Increasingly paraprofessionals provide inclusive special education services to identified students in general education classrooms within public schools today. Often, however, professional development opportunities for paraprofessionals are limited in scope or are insufficient to match the paraprofessionals' expanded instructional roles. This…

This guide is designed to help individuals identify and modify risks that contribute to alcohol-related problems within college and university communities. Despite general agreement among campus officials and students alike that alcohol use contributes to a range of problems confronting colleges and universities, prevention often does not command…

This investigation explores middle level students' perceptions of differentiation. It was guided by the following purposes: (1) to identify students' understandings of differentiation, (2) to understand their responses to differentiated literacy instruction provided in their classrooms and schools, and (3) to understand students' views of the…

Children with a history of child maltreatment often have limited social interactions with other children and adults. This study examined the effects of a Peer Engagement Program, consisting of peer mentoring and social skills training with positive reinforcement, in three children with low levels of oral and social interaction. A multiple…

Seventh-grade students (N = 324) completed social cognitive maps to identify peer groups and peer group leaders, sociometric nominations to describe their peers' behaviors, and questionnaires to assess their own behaviors. Peer group members resembled one another in levels of direct and indirect aggression and substance use; girls' cliques were…

Each year, between 10 and 20 percent of schoolchildren in the United States are exposed to domestic violence. According to psychologists, such exposure can lead to aggressive behavior, decreased social competence, and diminished academic performance. A majority of parents and school officials believe that children who are troubled, whatever the…

In this study, the authors investigated the degree to which perceived social support was associated with depression, life satisfaction, and internalized binegativity in a sample of 210 bisexual young adult college students. Two types of social support (general and sexuality specific) and 2 sources of social support (family and friends) were…

The current study presented 1,933 adolescents from 13 schools with a scenario about a hypothetical peer's plan to "do something dangerous" at school and asked how likely they would be to respond with four different actions: intervene directly, tell a teacher or principal, discuss it with a friend but not an adult, and do nothing. High school…

In this study, two longitudinal models of early adolescent risky sexual behaviors (RSB) were compared using a pooled sample of 267 Canadian and Italian adolescents (55% females; 53% Canadians) assessed yearly from grade 8 to 10. We focused on parenting practices (monitoring, control, limit setting), adolescent problem behaviors (antisocial…

We evaluate multiple variants of a commonly used intervention to boost education in developing countries--the conditional cash transfer (CCT)--with a student level randomization that allows us to generate intra-family and peer-network variation. We test three treatments: a basic CCT treatment based on school attendance, a savings treatment that…

Intergroup contact and evaluations about race-based exclusion were assessed for majority and minority students in grades 4, 7 and 10 (N=685). Scenarios depicting cross-race relations in contexts of dyadic friendship, parental discomfort and peer group disapproval were described to participants. Participants reporting higher levels of intergroup…

While delinquency has multiple causes, deviant peer affiliation is one of the strongest. In fact, a high proportion of violence, drug use, and other deviant behaviors are committed in groups, rather than in isolation. This article explores how practices within educational, mental health, juvenile justice, and community programs can lead to deviant…

Objective: Present US parents' perceptions about factors leading to early intercourse and strategies for overcoming them. Methods: Conducted analysis of eight focus groups with 78 male and female African-American and Hispanic caregivers of fifth-graders and sixth-graders (ages 10-12). Results: Participants gave the following primary reasons for…

Previous research has neglected to explore identities and development among male students at community colleges. This chapter provides some insight into who these men are, their precollege gender socialization experiences, and conflicts that impede the development of productive masculinities.

This study examined how parents and adolescents talk about sex with each other and how that influences their anxiety and avoidance tendencies. When parents were receptive, informal, and composed during the conversations, their adolescents were less anxious and, in turn, were less avoidant. The child's perception of the parent's communication…