Schools today are increasingly market driven, and public schools are competing for students with numerous other educational options. Homeschool education continues to grow rapidly as one such option. Minnesota, considered a leader in school choice, has experienced rapid growth in the incidence of home-educated children. Such growth raises…

Background: Though the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype has been described as involving relative strengths in visuo-spatial processing and sociability, and relative weaknesses in verbal skills and motor planning, the early emergence of this phenotypic pattern of strengths and weaknesses has not yet been fully explored. Method: In this study, we…

The purpose of this study was to examine (a) the reports of conflict strategies and goals in response to hypothetical conflict situations, (b) generation of solutions to hypothetical conflicts, and (c) conflict in observed dyadic exchanges in children with high and low depressive symptoms. Children from Grades 4, 5, and 6 were divided into high…

Current research is establishing the importance of teaching empathy skills to youth in order to prevent aggression and to teach important interpersonal and work skills. The Center for Safe Schools and Communities has developed supplementary Aggression Replacement Training materials (the PEACE Curriculum) that emphasizes empathy training with…

Possessing communication-related skills is vital to student success within and beyond college. The utilization of these skills, or being considered socially competent, has been linked to personal, relational, and occupational success. But how do we teach the necessary social skills to today's students? Building on research from education and…

The Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale was developed, based on the School Social Behavior Scale and examined to test the factor pattern and the consistency of the ratings of self, peers, teachers, and parents. The findings of the confirmatory factor analysis supported a four-factor solution consistent with two main dimensions…

This article can help teachers and directors become eloquent and effective advocates of play-based early learning environments. It defines play and play policy and discusses distinct research areas that support play policy and practice for physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development within diverse early childhood settings. Also…

This article reflects on what it means for teachers to put relationships with children as the priority in their practice. The authors focus on four themes that they believe are at the heart of a good relationship: (1) recognition; (2) familiarity; (3) respect; and (4) commitment. "Recognition" is acknowledging another person's presence and…

This study explored the factors that contribute to a successful work experience for employees who are visually impaired from the perspective of employers. The employers who were interviewed emphasized the dual responsibility that employees have to empower their own success and that employers have to enable the employees' success. In addition, an…

Children with autism have poor pretend play abilities, which greatly affects their social skill development. This intervention technique, using an adult partner, describes how a guided story and role-play format enhanced abilities of pretence and the understanding of social roles in a ten-year-old, verbal boy with autism. By having an everyday…

Scotland has a new system of teacher induction, introduced in 2002. Whilst recognising the many benefits for newly qualified teachers, we aim to explore some of the real experiences of teachers in the new system. This article recognises the power relationships involved and therefore aims to allow the submerged voices of probationer teachers to be…

The question of what to do with aggressive students has plagued schools since mandatory attendance laws were passed. At the present time, many practitioners are using tactics for aggressive students that may not effectively remediate the problem, and research and practice do not seem to be in harmony regarding disciplinary options for aggressive…

In this paper we examine the effect an outdoor and experiential education program on the life effectiveness skills of its participants. A private boys school in Melbourne focused on the challenging time of year nine to implement a program they hoped would enable the boys to develop life effectiveness skills in the areas of time management, social…

This report describes a program designed to decrease students' undesired behaviors. Undesired behaviors addressed include tattling, hitting, kicking, biting and pinching. A review of existing literature revealed these behaviors affected all aspects of the classroom. The sample population consisted of two sessions of at-risk pre-kindergarten and…

The residential construction industry, like much of today's job market, requires young people to have more analytical reasoning ability and a broader skill base. Along with this comes a deeper understanding of what it means to provide students with "good" soft skills. Soft skills are more than just saying thank you. Choosing a career is…