This action research project sought to improve social skills in targeted elementary students. The problem of poor social skills was documented by means of data revealing the number of students exhibiting inappropriate behaviors. Students exhibited a lack of social skills through: inappropriate manners, lack of cooperation, not occupying one's own…

This action research project sought to improve the social skills of targeted third-, fourth-, fifth-, and seventh-grade students in order to improve their classroom performance. The students' lack of social skills was documented by means of teacher observation checklists, teacher and student surveys, and past disciplinary records. Objectives of…

The central objective of this study was to draw interdependent relationships between preschoolers' social functioning and their modes of social thought. Assessment of 67 four-year-olds was done through systematic observations of social behavior, including social participation, type of play, and affective involvement in the preschool setting, as…

Profiles three programs that incorporate service learning into efforts to reduce violence. Extrapolates a set of criteria for developing similar programs. These include meaningful activities, skill-based instruction, recognition of student effort and clear expectations for non-violent behavior. Includes a brief list of teaching resources. (MJP)

Discusses the characteristics and benefits of friendship, not only as a central metaphor for the individual/church relationship, but also as a strategy and guide for the church, the individual, and the community. Identifies the four components of friendship as a shared story, embodied love, committed reciprocity, and a shared vision. (MJP)

Reports results of a 1984-85 study involving 261 Canadian undergraduates and their degree of sympathy for victims in each of 20 world disasters. Finds culpability singularly influential in determining degree of sympathy. Determines females showed greater empathy and recommended more financial aid than did men. (DB)

Differences in social behavior of middle-class kindergartners with and without previous day care experience were compared through classroom observations and teacher ratings during the second semester of kindergarten. (BB)

Explores the impact of classroom environment on curriculum implementation. Provides historical background for this area of study, describes instruments for assessing prosocial behavior, and examines studies of teacher and student perception of classroom environment. Reports on two studies that combine qualitative and quantitative methods, and…

Examined the effectiveness of an intervention program to prevent conduct problems among the preschool sons of 104 alcoholic fathers. The 10-month intervention combined parent training and marital counseling and had significant positive effects on the children's negative, prosocial, and affective behavior at program termination. Only the prosocial…

Reviews "Investigating Mathematics with Young Children" (Althouse); "Homecoming for Babies after the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursery: A Guide for Parents," with companion guide for professionals (Hanson and VandenBerg); "HIV/AIDS: A Challenge to Us All," with companion video (Pediatric AIDS Foundation); and "Modeling Healthy Behavior: Actions and…

Explores the ideas of teacher Vivian Paley about social justice in the kindergarten classroom. Reviews her book "You Can't Say You Can't Play." Once kindergartners begin to grapple with questions of rejection and exclusion, Paley extends the debate to older children to encourage schoolwide conversations about justice and democracy. (SLD)

Preschoolers through second graders were given an opportunity to help another child obtain toys. Help that required a specific form of affective attribution and reconciliation was found to be related to the affective attribution and reconciliation measures when the demands of the helping opportunity matched the social cognition measure demands.…

Investigated two approaches to all-day kindergarten to determine their differential effects on the students. One approach provided teacher training and support; the other did not. Found that children in the program with teacher training and support were rated by teachers as more developmentally competent, exhibiting more prosocial classroom…

The importance of taking responsibility for the well-being of others or responding to the needs of others, be it concrete persons nearby, anonymous persons or (in)animus objects, is beyond dispute. However, people seem to live in an age where it is not common to look after the well-being of others, at least that is the message one gets from the…

This article discusses how teachers and parents can help build children's communication skills. Children's language develops in predictable stages. Here, the author outlines these stages. She also gives suggestions to parents on how to help build their communication skills at home. Language learning takes place throughout the classroom. The author…