This chapter explores the relationship between childhood aggressive behavior and later adjustment, with a focus on the transition to high school. Pattern-oriented prodigal analysis is used to identify four homogeneous groups, based on stability or change in risk and nonrisk status over time. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This paper presents a comparative case study of diverse approaches to deinstitutionalization of developmental disabilities residential services in two Midwestern states. During the 1970s and 1980s, the convergence of leadership by advocates, legislators, and bureaucrats led to Michigan's rapid transformation from an institutional to a…

This presentation summarizes two products of the ongoing work the authors are doing for the Campaign for Educational Equity. Part 1 of this presentation is a summary of "A Report Card on Comprehensive Equity: Racial Gaps in the Nation's Youth Outcomes." This report estimates the black-white achievement gaps in each of these aspects of…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

Many states and school districts are implementing test-based requirements for promotion at key transitional points in students' schooling careers, thus ending the practice of "social promotion"--promoting students who have failed to meet academic standards and requirements for that grade. In 2003-2004, the New York City Department of…

Cosponsored by Coalition for After-School Funding (CASF) and The After-School Corporation (TASC), After-School Advocacy Days have been held annually in Albany, NY since 2000. These events are enormously helpful to the two sponsors' efforts to influence officials who make decisions about funding afterschool programs. The annual event is designed to…

It has been well established that young children with communication disorders (CD) have considerable difficulties interacting socially with peers in free-play settings. The central purpose of this study was to determine whether behavioral adaptations of children with CD could contribute to their peer interaction problems. To accomplish this, the…

Although teachers face increasing pressure to focus on academics in kindergarten, research indicates that promoting school success in young children involves integrating skills in multiple domains. For example, by using dialogic reading--a well-researched shared-reading technique--and books with strong social-emotional content, teachers can…

This study used self-monitoring, coupled with a student/teacher matching strategy, to improve the classroom social skills of five inner-city middle school students, who were at risk for school failure. Using a multiple-probe across students and settings (class periods) design, we evaluated intervention effects in up to six different settings.…

Objective: To examine the persistence of parent-reported social-emotional and behavioral problems in infants and toddlers. Method: The sample comprised 1,082 children ascertained from birth records. Children were 12 to 40 months old in year 1 (1998-1999) and 23 to 48 months old in year 2 (1999-2000). Eighty percent participated in year 1 and 91%…

Autism is a life-long, complex developmental disorder that causes impairment in the way individuals process information. Autism belongs to heterogeneous categories of developmental disabilities where neurological disorders lead to deficits in a child's ability to communicate, understand language, play, develop social skills, and relate to others.…

Standardized clinical assessments from the point of view of children are rare. A standardized narrative assessment measure, developed to assess children's perceptions of their caregiving environments, the Narrative Story-Stem Technique (NSST), was used with two fraternal twins, age 8, with histories of severe maltreatment and multiple foster…

The author presents three educational products for kids: (1) "Novel Perspectives" by Shelley Harwayne; (2) "Summarization in Any Subject--50 Techniques to Improve Student Learning" by Rick Wormelt; and (3) Voices Reading, the new comprehensive reading and character development program for Grades K-2 from Zaner-Bloser. "Novel Perspectives" carries…

Religious sentiment served as one of the driving forces behind the progressive movement in education. Indeed, many progressives pursued their theories and reform agendas as a missionary endeavor. Perhaps the primary task in life is growing up, or, put another way, to create a consistent personal narrative to explain people's selves to themselves.…

Teacher warmth and support, say University of Virginia researchers Bridget Hamre and Robert Pianta, have unparalleled power to help children adjust and achieve. Their 2005 study of 910 first-grade students included 5- and 6-year-olds whose mothers had low-level education and children identified with "significant behavior, social, and/or…