Describes the conditional probability methods (positive/negative predictive power, sensitivity, and specificity) used to differentiate children, judged by teachers as belonging to Social Competence (SC) or Low Social Competence (LSC) groups. Large differences were found in the number of social skills predicting LSC group membership for females and…

Recess serves as a prime example of an underused social work intervention opportunity in schools. Describes and evaluates a recess-based social skill intervention that targets elementary-aged school children and their behaviors on the playground. Explores program effectiveness by examining behaviors from before and during the program. Examines…

To further practitioners' understanding of shyness, this review of research discusses (1) origins of shyness, (2) cognition and shyness, (3) situational factors affecting shy behavior, (4) social difficulties of shy children, (5) shyness and sex differences, (6) persistence of shyness, and (7) ways for caregivers to help the shy child. (RH)

Twenty-two studies are reviewed that report the effects of social skills training and intervention with 572 children (ages 5-19) with learning disabilities. Characteristics examined, along with intervention effectiveness, include age and sex of subjects, grade grouping, group size, intervention duration, intervention procedures, subject selection,…

Examined were relationships between children's popularity and: (1) the types of solutions children generated to common social dilemmas; (2) what they reported they would do in similar situations; (3) their statements regarding conflict participants' intent; and (4) what they expected to happen next in conflict situations. Subjects were 95…

This article describes the Life Skills program used to improve the social skills of 12 students with learning disabilities in an Israeli middle school. Each of two groups (girls or boys) met weekly for 5 months to address social skills topics. The article notes gender differences in reactions and participation, and outcomes in such areas as…

The efficacy of a contextualist training model for increasing the peer acceptance of learning-disabled students through skills training and systematic opportunities for interactions with peers and teachers is evaluated. Ten peer-rejected learning-disabled subjects (seven males and three females) in grades 3 to 6 were selected to participate in the…

Designed to evaluate the progress of children who had gone through the Cincinnati Public School System Head Start Program as a means of getting some feedback about the long range impact of Head Start, this study compared referred Head Start, non-referred Head Start and non-Head Start groups of third grade school children on academic and social…

The Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale II (DESB-II) was administered by teachers to 1,801 students in grades K-6 in 17 rural school districts. Results revealed that 7 of the 10 high-risk behavioral factors tapped by the DESB-II were considered problems by the majority of rural teachers. Includes recommended classroom interventions.…

Self esteem has been a buzzword in the 1990s but what exactly is self esteem? How is it formed? Can self esteem be raised? How? This book addresses these questions and includes specialized chapters on children, gender, transitions, parents' self esteem, and measurement of self esteem. Many people want to change how they feel about themselves but…