Although parents may try to shield their children from information that may be upsetting to them, inevitably they will be exposed to life's challenges and painful realities. People live in the "information age" and children are frequently bombarded with overwhelming news from the media. Since children are very aware of the emotions of the adults…

Foster children experience multiple barriers and challenges that, amongst other issues, prevent them from achieving academically. At the age of 18, foster youth are forced out of the Department of Children and Families care, leading many of them to become homeless or to return to the homes from which they were displaced. Scholarly literature and…

School site-based instructional coaching is a form of job-embedded professional development for teachers and an element of school reform. Coaches are hired based upon their pedagogical knowledge, content expertise, prior teaching experience, and "people skills." They are adept at handling a variety of social interactions at school sites,…

School librarians help train students to be effective acquirers, evaluators, and users of ideas and information--a necessary skill for survival in the information-rich society. From this stance, school librarians are definitely caregivers. But the author argues that this does not get to the heart of the matter: Librarianship usually translates…

Video self-modeling demonstrates promise as an intervention strategy to improve outcomes in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. This article summarizes the empirical evidence supporting the use of video self-modeling with individuals with autism spectrum disorders to increase language and communication, increase social skills, modify…

Research on the psychometric characteristics, including factor structure, of measures assessing emotional intelligence improve our understanding of the manifest and latent dimensions of the construct. The factor structure of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (Bar-On, 1997), despite the popularity of the measure, has been the subject of only…

Objective: This study examined the relationship of ADHD symptoms to different aspects of close friendship quality as rated by both adolescents (target adolescent and a close friend) within a friendship dyad. Method: Participants were 41 same-sex friendship dyads who completed questionnaires about their friendship. Separate symptom dimensions of…

Objective: This study examined social information processing (SIP) of events with varied outcomes in children with ADHD and conduct problems (CPs; defined as oppositional defiant disorder [ODD] or conduct disorder [CD]) and controls. Method: Participants were 64 children (46 boys, 18 girls) aged 6 to 12, including 39 with ADHD and 25 controls.…

Background/Context: Research indicates that social perspective taking--the capacity to discern the thoughts and feelings of others--plays a role in many important outcomes in schools. Despite the potential benefits for students and educators, little is known about social perspective taking (SPT) as a process. Purpose/Research Question: If…

The implementation of social skills into teaching helps students achieve such important affective outcomes as peer recognition or popularity, respect for others, acceptance of rules, pro-social values, communication skills, and positive social interactions. Within physical education, many professionals believe that students who engage in games and…

This study examined the effects of individual and group monetary contingencies on the attendance of adolescent part-time employees. Attendance increased in both individual and group contingency phases; however staff questionnaire responses indicated a preference for the individual contingencies. Future research should consider staff acceptability…

This paper presents an examination of the importance of softer skills in the accountancy profession and a discussion of the contribution that universities can make in supporting the development of these skills. With employers increasingly demanding a greater range of softer skills such as effective communication, the paper is intended to challenge…

The main purpose of the present study was to explore how social competence reduces behavioral problems. Based on previous findings, we assume that increased social competence can be regarded as a mediating factor in reducing behavior problems. All participants (children and adolescents, n = 112) received an intervention intended to increase social…

Employees in a negotiation training workshop are chatting happily in a company cafeteria near San Francisco. They're not on break. They're on assignment. Their objective: to discover three things they didn't know--and wouldn't have guessed--about each other. The exercise isn't about the information, though. It's about the methods they used to get…

Amid the focus on improved standardized test scores, differentiated instruction, value-added initiatives and improved teacher evaluation, one must not ignore an education leader's need to inspire and be inspired. But how do education leaders inspire their students and teachers during some of the most difficult economic times the nation has ever…