Twenty trainable mentally retarded children (6-12 years old) were randomly assigned to three sessions of adult-directed or peer-directed social response training. (Author/CL)

This study reports the successful use of compulsory "peer selecting modeling" for the treatment of hostile and aggressive behavior within a special education program. The treatment procedure, a brief, situation-specific variant of peer and participant modeling, was designed for routine use by classroom teachers. (Author)

Reported are some research findings that have stimulated interest in non-competitive learning, and a classroom experience in which concepts of non-competitive learning were implemented and tested. The evidence indicates that competitiveness tends to hamper the learning process, while a non-competitive situation reduces anxiety and increases…

The author clarifies common misunderstanding about the theory that social learning is concerned with shaping of children's moral behavior through differential reinforcement, which portrays children as mere mimics of socialization agents. Social learning is defined in relation to the cognitive developmental approach to moral development and its…

A questionnaire survey in one metropolitan high school suggests that both male and female Latino students generally aspire to attend college. Parents' aspirations, peer influence, ethnic and social class awareness, and students' perception of locus of control and educational benefits are related to college aspirations. (CTM)

Practical applications of educational theory on peer groups to classroom management are discussed. (MJB)

After 20 second-grade lisping children were taught to articulate /s/ and /z/ correctly, each child invited three classmates to a session in which classmates could earn tokens contingent on the target child's correct articulation. Target children in groups using a response cost procedure produced significantly more correct responses. (Author/KM)

Analysis of multilingual acquisition processes among children at the European School of Brussels reveals how both curricular and extra-curricular factors combine to account for these students' high levels of proficiency in three or four languages. Schumann's (1979) Acculturation Model applied to one case study allows examination of how the…

Children's joint production and maintenance of a peer culture in preschool settings is crucial to their development of a social identity. Theoreticians and researchers should consider what it is actually like to be a child to understand better how children's activities model and prepare them for the adult world. (Author/JL)

Off-task and disruptive behavior in two fifth graders decreased rapidly during an intervention in which, working in dyads, they served either as peer monitors or point earners. Peer-monitor and point-earner roles, when alternated on an every-other-day basis, were equally effective in reducing inappropriate behavior. (Author/JW)

Longitudinal study of Israeli adolescents' (N=1,900) substance use found that use increased as a function of positive attitudes toward substances, use, and users; positive attitudes ascribed to peers and parents; peers' and parents' use of alcohol and drugs; personality variables; and availability of drugs at home and in the community. Describes…

Investigated stressors and symptoms in 60 students. In order of frequency, elementary students cited family problems, feeling different, and school problems; junior high school students cited general adolescent problems, peer pressure, and family problems; and high school students cited the future, school problems, and peer pressure. Students…

Examines classroom research related to child-to-child interaction and its relationship to the development of social competence in young children. Discusses and summarizes relevant qualitative and quantitative research. Defines social competence and suggests implications of the research for classroom teachers. (Author/RWB)

Identifies four conditions which cause merit pay systems to fail to increase teacher performance: lack of skills, the poor timing of rewards, an inability to measure performance; and competing reinforcers. Explains why organizational culture is a more effective mediator of rewards. (SD)

Describes a study of 36 college juniors at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis to contrast how well students learn new concepts from working with a partner versus working individually on a computer-based lesson. Highlights include types of feedback chosen and an analysis of verbal interactions. (Author/LRW)