacobs Foundation Board of Trustees

Hans Ambühl Secretary General, Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education

William Egbe Group Director Strategic Planning & Sustainability Coca Cola Eurasia & Africa

Sandro Giuliani Managing Director, Jacobs Foundation and Delegate of the Board of Trustees ——— The Jacobs Foundation is active worldwide in the area of child and youth Dr. Joh. Christian Jacobs development. The Zurich-based private foundation was established in 1989 by Honorary Chairman of the Jacobs Foundation Board of Trustees entrepreneur Klaus J. Jacobs. It is operated according to the vision of its foun- der, who believed that a society can only experience long-term success when Nathalie Jacobs as many of its members as possible are given the chance to receive quality PR Consultant education.

Professor Ulman Lindenberger The Jacobs Foundation aims at identifying and supporting the most innovative Director of the Center for Lifespan Psychology, globally leading researchers in the field of child and youth development. Max Planck Institute for Human Development Berlin It promotes activities that provide answers to how the living and learning conditions of young people can be designed and supported so that they will Professor Marta Tienda become successful members of society. Professor of Demographic Studies and Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University As far as its methods and approaches are concerned, the Jacobs Foundation is particularly committed to scientific excellence and evidence-based findings, Professor Laura Tyson and subscribes to an approach in child and youth development that emphasi- Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley zes positive development opportunities for young people. This approach co- vers a wide spectrum of scientific disciplines and approaches that include the Dr. Olaf von Maydell psychological, cognitive, emotional, intellectual, social vocational, academic, Partner, Schomerus & Partner tax consulting firm Berlin economic and physical development of children and youth.

14 15 Jacobs Foundation Seefeldquai 17, P.O. Box ch-8034 Zurich t +41 44 388 61 19 f +41 44 388 61 37 [email protected] www.jacobsfoundation.org