Students of German need to be made aware of the pragmatic contrasts between American English and standard German to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Examples are given of contrasts such as power relationships between speaker and listener, affecting choice of verb; the uses of "bitte" and "danke" versus "please"…

The article describes three goal structures (competitive, cooperative, and individualistic) that provide the context in which social skills are learned. Major components of structured learning are next presented as a strategy for teaching social skills. Limitations and advantages of combining the two approaches are discussed. (Author/JW)

This paper presents an ecological framework for observing and evaluating the influence of society's attitudes toward disablement on the development of sociocommunicative skills in individuals using augmentative and alternative communication systems. Reviewed are the role of remediators, intervention issues, and directions for future research.…

Research on social interaction of severely disabled adolescents is reviewed. A conceptual model for research and instruction is based on the reciprocal exchange of responses between two interactants. Among topics addressed are peer initiation strategies, teaching disabled students to initiate, the environmental context, social scripts, and school…

Children with oral language disorders have difficulty in the areas of social behavior and family relationships as well as with academics and vocational achievement. Remediation should focus on specific language deficits, appropriate social interaction skills, and helping the individual to understand and take responsibility for effective…

A study to determine whether affective skills could be taught to residents in a family practice center without placing arduous constraints on their schedules is described. Residents at the University of Louisville Department of Family Practice were videotaped during a regular patient visit and then scheduled for review sessions. (MLW)

Research on professionals' interpersonal skills is reviewed as a basis for selecting material for inclusion in an optometry program. Specific recommendations are made about skills necessary for enhancing patient relationships, obtaining information from patients, and providing information to patients. (MSE)

The Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) program uses microcomputers to help high risk students master basic thinking processes, grasp course content, and apply learned information in various problem-solving situations. Specifically, HOTS aids students with metacognition, inference from context, and generalization skills. It also improves…

The study investigated the relationship between prognosis of turnover (before placement) and actual turnover within two years after placement for new handicapped employees (N=1948) in Dutch sheltered workshops. The clinical judgment of rehabilitation professionals proved to be the best predictor variable controlling for all other explanatory…

Synthesizes literature on social comparison in young children. Findings center on (1) children's motivations to engage in social comparison; (2) peer targets; (3) age when social comparison appears; (4) developmental sequences; (5) effects upon subsequent behavior; and (6) sex-related differences. Suggests pratical implications for teaching.…

Reviews benefits of using cooperative learning strategies and computer assisted instruction (CAI) in classrooms with mainstreamed students; describes teacher's role in implementing cooperative learning; presents examples demonstrating potential of cooperative learning and CAI in language and social skills development; and outlines steps in…

Social skills across three subgroups of midly handicapped children were compared to a matched sample of nonhandicapped students using a teacher rating scale. Function analysis revealed that 75 percent of the subjects could be correctly classified on the basis of teacher-rated social skills. (Author/JAZ)

Explores the underlying knowledge that children have about the relationship between the structure of requests and the relative status of speakers and listeners. Shows that the three age groups (preschoolers, 5-year-olds, and 10-year-olds) could systematically differentiate the requests by means of syntactic directness or semantics. (HOD)

Provides a historical review of the concept of childhood beginning with childhood as a natural state and ending with childhood as a socially constructed reality. (SRT)

John Naisbitt's "Megatrends" has implications for schools. Since most jobs require information processing, schools should teach students to operate computers, and develop their critical thinking, literate, numeric, and interpersonal skills. Administrators, as facilitators, should employ planning processes which include staff, students…