Social-cognitive, cognitive-motivational, and situational factors influencing children's effectiveness in using adults and other children as learning resources (help-seeking) are considered. Effective help-seeking can meet the dual developmental needs of minority students, specifically African-Americans, for autonomy and social support. (SLD)

Peer counselors and staff members describe the "I Have a Future" Program at Meharry Medical College in Nashville (Tennessee). This program focuses on pregnancy prevention by providing education, health care, and increased life options; social skills training; an entrepreneurial program; and separate classes for African-American youth.…

Used the Revised Class Play test to compare the attitudes of Jewish second through seventh graders in Israel with attitudes of North American children, as assessed in previous studies. Although results on broad measures of leadership, aggression, and sensitivity were similar, some culturally specific differences were apparent. (MDM)

Surveyed teachers' perceptions of the SCIS-II elementary science program. Results indicate that grades K-2 teachers rated the program more positively than grades 3-6 teachers. Teachers who rated the program higher perceived fewer barriers to effectively utilizing the program. Teachers rated the program higher for developing social skills and…

Maintains that music teacher education should attend to the development of personal skills for effective classroom teaching. Describes the following exercises for skill development: positive-negative experience inventories, personal self-assessment questionnaires, and situation scenarios addressing specific areas. Illustrates how these exercises…

Studied development of moral reasoning in friendship conflicts by interviewing 120 children, ages 7, 9, and 12, using a moral dilemma narrative. Selected four issues to represent the levels of sociomoral reasoning. Showed sociomoral reasoning development is sequential and cumulative. Identified how commitment and responsibility progress in…

Evaluated Life Skills training programs conducted within 3 Canadian penitentiaries in terms of how effectively they met goals of changing inmates' personal and social functioning. Comparison of 68 treated inmates with 22 untreated controls indicated clear benefits for trained subjects. Discusses findings in terms of value of training in Life…

Development and validation of the Assessment of Social Competence (ASC), designed for individuals at all levels of functioning, are described. Results from samples of 140 children/youth and 161 adults with mental retardation and other disabilities indicate ASC is a comprehensive, criterion-referenced tool for both descriptive and intervention…

Recent research shows that at-risk young people involved in well-planned and supervised peer-tutoring situations improve their grade point averages, literacy and study skills, reading comprehension, ability to identify long-range goals, and self-confidence. This article describes a high school peer-tutoring program applicable to middle school…

The ultimate learning environment is the Internet itself. Digital media are helping educators and students shift from linear to hypermedia learning; from instruction to construction and discovery; from teacher- to learner-centered education; from absorbing to synthesizing material; and from school-time to customized lifelong learning. (MLH)

Data from Colorado Adoption Project were used to examine hypothesis that association between parental divorce and children's adjustment is mediated by genetic factors. Findings for psychopathology were consistent with an environmentally mediated explanation for the association. Findings for achievement and social adjustment were consistent with a…

This study examined the social and affective functioning of 2,011 students (grades two through eight) with special needs (disability, limited English speaking, at risk for school failure, and non-categorized) receiving instruction in inclusive general education classrooms. Children with disabilities and children at risk displayed large (but…

Investigated hiring criteria Canadian administrators used to assess prospective teachers seeking employment. Surveys of 69 Directors of Education indicated that hiring preferences reflected directors' own practical orientation toward schooling. The three broad areas that the directors valued were good interpersonal communication skills, good…

This case study of an 11-year-old boy with moderate/severe mental retardation, seizures, and behavior disorders in an inclusive classroom setting describes how a program of assessment and intervention eliminated the behavior problems, was maintained following the intervention, and generalized to 3 nontargeted problem behaviors. Intervention…

Investigates the social background of oldcomer Taiwanese in Japan while examining their language behavior in intraethnic communication and in interethnic interaction with Japanese. Analysis of two conversations reveals that many Asians seek to pass as Japanese, a behavior contributing to the reproduction of the existing social hierarchy of…