Examines relationship of situational variables and gender to leadership selection among 37 college students, divided into 6 mixed-gender groups. Measures frequency of speaking, leadership nominations, and likability ratings. Finds males spoke more and were selected as leaders more frequently in impersonal groups. Finds reverse in personal groups.…

Examines the School Development Program of James Comer, first essayed in two predominantly Black New Haven (Connecticut) elementary schools. His theories of school improvement stress stability, autonomy, institutional loyalty, warmth of daily interaction, and other elements present in Black families and communities in prior decades. (DM)

Social interactions of 10 severely disabled junior high school students were recorded during school arrival, lunch, and vocational training. Teacher perceptions and parent attitudes were also measured. Results portray subjects as more involved in task-related than nontask interactions, interacting more with teachers than with peers, and dependent…

The article reports on the first phase of a study to locate Hong Kong residents who are both elderly and mentally handicapped. Of the 24 elderly mentally handicapped people located, the majority had well-developed self-help skills, but most had few social contacts and participated minimally in community activities. (Author/DB)

Randomly assigned 52 black aggressive, rejected and nonaggressive, rejected children to receive social relations intervention or to be in nonintervention control group. School-based intervention for fourth-grade children focused on positive social skill training and cognitive-behavioral strategies. At posttreatment and one-year follow-up,…

This paper examines the role of athletic participation in the social systems of adolescents. Data from 422 high school students and 319 college students indicate there are differences between males and females in all 3 social status measures of remembrance after high school, type of sport participant preferred for a date or friend, and…

Examined adjustment problems for children and adolescents with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Parents provided information on social, emotional, academic, and family adjustment of 327 children with SCA. Over 25% of children had emotional adjustment problems in form of internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression); at least 20% had problems related to…

Describes a weekend residential trip at a British outdoor education center aimed at assessing primary students for the National Curriculum. Instructors constructed personal profiles based on assessment of math, science, geography, and technology and observation of personal and social skills. Formal assessment was conducted during structured group…

Comprehension and Picture Arrangement Wechsler subtest scores were correlated with clinician ratings of social competence and hostility for 82 children at risk for psychopathology and 62 healthy children and 124 at-risk and 113 healthy adolescents. Results do not suggest that either subtest is sensitive to social functioning. (SLD)

Describes Invitational Education theory, illustrates it, and describes its application with seven middle schools. Invitational Education is based on the interrelationships among people, places, policies, processes, and programs. Ways in which the Invitational Education process differs from the usual "factory" approach to education are…

Examined links between parenting and preschoolers' peer competence. Found that parent-child play was associated with boys', but not girls', peer competence. Mothers' coaching was associated with girls', but not boys', competence. Mothers' or fathers' involvement in child-peer play predicted lower or higher child competence, respectively. Mothers'…

This study examined the interactional social behaviors of six elementary grade children with specific language impairment. Data reviewed included teacher ratings of social skills and child self-perceptions of loneliness and peer contacts. Children also were observed during interactional tasks including access, negotiation, and cooperative work.…

A study examined the overlap between behaviors associated with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders and emergent literacy skills in 44 children from middle-income families and 41 Head Start children. Attention problems were associated with literacy skills in both groups, however, the effect was strongest for the middle-income group.…

Considers the potential of social-constructivist ideas of teaching and learning for pupils with learning difficulties from a British perspective. Reports on a study with a class of eight students with moderate learning disabilities studying the local community. Benefits to individual students in the development of conceptual understanding and…

Tested relations between low-income children's emotional regulatory skills and their social competence. Also examined children's use of self-distraction as an index of their regulatory skill. Found that children's use of self-distraction predicted a significant amount of variance in peers' ratings of social preference and in teachers' ratings of…