Using social-cognitive domain theory and social identity theory, tolerance judgments of practices by Muslim actors among Dutch adolescents (12-17) were investigated. The findings for Study 1 (N = 180) demonstrated that participants evaluated 4 practices using different types of reasons: personal, social-conventional, and moral. In Study 2 (N =…

"Kilimani Sesame," a media intervention that employs print, radio, and television, was developed to entertain and educate preschool children in Tanzania. This study examined the effects of a six-week intervention delivering "Kilimani Sesame" material to 223 children in the rural district of Kisarawe and the city of Dar es…

Studies of emotion processing in autism have produced mixed results, with fewer studies observing autism-specific deficits than might be imagined. In the current study, 21 individuals with autism and 21 age- and ability-matched, learning disabled comparison participants were tested for their ability to (a) recognise, "in others",…

Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) are potentially powerful educational resources but their application for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is under researched. This study aimed to answer two research questions: (1) Do children with ASD experience IVEs in different ways to typically developing children given their cognitive,…

In the past 60 years there have been considerable developments in the policy and politics of schooling for disabled children, including a shift of rhetorical emphasis from more segregated to more inclusive approaches. Previous research with disabled children in England has raised questions about the educational and social impact of segregated…

Young children's persuasion tactics, and how these reflected attunement to others' mental states, were explored in archived longitudinal samples of transcribed at-home conversations of four children, three to five years old. Over 87,000 utterances were examined to identify conversation "chunks" involving persuasion; 1,307 chunks were then coded…

Part of the responsibility of early childhood educators is to help the children in their care develop into thoughtful, kind, contributing members of society. This includes being accepting and welcoming of those who are "different." Staff should be prepared to answer questions from young children regarding differences in race, ethnicity,…

Social reciprocity deficits are a core feature of the autism spectrum conditions (ASCs). Many individual with ASCs have difficulty with social interaction due to a frequent lack of social competence. This study focuses on using a virtual learning environment to help the deficiencies of social competence for people with ASCs, and to increase their…

We report here findings from a community-based multifaceted prevention program which was implemented concomitantly as a universal and indicated intervention. Screening of social competence development was used to select preschool children targeted by the indicated intervention (high risk), and by the universal intervention (moderate and low risk).…

As technology is being integrated into educational processes, teachers are searching for new ways to enhance student motivation and learning. Through shared experiences and the results of empirical research, educators can ease social networking sites into instructional usage. "The Social Classroom: Integrating Social Network Use in…

During the 2013-2014 academic year, the S.E.L.F. Foundation engaged 32 predominately at-risk students at Key Middle School (KMS) in afterschool tutorials and enrichment activities to support their academic, social, and emotional development. Outcome measures consisted of reading and mathematics performance before and after program implementation.…

This issue of "Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) In Brief" is based on "High School Students as Mentors," a report that examined the efficacy of high school mentors using data from P/PV's large-scale random assignment impact study of Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs. The brief presents an overview of the findings, which…

This is a brief review of research on a variety of topics related to home education and answers the most common questions asked regarding Homeschooling. Examples of the topics addressed are: the teaching parent's education level, academic achievement of students, population growth, philosophy, government (state) regulation and homeschool…

In this commentary for the special issue on the social and character development (SACD) research program, the author identifies some of the dilemmas facing practitioners attempting to do evaluation research in SACD in schools and discusses some of the related concerns raised in this issue's papers. His familiarity with the SACD program derives…

A consistent result in the evaluation of group-delivered intervention to promote social reciprocity in children with PDDs is that outcome data are inconclusive. Lack of robust evidence of efficacy confounds understanding of these interventions and their value to the field. It is conceivable that the construct of impaired social reciprocity in PDD…