This study investigates how structured Mediated Learning Experiences may improve peer-cooperative communication within problem-solving task exercises. Two groups (n = 22) of Year 8 students (mean age 13 +/- 5 months) were randomly selected to participate in this study. The study began with two one-hour sessions of activity-based problem-solving…

The Office of Management and Budget requested that the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) oversee an independent impact evaluation of the federal Student Mentoring Program, and in 2005 IES contracted with Abt Associates and its team of subcontractors (Branch Associates, Moore and Associates, and the Center for Resource Management) to conduct…

Many social interactions between school-age children contain both competitive and cooperative elements. In order to gain a better understanding of how students at risk for emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) negotiate social exchanges in cooperative and competitive-related tasks in comparison with non-EBD students: (a) prosocial; (b)…

This study investigated the relation of peer interactions, family social environment and personality to prosocial orientation in Chinese adolescents. The results indicated no sex differences in general prosocial orientation and inclination to help others, but sex differences in inclination to maintain an affective relationship and inclination to…

This paper investigates the determinants and malleability of noncognitive skills. Using data on boys from the National Education Longitudinal Survey, I focus on youth behavior in the classroom as a measure of noncognitive skills. I find that student behavior during adolescence is persistent. The variation in behavior can be attributed to…

Peer- and teacher-reported prosocial behavior of 339 6th-grade (11-12 years) and 8th-grade (13-14 years) students was examined in relation to prosocial goals, self-processes (reasons for behavior, empathy, perspective taking, depressive affect, perceived competence), and contextual cues (expectations of peers and teachers). Goal pursuit…

In the current study, 466 children completed a peer nomination survey assessing both perceived and sociometric popularity at the end of the 5th grade. Measures of behavior problems were assessed through a composite of peer-, teacher- and self-reports at the end of the 8th grade. Examination of the unique concurrent associations of each popularity…