Two of the most interesting conceptual turns in Richard E. Snow's thinking called for: a broadening of the concept of aptitude to include not only cognitive processes, but also affective and cognative processes as essential for understanding academic performance and learning; and an exploration of the possibility that individual differences in learning and achievement emerge from dynamic person-situation transactions that unfold over time. The articles in this special issue address these "big ideas" through the lens of a study of high school students' achievement in science.

Recently, there has been widespread emerging interest in the use of contemplative practices aimed at cultivating mindful awareness and compassion in teachers and students across a broad variety of disciplines (e.g., Roeser & Peck, 2009, Schonert-Reichl et al., in press; Thurman, 2006). But what is mindfulness and how can it be cultivated in secular educational settings in ways that support and extend other core aims of education associated with the "three Rs"?

Both clinical psychology and neuroscience research have revealed important beneficial outcomes of the practice of...