THE PURPOSES OF THIS PAPER ARE TO EXAMINE THE RESEARCH METHODS GENERALLY UTILIZED IN DIFFUSION RESEARCH AND TO SUGGEST RESEARCH METHODS WHICH MIGHT HELP PROVIDE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE DIFFUSION PROCESS. TO PROMOTE THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLETE DIFFUSION PROCESS OF EDUCATIONAL CHANGE, RESEARCH SHOULD CONSIDER THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS,…

A course in communication skills that is provided to all freshmen dental students at the University of Mississippi School of Dentistry is described. The course is based primarily on the human relations training models of Blakeman (1975), Carkhuff (1969), and Egan (1975), and consists of six modules devoted to the skills of structuring, attending,…

This study examined the applicability of Watts' Human Interaction Scale to day care settings, and was also concerned at a more general level with the question of whether it is possible for day care settings to approximate good homes. Six 2-year-olds in each of two day care centers were each videotaped for a total of 45 minutes in a variety of…

This book is a collection of six theoretical and practice oriented papers on issues related to the problems of intervention in the social development of young children. Topics dealt with in the papers are: mother-child interaction in day care and home reared children; the history, function and sequelae of a form of reunion behavior following…

This paper argues that (1) as measures of emotional empathy in children are refined, there is increasingly strong support for the hypothesis that emotional empathy can serve both as an inhibitor of antisocial behavior and as a motivator of prosocial behavior, but that (2) since the relation between children's empathy and their behavior is…

Play sessions of two Mexican children (one five and one eight years old) with English-speaking friends were recorded and the use of language play was examined. Language play is viewed as a non-literal, rule-bound use of language that children engage in for its own sake, either cooperatively or competitively. Practice opportunities and children's…

A format is presented for use of student teachers in structuring their classroom observation techniques. Fifteen classroom and school activities are listed with a comprehensive questionnaire accompanying each. These questionnaires guide the student on what behaviors to observe and suggest objective and subjective responses to these behaviors to be…

To test the hypothesis that if given a curriculum designed to develop cognitive functioning and taught by strategies designed to develop cognitive skills, students would then master more sophisticated symbolic thought earlier and more systematically than could be expected if this development had been left to the accidents of experience or if…

As a result of the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS), instructional content and style were studied in six teachers teaching the concept of photosynthesis. The same BSCS curriculum program was used by all six teachers; all six had some previous BSCS training. The students in the six classes had been selected on the basis of high ability…

The teaching-learning process for emotionally disturbed children is explored by nine conference participants at Syracuse University. The interaction analysis system developed by Flanders and its adaptability to classroom situations faced by teachers of disturbed children are discussed; and comments on the applicability of this system are included.…

Objectives of the study were to investigate relationships between and among qualities of emotion and types or levels of work orientation in small adult instructional group interaction; to discern relationships and/or behavior patterns which would be tested under laboratory conditions; and to test the consistency and utility of the…

Some of the specific uses, outcomes, and statistical results obtained with the Social Interaction and Creativity in Communication System (SICCS) of observation are described. Particular attention is given to the different purposes to which the SICCS has been directed, including the coding units, categories, length and frequency of observation, the…

To assess the relationship between paternal behavior and the intellectual functioning of preschool boys and girls, 180 white fathers from middle, working, and lower classes (as defined by the Hollingshead-Redlich Scale) were observed at home interacting with their 4-year-olds (99 boys and 81 girls). Sessions were tape-recorded. The number of…

The multi-faceted role of the advisor in an open education setting is defined in this paper. Background information on the development of the open corridor approach to elementary education (created in America by Lillian Weber), the subsequent emergence of the teacher support position of advisor and the resulting advisor training program is…

Explores various aspects of the development of self-concept in young children and suggests activities which promote the development of self-esteem. A review of the literature pertinent to children's self-concept covers several areas: (1) the importance of a positive self-concept for effective adjustment in all aspects of life; (2) theories on the…