Coordinating a physical movement in time and space with social and nonsocial partners to achieve a shared goal -- "joint action" (JA) -- characterizes many peer-engagement situations that pose challenges for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This cross-sectional study examined development of JA capabilities comparing ASD…

Most children first enter social groups of peers in preschool. In this context, children use movement as a social tool, resulting in distinctive proximity patterns in space and synchrony with others over time. However, the social implications of children's movements with peers in space and time are difficult to determine due to the difficulty of…

Purpose: Sociometric studies and adult reports have established that children with Language Disorder (LD) are at risk of peer relationship difficulties. However, we have limited knowledge of how children with LD understand friendship, whom they deem as a good or bad friend, and what role their friendship concepts play in their relationships with…

This study seeks to understand how children express themselves socially and emotionally in play negotiations in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. It addresses the following research questions: What strategies do children employ in play negotiations? How do these strategies manifest themselves socially and emotionally? The study…

Reading aloud to young children can positively impact their social and emotional development during preschool. However, further exploration is needed to determine how drama-based read-alouds (DBRAs) could enhance these benefits. In this sense, this study examined the effects of the DBRA intervention on preschoolers' social understanding, social…

Children's peer-related social skills in early childhood set the stage for school readiness, social competence, and lifelong well-being. Preschoolers spend most of their classroom time in free choice, offering substantial opportunities for learning experiences that facilitate peer interactions that support social development. Yet, little is known…

This research explored if a social robot would play a role in facilitating the development of friendship between young children while they engage in playful learning. Grounded in child-robot interaction and child development literature, we instantiated four sessions of triadic interaction activities among two children and a robot, where the robot…

Connections between prosociality and antisocial behaviors have been recognized; however, little research has studied their developmental links longitudinally. This is important to illuminate during early adolescence as a sensitive period for social development in which prosociality could protect against the development of later antisocial…

This article focuses on elements of successful sociocultural inclusion and linguistic participation in a bilingual dual-language preschool for Latinx children. It presents a subset of findings from a three-year qualitative research project in which Latinx critical race theory and a translanguaging framework were used to illuminate critical…

Reviews concerning the enhancement of preschool children's social competencies reveal areas within which teacher approach, definitions of social competence and methods of study can be enhanced. In response, teachers and researchers co-developed and introduced a peer-based relational intervention to support children's communication, empathic…

Chinese international graduate students (CIGs), growing up without siblings, under China's One-Child policy, are particularly impacted by peer dynamics. This study explored the influence of peer dynamics and family structure on the academic motivation of CIGs in the U.S., using Bandura's self-efficacy theory as a framework. A single-case study…

Research Findings: There is limited research regarding socio-emotional development in low-income Latino Dual Language Learner (DLL) children. A total of 14 studies have been identified in a comprehensive review of the literature (Halle et al. 2014). Within these studies the majority have focused on problem behaviors within this population. Through…

This qualitative study aimed to explore the development of self-concept in adolescents attending schools for students with high abilities, interviewing 28 adolescents from two centers for students with high abilities in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico. Using a thematic analysis approach, the data were analyzed across four categories…

This paper measures parents' beliefs about school and peer quality, how information about each affects school choices, and how social interactions mediate these effects. Parents underestimate school quality and overestimate peer quality. Cross-randomized school and peer quality information combined with a spillover design shows that when parents…

According to developmental psychologists, more supportive and less conflictual relationships with teachers play a positive role in children's social behavior with peers both concurrently and in the future. This meta-analysis examined the association between teacher-student relationship quality, as measured by the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale…