Researchers have offered a number of explanations for why people occasionally or frequently feel shy in social situations, focusing on behavioral, psychological, or somatic causes. However, each theory encompasses a problem with communication skills. A study examined the communication implications of shyness as reported in definitions by both…

A counseling perspective is applied to issues concerning the preparation of high school students with learning disabilities for postsecondary education and employment settings. The combination of academic limitations and difficulties in getting along with others provide continuing problems for these young adults. Instructional and counseling…

The implication of an ever-increasing knowledge base is that students will need to know how to select, evaluate, and utilize information. In response, a resource-based approach to learning which emphasizes learning how to learn has been recommended in curriculum guides in Newfoundland from kindergarten through the final year of secondary school,…

Making substance the leading edge of educational leadership means building a team committed to developing strategies for achieving a vision of change; thus, the team becomes a motivating implementation network of individuals who choose to support the vision and follow it through to reality. For team building to succeed, interpersonal skills must…

The Work Performance Assessment (WPA) is a brief work simulation designed to evaluate job maintenance skills, emphasizing work-related social/interpersonal skills rather than specific vocational skills. The WPA uses three work samples involving sorting of food service items to measure 19 common work demands in four categories: responding to…

The packet reviews the assessment and teaching of social skills to persons with special needs and lists a variety of resources and readings. Definitions are provided for seven key terms (e.g., adaptive behavior, behavior disorder, social skills). Frequently asked questions addressing assessment and intervention are answered. Assessment by means of…

This study examined relationships between students' cooperative learning experiences (including both the frequency and quality of their interactions in small groups) and their attitudes toward school; perceptions of the classroom environment; intrinsic motivation; and various social attitudes, skills, and values. Participants (n=756) were teachers…

A study investigated the influence of interpersonal variables, such as communicative competence, loneliness, and roommate rapport, upon persistence in college. The study includes self-reports as well as reports of roommates' behaviors. Subjects were 200 freshman students (out of a total of 350) who participated in several sections of a…

Intended to help young people acquire independent daily living skills, this book is the group leader's guide to an advanced youth training curriculum for developing appropriate communication competence. The guide's first session introduces the basics of communication, while subsequent sessions focus on communication in all aspects of life: on the…

Intended to help young people acquire independent daily living skills, this book is the participant's guide to an advanced youth training curriculum for developing communication skills. The guide's first session introduces the basics of communication, while the subsequent seven sessions (each intended to take approximately one hour) focus on…

Research on the communicative competency of faculty indicates that students can be motivated to learn by competent communicators. In general, communication experts have better competency skills, (i.e., they use more effective verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors) than do faculty as a whole. An area much in need of development for most faculty…

This paper presents a case study of a young girl diagnosed as autistic and having a history of tantrums, who was grouped with six other students with mild to moderate disabilities. Intervention plans developed by her teacher and a consultant addressed the girl's needs for more positive social and communication skills, focusing on increasing…

A study was conducted to determine if (1) significant gender differences exist in prevalence of deception, motivation for deception, and recipients of deception; and (2) whether such differences support traditional gender role perceptions and expectations. Seventy-four subjects, 50 female and 24 male undergraduate students, recorded all instances…