Presents a collection of Valentine's Day-related kindergarten activities designed to help friendships grow. They include making personalized place mats as a group, creating decorated mail pouches, building heart shaped bird feeders, reading a book about friendly secrets and surprises, and decorating hearts with compliments about each student. (SM)

Interviews were conducted with 333 first through ninth graders to test a social convoy model of childhood social networks, in which social networks are viewed as dynamic, hierarchical structures affording support across the life span. Convoy support measures were associated with self-concept and teacher-rated sociability and mood at all ages. (MDM)

Argues for the importance of letting students bring their own literacy networks into the writing center. Describes the benefits of social and cultural interaction between students and their tutors. (PRA)

Reviews some of the major cognitive, social, and emotional achievements of young children and discusses some of their limitations. Divides description of development into intellectual, language, social, and emotional development. Notes that this division represents adult categories of thought and does not represent young children's actual modes of…

Describes the three most common (and least effective) techniques for helping campers make friends. A camp counselor's anecdote presents a sure-fire way to make friends: getting people to talk about themselves, and then listening. (TD)

Students will be more engaged and motivated in settings that empower them and enable them to develop skills of working in community. Accepting responsibility for themselves and helping others learn creates personal investment and connection. (SK)

Explains how martial arts, specifically karate, can benefit today's youth. States that karate promotes physical fitness, and also helps students learn to relax and calm their bodies, develop strong mind/body connections, and enhance mental calmness. Karate students also show increased self-esteem, attain goals, and develop an understanding of…

A review of research on inclusive programs found the impact of inclusion programs on the academic performance and social development of students with disabilities has been mixed, inclusion does not interfere with the academic performance of students without disabilities, and teachers' responses to inclusion programs are shaped by multiple…

Makes suggestions for learning materials to be used in the block area, dramatic play area, the sensory table, and outdoor space to provide opportunities to enhance preschool children's social development. Notes the importance of rotating materials regularly to keep them enticing to children. (KB)

Study aims to examine the linkage between social support provided to children in the context of the family and the quality of children's friendships outside the family and to then determine whether family support and friendship quality contribute to the child's self-esteem. Across ethnic groups, family support was predictive of friendship quality…

Examines the developmental investigations of children's friendships and children without friends, explaining how they challenge the current conceptualization of social interventions and their supporting policies. Discusses factors that may contribute to friendlessness including behaviors that disrupt interactions with peers, difficulties with…

Holistic vocational training goes beyond formation of technical skills to encourage self-determination, social responsibility, and democratic participation. It includes recognition and analysis of technical systems, social behavior, creativity, and self-instructional skills. (SK)

Discusses how the author uses her nightmares to get ideas for her writing. Describes "Speak," one particular young adult novel inspired by a nightmare that she guesses was provoked by memories of her older sister coming of age. Discusses the exploration and impact of cliques or clans among adolescents. (SC)

Describes the Third Wave as an "information bomb... exploding in our midst, showering us with a shrapnel of images and drastically changing the way each of us perceives and acts upon our private world." Begins with a description of A. Toffler's Third Wave as an attempt to partially explain what is happening in higher education,…

Introduces the basic ideas of Jacob Moreno's (1934) historical model of sociometric judgment and discusses how developmental psychologists have used this model in child development research. Traces the development of sociometric techniques to study children's peer relations, and notes the limitations of contemporary sociometric techniques. (JPB)