Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are designed on the assumption that good students will help poor students thus offloading the individual support tasks from the instructor to the class. However prior research has shown that this is not always true. Students in MOOCs tend to form distinct sub-communities and their grades are closely correlated…

During collaborative learning, computer-supported or otherwise, students balance task-oriented goals with the interpersonal goals of relationship-building; these goals may conflict, negatively impacting learning. In peer tutoring, for instance, tutors may avoid providing feedback to their partners to avoid the face-threat to their tutee. In this…

Magnet high school attendance seems to lead to improved academic performance (Cobb, Bifulco, & Bell, 2009; U.S. Department of Education, 2008; Yu & Taylor, 1997). Likewise, perceived social support has been linked with positive outcomes for adolescents, including improved academic performance (Rosenfeld, Richman, & Bowen, 2000; Demaray & Malecki,…

Friendship patterns and sociometric status of 27 young preschoolers with a mean age of 39 months were assessed naturalistically. Subjects were more likely to show positive reactions to the emotions of their friends than to those of their acquaintances, thus demonstrating the affective basis of early friendships. No differences were found between…

This study explored relational schemas in children's friendships. A total of 96 children (45 males and 51 females from grades 3, 4, and 5) from an urban elementary school in the northeast participated in both phases of the study. During phase 1, children completed a series of sociometric measures: (1) peer liking nominations; (2) peer disliking…

Argues that developmental significance of friendships cannot be examined without distinguishing between the concepts of having friends, the identity of the child's friends, and friendship quality. Concludes that the identity of the child's friends and friendship quality may be more closely tied to developmental outcomes than merely whether the…

In this study, 33 hearing and 29 deaf preschoolers were observed during outdoor free play at their respective schools over a seven-month period in an effort to determine if their friendships were unstable and transitory. Four issues were addressed: (1) the possibility that maintained and non-maintained friends serve different functions (this was…

This paper, which probes current knowledge about the role of conflict in the formation and maintenance of children's friendships, presents results of an observational study of the spontaneous conflicts of nursery school children. Observed were 26 males and 27 females from two classrooms in a university's nursery school and one classroom in a child…

Surveys on leisure and recreational patterns of mentally retarded individuals were completed by 98 parents of retarded children and adults. Results are reported, along with reviews of the literature in three general headings: (1) play in mentally retarded children under 12; (2) leisure and recreation activities in mentally retarded individuals 12…

Fifty-six friendship dyads and 24 acquaintance dyads participated in a study of variables that predict friendship context. Subjects completed measures of frequency of contact with their partner in the dyad, of willingness to discuss intimate topics, of ability to predict how the partner would respond to selected hypothetical situations, and of…

Grounding their efforts on results of previous research, investigators have sought to improve peer relationships of unpopular children through direct instruction in social skills. Generally, such interventions have been effective in promoting specific outcomes. For example, skill-training programs improve children's ability to form colleague…

Actual and perceived social relations and teacher ratings of social competence in 20 learning disabled (LD) and 20 nonLD children (mean age 11 years) were investigated. A sociometric group included 200 nonLD children in classrooms attended by both groups. Children completed sociometric and social network questionnaires along with the Perceived…

Numerous childhood activities and relationships have been studied within the context of socialization, but one form of interpersonal experience has not yet been investigated by social researchers: the carpool. This paper investigates the types of interaction which take place within the carpool setting, both between children and adults and among…

To identify the repertoire and the selection of negotiation strategies of children in natural settings, the interactions of 34 elementary school students in classrooms and playgrounds were recorded by two observers who focused on each child for about 3 hours. Children observed and interviewed were in grades 4 and 6 and approximately 10 and 12…

Alluding to the difficulty in explaining the two opposing powers, the "dark side" and the Force, in the Star Wars movies, this paper focuses on the complex combination of negative and positive interactions among children who are best friends. Presented in question-answer format, the paper discusses research findings and needs related to…