The study examined the relationship between student and teacher ratings of the interpersonal relations skills of 165 special needs students enrolled in mainstreamed secondary level vocational programs. The correlations between the student self-ratings and teacher ratings suggest there is little agreement about students' actual skill levels. (DB)

A sequential withdrawal design was used to examine the effect of social skills intervention on the frequency of positive peer interaction in four moderately hearing-impaired preschool children. High rates of positive peer interaction were maintained when teacher modeling and prompting were gradually (but not abruptly) withdrawn. (Author/DB)

The verbal and nonverbal strategies of rapport, their environments, and their consequences are identified. Interviews between two foreign student advisors and 16 foreign students (both native and non-native speakers of English) were videotaped, and playback sessions with students and advisors were audio-recorded. Rapport-building and…

Investigated differences in achievement of 221 kindergartners with different cognitive tempos. Results suggest that kindergartners who exhibit an impulsive cognitive tempo may be judged by teachers as being less academically and socially competent than other kindergartners. (RJC)

Describes Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP), new measure designed to identify the types of interpersonal problems that people experience and the level of distress associated with them before, during, and after psychotherapy. Presents psychometric data from two studies which demonstrated high internal consistency of IIP, high test-retest…

Results are presented from a study which documents the effectiveness of social-skills training followed by cross-age tutoring for improving both achievement and social communication behaviors among boys (N=20), grades four-six, with learning disabilities. (IAH)

Reports that mothers' responsiveness to young infants' distress predicts language capacity at two years. Mothers' responsiveness to older infants' nondistress vocalizations predicts cognitive performance, perceived self-esteem, social competence, and family relations in preadolescents. (PCB)

Biological differences alone did not account for differences in self-conception of interpersonal abilities found between 197 adolescents with hearing disabilities and 53 nondisabled adolescents, nor did they account for differences between subgroups of those with hearing disabilities. Cognitive, emotional, motivational, and social factors also…

Compared to age-matched and language-matched controls, 15 autistic children (mean age of 45 months) who were administered the Early Social-Communication Scales displayed deficits in gestural joint attention skills in 2 testing sessions 13 months apart. The measure of gestural nonverbal joint attention predicted language development in subjects.…

The efficacy of task-related and interpersonal problem-solving training for enhancing junior high-school performance was examined with 48 difficult-to-teach, low-income, minority sixth-grade students. Half were randomly assigned to an intervention, the other half being used for control. Training was found to significantly improve grades and reduce…

Because it uses real-life situations, problems, or incidents, the case study method is well suited to training school business officials. Case studies can help these administrators deal with complex relationships involving board members, school staff, and parents. A sample case problem involving budget overexpenditure is provided. Includes three…

Preschool children (N=26) who accompanied their mothers to a battered women's shelter were found to have elevated rates of behavior problems and social competence difficulties. White males appeared more impaired than any other gender/ethnic combination. Abused children and non-abused children who witnessed family violence were compared.…

Elementary school children (n=336) were assessed on their self-efficacy beliefs. Mainstreamed mildly handicapped students reported lower academic and social self-efficacy than their nonhandicapped and gifted peers. No differences in academic self-efficacy were reported between gifted and nonhandicapped students; however, gifted students reported…

This response to a paper by Linda Siegel (EC221505) discusses research on the relationship between social skills and Intelligence Quotient or academic performance. The research indicates that it is erroneous to assume that Intelligence Quotient or academic achievement account for the social problems of children with learning disabilities. (JDD)

This issue consists of 1 study which describes staff and child responses to aggressive and withdrawn behavior in 79 children at 6 day nurseries. Children were appropriately occupied and staff provided a setting and materials that promoted play. Although there was positive social interaction between children, rates of aversive behavior were high.…