In this article, a parent of a child with a developmental disability discusses the complications of parent-professional partnerships and identifies the following five distinct features, or dimensions, which both entangle and enhances the partnership dance: choice, forced intimacy, identification of partners, role expectations, and differing…

Summarizes this special issue on how children develop emotional and social strengths, as well as difficulties. Highlights three areas of focus among the seven articles: (1) the relation of emotional competence to social competence; (2) the socialization of emotional competence; and (3) attachment as the foundation. (SD)

Describes and reviews the work of researchers who have operationalized the construct of friendship and the theoretical basis for the association between friendship experiences and children's level of psychological adjustment. Details study of how various levels of friendship constructs relate to one another and to children's loneliness and…

This study examined the social adjustment of deaf adolescents enrolled in segregated (n=39), partially integrated (n=15), and mainstreamed (n=17) settings. Partially integrated students reported better adjustment than mainstreamed students with deaf peers; mainstreamed students reported better adjustment than partially integrated students with…

Tested hypotheses that severity of arthritis is inversely associated with frequency of activity participation, and arthritis sufferers who maintain higher levels of participation, particularly in social activities, are less likely to experience a decline in well-being. Found well-being is influenced by social activity, whereas solitary and…

In a learning community, everyone must participate in decision making. Involving students in developing classroom rules, solving community problems, and reviewing school and district policies has lasting benefits. Service learning, mentoring, and mediation programs help students develop civic responsibility, interpersonal competence, and…

A program in which 12 seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities and/or culturally diverse backgrounds participated with nondisabled peers in service learning is described. The students improved their social skills and self-esteem through community service with younger students and senior citizens. The article offers a rationale…

Strategies for working with international camp staff include speaking plain English, making camp policies and customs clear, including food from other countries in the menu, encouraging international staff to play games and sing songs in their native language, and assigning buddies to international staff. Includes tips for hiring international…

Compared measures of peer relationships and emotional well-being of children with sickle cell disease (SCD) to those of same-classroom peers. Found that, compared to nondiseased subjects, SCD females were perceived as less sociable and less well accepted; SCD males were perceived as less aggressive. No other differences were identified for…

Discusses child peer relationships in relation to teacher's role; object-conflict, sharing, and cooperation; causal, consequential, and alternative thinking; inferring and responding to emotions; perspective taking and empathy; and initiating friendship and group entry. Claims that children's discussion documents their growing understanding of…

The Social Awareness Inventory (SAI), which assesses individual differences in eight social-perceptual styles, is introduced and applied in three studies. The model is derived by crossing the three binary dimensions of target (self or other), perspective (own or other's), and content (overt appearance or covert experience). The SAI appears to…

Discusses ways child care personnel can develop a proactive customer service plan that meets families' needs and expectations while minimizing the probability of confrontations with angry parents. Outlines a five-step conflict-resolution strategy that offers a "win-win" approach for both parents and providers when problems do occur. (TJQ)

Discusses hurdles to new principals' success. Principals must respect school culture, including ghosts and heroes; realize that working relationships will change; and anticipate isolation and overwork. Meeting individual teachers, locating the power, keeping central administrators informed, listening and learning, finding mentors, and picking…

A survey of five teachers of students with visual impairments and 10 students found that teachers spent 4 hour per week in preparing for these students, there was a significant use of transcribers to help prepare the student materials, and students felt reasonably satisfied with their high school experience. (Contains three references.) (CR)

Formal schooling generally does not include education in interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, although helping children develop socially and emotionally is important in academic progress. Describes the implementation of a social skills training program for elementary and middle school students called Connecting with Others: Lessons for Teaching…