Stresses the value of early peer interaction among young children for future academic, social, and career development, describing the components of social skills and suggesting ways to help children become socially competent. (KS)

Issues in studying pubertal events are examined, including whether puberty is best characterized as a social construction or a physical event, whether early adolescence is a transitional or distinct life period, life events associated with puberty, boundaries of early adolescence, and possible models for studying pubertal change. (Author/BW)

Studies involving normal, autistic, and Down's syndrome children focused on relationships between social competence, capacity to appreciate visuospatial perspectives, and certain cognitive abilities. Findings suggested that autistic Ss are not especially egocentric in their appreciation of visuospatial perspectives. (CL)

An examination of writing as communication for one's self and for other audiences outlines four essentials to a successful writing-process program: (1) adequate provision of time, (2) child choice of writing topic, (3) response to child meaning, and (4) establishment of a community of learners. Study programs, as well as additional reading…

It was expected that reciprocal relationships would be maintained more frequently across a six-month interval than would unilateral ones. Of secondary concern was the question of whether the dimensions children offered to justify their friendships would remain more stable for reciprocal than unilateral relationships. (RH)

A social emotional adjustment inventory for hearing impaired children (three-six years old) is described in terms of its norms, statistical item analysis, factor analysis, and reliability and validity. The inventory is intended to identify children who need additional help in social and emotional development. (CL)

Discusses instances of values learning which derive from the type of environment created by schools and questions the extent to which specific curricula are useful in values learning. The author suggests that values education programs would be more useful if they stimulated participants to reflect on the rules that govern their actions. (Author/DB)

Four social development programs in elementary education are examined. None of the programs (1) has a clearly articulated developmental rationale, (2) focuses heavily on a concern for others, (3) has ongoing programmatic research, and (4) has a rationale for its implementation strategy. (Author)

This research paper explores the role of schooling in the formation of students' gender identities with particular attention to the social construction of masculinity. Understanding the formation of male identity is important in thinking about the roles of teachers and classrooms. Six pre-service teachers, three male and three female, were…

The focus of these four issues of a quarterly journal on gifted children is on the total child, gifted girls, asynchrony, and teaching teachers. Each issue also includes columns on parents, the Internet, home schooling, software reviews, and recommended books. Major articles include the following: "A Circle of Friends: The Nature and Nurture of…

In recent years, much stimulating research has emerged in relation to children's theories of mind, construed as the understanding of others' intentions, beliefs, and desires. Within that context, there is renewed interest in the developmental origins of social cognition. An expression of that new interest, this book assembles current…

The concept of critical or sensitive periods in child development provides an example around which to organize discussion of what is known and not known about brain development and the implications of brain science on early childhood policy and practice. This book reviews the early history of critical periods and evidence for their existence in…

Over a 3-year period, the National Inclusive Camp Practices (NICP) project examined camp practices and youth outcomes at 14 resident camps and outdoor schools that fully integrate youth with disabilities into their programs. These outdoor programs were predominantly 1 week long. Data on camp practices and on 742 participating youth with and…

This study examined the ability of 56 children with mental retardation and 58 children (grades 1-5) without mental retardation to perform two key social cognitive processes: social perception (the encoding and interpretation of social cues) and the generation of strategies for resolving social conflicts. These processes were assessed as children…

By understanding why children engage in name calling and responding thoughtfully to such events, parents and teachers can help both the name caller and the victim to grow in their abilities to understand themselves and others. In their own social interactions, children mirror the negative evaluations they have observed. Left unchecked, such…