As the adolescent matures, drinking situations occur outside of the home with friends. This period is characterized by drinking habits, patterns, and attitudes which are different from those of the parent population; the peer group and situational factors are significant influences on drinking behavior during this phase. (Author)

Relates teaching experiences and problems encountered in trying to improve students' motivation with a variety of teaching methods and classroom techniques. Concludes that the social function of language provides the highest motivation for most, but advocates different approaches to teaching in response to different students' needs and learning…

Assessment of social skills is not viewed as an encapsulated diagnostic process but as one with ongoing impact on intervention programs. Assessment procedures which have developed from behavioral and social learning approaches to treatment appear to be reliable and useful. (Author/CP)

Investigated associations between parents' reported coercion and negotiation with their children, children's self-reported conflict strategies with peers, and their behavioral competence rated by both parents. Results obtained through observation, interviews, and questionnaires included a concurrent correlation between parents' use of coercion and…

Maintains that the continued acceptance of market principles combined with reductions in government services has created a selfish citizenry. In education, this is personified in the activist parent who is interested in his own child's education but indifferent to others. Discusses how civic education can respond to this. (MJP)

Eleven learning-handicapped students, ages 8-13, generated text at microcomputers both alone and as members of dyads. Examination of mechanical errors revealed a lower error rate in the dyad condition compared to working alone. The relationship between error monitoring and the social interaction needed for collaboration is discussed. (Author/JDD)

Presents a method of assessing kindergarten children that includes assessment of school achievement and assessment of children's social competence with a combination of measures. Investigation results highlight the argument. (BB)

Resource teachers' and regular teachers' ratings for 32 elementary-level learning-disabled (LD) students were compared to identify teachability characteristics and behaviors. Though the two groups of teachers did not note differences in problem behaviors of the same LD child in different settings, differences in cognitive/motivational and…

Concluded that type of child care given 140 preschoolers (center-based, family day care, or in child's own home) had no apparent impact on children's sociability or personality maturity, as measured 24 months after the study began. However, the quality of care, family social support, and child gender helped predict personality maturity and social…

Discusses Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral education through the structure of the just community. Evaluates experimental programs designed to implement this theory. Indicates that these programs establish cultures conducive to the development of socio-moral reasoning and action. Suggests ways to use these programs in the traditional school…

Observes the changes in socializing patterns of Yemenite Jewish male and female adolescents at two Tel Aviv (Israel) youth clubs. The presence and acceptance of females at traditionally all-male social events indicated a modernization of attitude. (FMW)

Reports on an action research study by a classroom teacher with 24 12-year-old students to determine whether they can work effectively in cooperative groups without training. Recommends that teachers take time to discover interpersonal relationships and factors in the students' social framework. (CFR)

Examines the effects of persistent economic hardship on children. Both black and white children who experienced persistent family economic hardship demonstrated problems in peer relations, showed conduct problems at school, and reported low self-esteem. Connections between persistent economic hardship and psychosocial adjustment were more…

Reports results of 2 studies on the relationship between social competence and social-cognitive development in children aged 9 to 12 years. There were reliable age differences in interpersonal negotiation strategies in thought and action. Both measures were associated with behavioral adjustment and social status. (GH)

Results of a study on the relationship between children's sociomoral development and the sociomoral atmospheres of three types of kindergarten classrooms suggest the possibility that heavily academic, teacher-centered programs hinder children's development of interpersonal understanding and their broader social-cognitive and moral development. (LB)