The primary purpose of the present study was to examine the contributions of social, academic, and psychological characteristics of peer groups to individual development in the same and different domains in Chinese children. Participants included 1,864 elementary school students (945 boys, M[subscript age] = 11 years) in China. One-year…

Little is known about the skills children need to successfully collaborate with classmates on academic assignments. The purposes of this study were to identify grade-schoolers' collaborative skills, evaluate the importance of identified skills for collaborative work, and determine whether differences in skill use were related to children's social…

The importance of higher education has never been clearer. Educational attainment--the number of years a person spends in school--strongly predicts adult earnings, as well as health and civic engagement. Yet relative to other developed nations, educational attainment in the United States is lagging, with young Americans who heretofore led the…

This study adds to the growing research on school outcomes associated with individual differences in preschoolers' theory of mind skills by considering whether "costs" of theory of mind (e.g., sensitivity to criticism) actually help to foster children's academic achievement. A group of 60 Italian children was tested during the last year…

Individual differences in the ability to self-regulate emotions, attention, and behavior are evident in infancy, and children who experience difficulty in learning to regulate their own emotions, attention, and behavior are at risk for later social and academic problems. Within the school setting, self-regulation of learning related social skills,…

The Minnoka Schools (Illinois) use the Murphy-Meisgeier Children Type Indicator (designed to identify personality types in children) to help instruct youngsters more effectively. Identifying a child's psychological type can aid understanding of how he or she focuses attention, absorbs information, makes decisions, and deals with the world. (MLH)

This work examines associations between closeness and conflict in teacher-child relationships and children's social and academic skills in first grade in a sample of 490 children. Assessments of teacher-child relationships were obtained in preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. Results demonstrate moderate correlations among teachers' ratings…

Single-case analyses were conducted of the dosage and time-course effects of methylphenidate on disruptive classroom behavior, math and reading performance, and social engagement. In contrast to previous studies, clear individual differences were demonstrated: across children; across academic, behavioral, and social domains of functioning; for…

An urban, federally funded after-school program for children ages 6-13 was evaluated. Program children were compared to control children with respect to social skills, self-esteem, school achievement, and congruence between parent and child ratings. Multivariate statistical analyses indicated that program children surpassed controls in all but the…

Argues that an evolutionary perspective can unite the study of species-typical development and individual variation. Provides examples from the domains of personality, social, and intellectual development. Maintains that understanding the ways in which genes and environments work together helps developmentalists identify children who need…

In a speech on minimum competency testing, the author discusses four issues which are still unresolved. The first is the need to recognize the political overtones which gave impetus to the competency movement as a reaction against the perceived failures of the schools and teacher education institutions, rather than as a concern for student…

This 2-year longitudinal study is being conducted better to understand the lives of secondary school students as they move from one social setting to another and to draw implications for learning as teachers are provided with a more holistic picture. The study describes students' interrelationships with family, school, and peers; perceptions of…

A study was conducted involving 213 children who were either in junior kindergarten in 1978 and first grade in 1980 (69 children) or in senior kindergarten in 1978 and second grade in 1980 (144 children). Of these, 76 children had been identified by their kindergarten teachers as "thriving," 80 as "making average progress," and…