This publication contains eight papers, selected from papers presented at the Bicentennial Conference on Early Childhood Education, that discuss different aspects of teaching practices. The first two chapters reexamine basic assumptions underlying the organization of curriculum experiences for young children. Chapter 3 discusses the need to…

This pamphlet presents brief abstracts of selected English language reports and papers from the activities of the project group "Preparedness for Peace." For several years this project has carried out research and development work on peace education and related issues. The tasks have also included editorial work and publishing related to…

Elementary schools can play an important role in early identification of and intervention for children with problem behavior by creating the infrastructure to provide preventive, proactive supports for all students. This monograph provides an overview of key features of effective school-wide systems of positive behavior support (PBS) at the…

This action research project implemented an intervention program to increase prosocial skills among 3- to 5-year-olds in at-risk prekindergarten classrooms. Participating were 65 students from 2 prekindergarten classrooms in 2 schools. Evidence of problems in social skills was gathered through anecdotal records and observational checklists…

Reports on a series of programs designed to test the hypothesis that increasing student involvement in and understanding of social institutions combined with increased cognitive and social skills can decrease youth violence. The program combines law-related, conflict resolution, and service learning components with qualitative and quantitative…

Hypothesizes regarding factors that enhance prosociality in children, implying that the quality of childrearing and early companionship have profound impact on toddlers' social behavior. Discusses observation space versus companion space, prosocial behavior across cultures, when toddlers abuse, and the implications of a circular reenactment of…

This study examined the psychometric properties of a multidimensional measure of prosocial behaviors, the Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised (PTM-R), with early and middle adolescents. Results showed adequate reliability and evidence of validity for the PTM-R. Discussion focused on individual differences in prosocial behaviors among early and…

Adolescents whose parents had not divorced exhibited more social and scholastic competence and fewer adjustment problems than did adolescents from families with remarried or single mothers. Children from divorced, single-mother families demonstrated adjustment difficulties up to six years after their mother's divorce. (BC)

Absence of culturally relevant measures of Black children's strengths inhibits psychometrically sound strength-based assessment, research, and appropriate use of strengths as scaffolds or targets for clinical intervention. Moreover, the sparse research literature on Black children is primarily deficit focused. Beginning to address these problems,…

Teachers' ratings of children's competencies may in part reflect characteristics and perspectives of teachers who assigned the ratings, which compromises their validity as a measure of child attributes. The purposes of this study were to use multilevel modeling to (a) estimate between-rater variance in teachers' ratings of children's social…

This study examined children's peer relations in relation to gender, symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), associated behaviour problems, prosociality, and self-perceptions, in a community sample. Six hundred and thirty-five 12-year-old children (314 girls) provided peer nominations and rated feelings of loneliness and…

The remarkable spread of home education needs to be considered in light of the arguments driving its growth. While acknowledging that there are many good reasons for individuals to choose home education, this analysis examines some of the most prominent assumptions and claims that advance the practice as a mass movement. Specifically, arguments…

This essay draws from the work of William James and three African American pragmatists, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ralph Ellison and Cornel West, to explore the moral relevance of the self as an empowered agent among African American youth. The focus is on Jamesian agency as a function of the individual's awareness of options in context, the self-empowerment…

"Positive Action," a K-12 program, aims to promote a positive self-concept, character development, healthy behavior, and social-emotional skills and to reduce disruptive and problem behavior. The curricula for elementary and middle school students each have seven units per kit, with nine kits per grade level. The high school curriculum…

To increase the social skills of second graders, a 32-week peace education curriculum was taught. All 135 students were from the same ethnically diverse suburban school located in a mostly upper-middle class neighborhood. Pre-curriculum observations, interviews, and teacher questionnaires demonstrated that students did not show proper respect for…