Defines kindness in practical terms and describes its potency in changing troubled youth. Gives examples of kindness exhibited by professionals who work with children and why students initially resist acts of staff kindness. Discusses feature of kindness, such as protection and forgiveness, and the benefits of kindness. (RJM)

Naturalistic observations were made of children in grades one through six on school playgrounds. Observers coded interactive behaviors, affective valence, and play states. Aggressive children displayed more verbal and physical aggression, antisocial behaviors, and interaction than did nonaggressive children. Peers made similar initiations to the…

Examines the impact of a violence prevention program among African American students in two inner-city schools in Chicago. Students in 5th through 8th grade participated in Second Step: A Violence Prevention Program, and completed surveys at pretest and posttest. Findings reveal significant increases in self-reported knowledge and skills,…

Examined the relationship between three behaviors (physical aggression, relational aggression, and prosocial behaviors) and three social outcomes (peer rejection, acceptance, and reciprocal friendships) in 131 third-graders and 135 sixth-graders. Found that among girls, but not boys, relational aggression explained variance in rejection beyond…

Reports on the evaluation of the Earlscourt Girls Connection, a program for young girls with conduct problems. Analyses of behavioral change according to primary caregivers' ratings were conducted comparing admission scores with 6-month and 12-month follow-up. At follow-up, the girls were rated as lower on the total score for externalizing…

Makes the point that instruction that focuses only on the academic aspects of reading may not be optimal in terms of the overall benefits to students. Proposes a caring reading curriculum which provides an environment that invites group activity. (MG)

Examines ethical dilemmas associated with using entertainment television for prosocial development. Discusses the ethics of distinguishing prosocial from antisocial television content; depicting socio-cultural equality through television programs; limiting the unintended effects of television programs; and using television as a persuasive tool to…

Investigated effects of variation of personal cost to the helper and perceived neediness of the person helped upon the helping behavior of 96 children of 43-67 months. Data indicated that the helping stimulus, the absence of behavior by the person helped, and cost contributed to the prediction of helping response type. (RJC)

Examines the role of others' emotions and children's responsive empathy with those emotions in the context of children's motivation to help others. (PCB)

Uses a class exercise that tests the folk wisdom concerning small-town friendliness. Students are assigned to express random friendliness to strangers so they can determine whether friendlier responses are elicited in small towns or large cities. (KO)

Summarizes recent ERIC documents and journal articles relating to topics examined in this issue of the Early Childhood Research Quarterly. (BG)

Investigated impact of adult modeling and encouragement in prosocial home- and school-based interventions on preschool children's cooperative behavior. Assigned 48 preschoolers to either home-based intervention, school-based intervention, or control group. Assessed cooperative behavior using videotaped situational tests at pretest, posttest, and…

On 2 consecutive days, a total of 96 children were observed in groups of 3, once with scarce and once with ample toy resources. Sharing was affected by the number of toys and availability of duplicate toys. When pressured by peers, one year olds shared more often than did two year olds. (BC)

Investigated the associations made by fifth- and sixth-grade children and their closest age siblings between siblings' affective relationship quality and conflict strategies. Found that focal siblings who engaged in more destructive conflicts reported greater negativism in their relationships, frequency of conflict was positively correlated with…

Asserts that because many teachers embrace the use of literature in their classrooms and use many avenues for responding to books, social action can be an important addition to the repertoire of response strategies. Examines support for activism from both the social studies and literacy education communities, and offers guidelines and resources…