Explanations and accounts used by teachers in 4 team meetings to make decisions about 12 pupils with learning and social disabilities were studied. Teachers, under certain circumstances, were able to apply an elucidative model based on shared explanations, but they often used a more restricted model. (SLD)

Five, elementary-schoolage, African American, male students attending general education classes in an urban public school were taught social skills using modeling, role playing, corrective feedback, and differential reinforcement of alternative or incompatible behavior. Results indicate the social skills instructional package decreased aggressive…

Pretest and posttest experimental (n=18) and control group (n=7) study assessing the effectiveness of a commercially available social skills training program for improving social skills and reducing family conflict in parent-adolescent dyads. Training group manifested improved social skills. Results partially confirm effectiveness of social skills…

Measures of the social and academic competence of 73 children with learning disabilities in grades 3-6 indicated that subjects differed from children without disabilities on virtually all indexes of academic competence, regardless of social status. Most social differences were linked to the child's peer status, independent of disability.…

A conceptualization of social skills as resources in social exchange is offered, and a social exchange theoretical framework is applied to educational research. In a social exchange framework, the contribution of the peer group to the social exclusion of an individual would not be ignored. (SLD)

This survey of 716 professionals working with children having mental handicaps found 12 percent reported fairly high levels of stress and tendency to burn out. These individuals were likely to (1) have a higher educational level; (2) have a feeling of incompetence; (3) have negative attitudes; (4) feel generally dissatisfied; and (5) tend to…

The report "Workplace Basics: the Skills Employers Want" was based on interviews with hundreds of employers, who identified seven groups of desirable skills: reading, writing, and computation; listening and speaking; learning to learn, problem-solving and creative thinking; personal management; teamwork; and leadership and organizational…

Administration of the Willoughby Personality Schedule-R to 27 adult male Yugoslav stutterers revealed internal consistency of the assessment. Factor analysis revealed three separate dimensions: social isolation, social confidence, and social sensitivity. Results are consistent with the contention that hypersensitivity to interpersonal stress is…

Examines elementary principals' perceptions of themselves as stretched to the limit, undervalued, undersupported, and underresourced. Heads tend to interpret the majority of organizational problems as a reflection of their personal failure. A team-oriented approach to headship would ameliorate this situation by creating more efficient work…

Interviews with 4 gifted learning-disabled boys, (aged 9 to 12), their parents, and their teachers identified themes in their social/emotional development including interpersonal relationships, self-concept, and learning characteristics. Unique characteristics included a powerful fear of failure, inconsistent social skills, and a fluctuating self…

This survey with 68 parents of students with mental disabilities found parents of students with moderate disabilities rated functional life skills most highly whereas parents of students with severe/profound disabilities rated friendship/social relationship development most highly. (Author/DB)

The current interest in reflective approaches to teacher education is examined, arguing that the move toward more reflective orientations toward teaching and teacher education must be viewed in institutional contexts and structural adjustments in Western capitalist systems. A more socially, culturally, and politically reflective approach to…

As the needs of students and the workforce change, professors and business leaders find they have more educational goals in common, including basic quantitative and verbal literacy, intellectual breadth, cultural breadth, and perhaps most surprising, sensitivity to the needs of others. (Author/MSE)

Examined development and validation of measure of adaptation to problematic academic and interpersonal tasks during transition to middle school (Survey of Adaptational Tasks of Middle School). For girls, peer relationship tasks appeared most salient with regard to criterion measures, whereas for boys, peer relationship, conflict with authority,…

Developmental issues, short-term solutions for children's conflicts, and goals for conflict resolution training are discussed. A step-by-step approach for teachers to use in working through a conflict with children is included, as is a list of children's books that deal with conflict resolution. (LB)