In St. Louis, Missouri, an innovative program has operated for 10 years to identify exceptionally gifted children from area school districts and bring them together in a full-time articulated program that blends acceleration and enrichment. Approximately 50 students in grades 1-12 are enrolled in the Program for Exceptionally Gifted Students.…

A case study of an academically gifted college student who committed suicide resulted in three sets of findings: those that reflected exclusively on the subject's life, those that compared his life with 3 previous psychological autopsies conducted, and those that reflected the parents' observations and experiences of his life. (Contains…

This article reviews the extent and quality of empirical literature on social interaction for young children with autism, reviews existing descriptive and experimental research on relations between autism and characteristics that support social development, highlights possible directions for future research, and summarizes recommendations for…

This article presents a rationale for matching social skills intervention strategies to the skill and comfort levels that typically developing children show toward their peers with special needs and provides teachers with guidance on how to accomplish this match. Environmental manipulations that facilitate interactions and peer-mediated strategies…

Examined the impact of computers on the social behavior of 14 preschoolers over a 2-month period. Found that there were a total of 91 peer interactions and 33 teacher interactions, including children acknowledging each other, children commenting and being ignored, and children sharing or helping each other. Boys used the computer more than girls.…

Examined effect of participation in a high school drama program on the social maturity and self-esteem of 20 high school drama students relative to 20 peers who were not enrolled in drama. Findings showed significant improvements in areas of social presence, tolerance, and achievement via independence for drama students but did not demonstrate…

Considers developmental and prognostic implications of early peer relations. Reviews evidence concerning peer difficulties as risk factors and family and peer relations in social development. Advances a conjunctive model of socialization. (BB)

Behavior profiles of four experienced teachers of infants and toddlers were obtained by means of the Assessing the Behavior of Caregivers (ABC) checklist. The ABC was shown to be a sensitive and easy-to-use instrument that was useful in monitoring interactions between adults and children and effects of in-service training. (DE)

A total of 60 boys in second, fourth, and sixth grades participated in a study of the development of children's situational attributions and dispositional inferences about peers. All age groups were able to use attributional dimensions, but younger boys were less likely to use them to form negative dispositional inferences about a target peer.…

Pairs of friends and pairs of classmates were observed to determine effects of existing social relationships on interactions during cooperative learning. No significant differences between observed interactions were found for 60 third and 70 seventh graders, but friends reported that they engaged in more activities outside the experimental…

Reviews empirical studies on the effects of computer use in education, covering research published up to mid-1988. Focuses on the issues of computer use effects at various grade levels, suitable types of programs, differences in usage in different programs, changes in students' attitudes, social effects, effects on low achievers, and future…

Proposes a new theory of self, based on the principles defined by Lawrence Kohlberg in his theory of moral development. The model sets forth self complexity (schemata) and biography (themata) as dimensions of self. Describes normal and atypical development arising from interaction of these components and assesses implications for practice. (KO)

This study of five gifted female adolescents examined their male-female relationships, independence, perceptions of ability and expectations for success, overreliance on social manipulation, motivation, ethic of caring, superwoman syndrome, and familial influences. The study found positive examples of the use of problem-solving strategies; it also…

Reviews new government publications from various countries; includes reviews of publications released in electronic format as well as addresses for Internet access wherever possible. Covers the topics of business and economics, economic and social development, environment and earth sciences, government and politics, and health science and…

This study examined patterns of social-emotional subgroups among 122 students with learning disabilities in Israel. Cluster analysis found four subgroups: two nonlonely (one behaviorally adjusted and one with externalizing maladjustment) and two lonely (with externalizing and internalizing maladjustment). Teacher ratings, student ratings, and case…