This paper reports on a small-scale study of the social interactions between six children labelled with special educational needs and their peers in their respective early years settings. Data from play observations, photographs and staff interviews is used to examine the dynamics of the connections that they make with other children. The position…

Recent re-conceptualisation of paternal involvement (Pleck, J. H. (2010). Paternal involvement: Revised conceptualization and theoretical linkages with child outcomes. In M. Lamb (Ed.), "The role of the father in child development" (5th ed., pp. 67-107). London: Wiley), while proving fruitful, has yet to be applied to investigations into…

With dual language learners falling behind their same-age peers at the beginning of kindergarten, understanding how school experiences can enhance language learning is critical. This study demonstrates how play among preschool-aged children can foster English language learning. Using an ethnographic approach, one classroom composed of two teachers…

Research has shown how cochlear implants (CIs), in children with hearing impairments, have improved speech perception and production, but very little is known about the children's pragmatic language development. During a 4-year longitudinal study of three children with CIs, certain aspects of pragmatic language development were observed in free…

A measure of role-taking skill was administered individually to 12 male and 8 female preschoolers. In addition the children were observed during free play on 30 consecutive school days, and their behaviors were coded according to Parten's social participation categories. Significant negative relationships were found to exist between the…

The Infant-Infant Contact Code, developed to observe the social behavior in infants, is described. Results from using this scale with nine infants under nine months indicated that contacts between infants are complex in nature, that there are developmental changes in models of encounter, and that babies take different roles in relation to the…

Presents two studies of preschool children, which test the hypothesis that a child's scores on two factor-analytically derived dimensions of social-emotional functioning are directly related to the frequency and type of his peer interactions. (Author/SDH)

A code to systematically observe preschool settings in which handicapped children were placed was designed to determine the types of interaction and play behavior that occurs in these settings. The code records the following information: play area the child is in, how many children are in the same area, the play behavior the child is undertaking,…

This study was designed to identify aggressive actions in 12-, 18-, and 24-month-old infants and to investigate what type of responses these actions elicit in peers. Nine infants were observed and videotaped in interaction with each other and with toys. The focus was on four 18-month-olds observed in two sessions, one with an older child, the…

This study charts the development of social interchange patterns (reciprocity) between familiar peers and adults from written and videotaped observations of 72 children at ages 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 months. Two additional groups of eight children were observed over a 12-month interval in a parallel longitudinal design. Measures included…

This study examined the relationship between the frequency of adult/peer interactions of preschool children and their perceptual role-taking ability. (CM)

This study of the behavior of a mixed group of male and female preschoolers in an indoor, free-play setting was designed to clarify two general issues: (1) the ratio of aggressive to non-aggressive disputes and the factors in the situation which may be associated with this relationship; and (2) the factors in the conflict episodes themselves which…

The amount and type of peer interaction occurring in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms were studied. Observational data were collected on the peer-directed behaviors of 69 white children and 32 black children weekly during one semester. The race and sex of the person to whom each behavior was directed were recorded as were the affective…

This research describes the attempts of 24 male and 24 female Kikuyu children (aged 2-9 years) to persuade other Kikuyu children and adults to comply to their demands. Examined was the sequence of behaviors beginning when a child encountered a noncompliant response from a target, and continuing until the child either gained compliance or gave up…

This paper describes an ecological observational study of social interaction and cognitive socialization in family day care. The study employs a reciprocal model which analyzes effects of the caregiver on the child and of the child on the caregiver by comparing the interaction of the same caregiver with "own" and "other"…