The ways in which Spence School, a New York private school for girls, and Dartmouth College (New Hampshire) cultivated and won top alumni donors are described. In each case, the development office and administration encouraged the donor's personal involvement in areas of interest at the institution, and donor enthusiasm and participation…

A study involving 639 Chinese gifted students (grades 4-12) found that intense emotional involvement, perfectionism, unchallenging schoolwork, multipotentiality, and parental expectations were relatively common adjustment problems. Poor interpersonal relationships were not. Results also indicated that conventional intelligence increased…

A study examined developmental changes in symptoms retrospectively in 28 verbal children (ages 7-20) with autism. Findings indicate a significant improvement in three main domains. Improvement occurred in more symptoms in the social rather than the communication domain, and for more communication symptoms than the restricted interest and…

The Autism Behavior Checklist measured autistic symptoms in 15 girls (ages 11-16) with Rett Syndrome (RS) and 14 with severe mental retardation. Girls with RS scored higher on the Sensory and Relating subscales. There were no differences on the Body and Object Use, Language, and Social and Self-Help subscales. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

This 3-wave longitudinal study spanning 12 months examined the process by which emotional distress contributes to competence estimation in 9- to 13-year-olds. Findings indicated that emotional distress predicted negative beliefs about the self and the world over time; these beliefs in turn predicted decrements in competence estimation over time.…

High school teachers (n=143) ranked 14 communication skills according to the perceived order of importance for Grade 10 adolescents' communication with them as teachers. Teachers tended to perceive skills associated with discourse management strategies as relatively more important than other skills. Science teachers ranked turn taking higher than…

Assessed the role of attention processes as mediators between family environment and school readiness, analyzing data from 1,002 children and their families participating in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care. Found that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between family environment and achievement and language outcomes.…

Long-term research in three countries suggests that a teacher's interpersonal skills are crucial to creating and maintaining a positive working environment. Describes the Questionnaire for Teacher Interaction, a measurement to determine how well teachers communicate with their students. Describes how effective teachers solidify relations with…

Evaluation of a proactive behavioral approach to teaching prosocial behavior was evaluated in six urban elementary physical education classes. Results demonstrated positive across-grade trends in student leadership and teacher-independent conflict resolution behaviors, marked decreases in student off-task behavior, less teacher-directed and more…

The principal's role in rural school reform is to create a climate for implementing change, to remove barriers to reform, and to establish the need for school improvement. Committing to the reform effort; linking curriculum development to systemic change; and facilitating collaboration among staff, parents, students, and the community are tactics…

Notes that teaching social and emotional skills can have a long-term positive effect on academic achievement. The University of Washington's Raising Healthy Children Project tries to reduce children's risk of developing problems in adolescence by providing interventions that bond students to family and school. The program features staff…

Discusses the strategies and structures necessary for fostering social competence in all children, especially those at risk of academic or social failure. Discusses strategies for assessing and understanding social skills problems, teaching social skills, and preferred practices for achieving generalized responding. Also provides guidelines for…

Describes development and evaluation of an interdisciplinary health team training program for school-based clinic staff in Minnesota elementary and secondary schools. The program included development in team training knowledge and skills and educational sessions on issues identified by participants. Evaluations indicated that participants gained…

Investigated the relationship between psychological understanding and positive social behavior in preschool children. Found that both mental state understanding and emotion understanding were positively related to teacher ratings of social skills, behavioral observers' global ratings of social skills, and peer popularity. When language ability was…

Interviews and surveys of 98 students and 7 instructors in Outward Bound Canada found that specific aspects of course activities, the physical environment, instructors, and participants influenced course outcomes. As role models, instructors made a greater contribution to student interpersonal skills than most other course components. Implications…