Presents a study intended to promote the development of socio-affective competencies in children in the first two years of primary school using a sample of 83 six- to eight- year olds and their fathers and mothers. Explores the mediating influence of the teachers' pedagogic practice, family's social class, and gender. (CMK)

Assesses whether current changes in adolescents' interpersonal experience are likely to give them the social resources and competencies they will need in the future. Analysis suggests that family and non-family changes will provide many youth with greater opportunities to develop the more versatile interpersonal resources, but that many will have…

Assessed psychometric properties of the Ages and Stages Questionnaires: Social-Emotional (ASQ:S-E), a screening instrument for 3- to 63-month-olds. Found that internal consistency was generally high. Test-retest reliability between parents' classifications was .94. Overall sensitivity was .82; overall specificity was .92. Parents reported easy…

Examined psychometric properties of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales with preschoolers. Found that cross- informant correlations were poor for social skills, low for internalizing behaviors, and modest for externalizing behaviors. Parents and teachers rated boys as having more externalizing behaviors than girls. Parents identified…

A study compared three procedures for teaching social skills with 13 intermediate-age students with learning disabilities, emotional disturbances, or visual impairments who also participated in cooperative-learning groups. Students who received teacher-directed instruction improved in listening, problem solving, and negotiating skills during…

In this discussion of quantitative research synthesis, past criticisms of meta-analysis are reviewed along with the ways they have been addressed. Objections to single-subject synthesis methods are discussed, along with the advantages of using the percentage-of- nonoverlapping-data metric. The article concludes by questioning the veracity of…

This article discusses key aspects of school-based efforts to identify school context variables that can either ameliorate or exacerbate the risk for violence and aggression. A review of risk factors for aggression is followed by discussion of intervention in early childhood, intervention throughout middle childhood and adolescence, teaching…

Descibes template for developing compliments based upon authors' experiences working in a community mental-health clinic. Examines the five components of the template: normalizing statements, restructuring statements, affirmation of client competencies, a bridging statement, and a suggestion. Features case examples and a transcript of a compliment…

This article addresses the issues associated with school failure, delinquency, and violence. Prevention strategies for diverting at-risk children and youth are described and illustrated, including supporting families, developing and implementing school-based prevention approaches, supporting schools, improving academic and social competence, and…

Presents data that illustrate the difficulties experienced by two Asian students in their negotiation of academic objectivity as they completed research towards their Master's degrees in an Australian University. For both students, academic objectivity involved a redefinition of self-identity as well as a reversal of acceptable face and politeness…

Twenty children with autism were compared to children with Down syndrome (n=19) and typical peers (n=20) in visual orientation to two social and two nonsocial stimuli and in ability to share attention. Children with autism frequently failed to orient to all stimuli, particularly social stimuli, and exhibited attention deficits. (Author/CR)

Examined whether fourth- and fifth-grade children's social goals and strategies in friendship conflict situations are predictive of their friendship adjustment, after accounting for level of peer acceptance. Found that children's goals were highly related to their strategies and that children's goals and strategies were predictive of their…

Examined the effectiveness of a year-long integrated language and music program (the Expressive Language and Music Project) to enhance Singaporean kindergartners' English oral-language competency. Found that the natural communicative setting and creative use of resources and activities based on the Orff and Kodaly approaches facilitated language…

This article examines the social skills training research-to-practice process and argues that a logical and attendant line of rigorous study is lacking. Areas of social inquiry are drawn from to discuss the need for conceptual frameworks to guide investigation and offer a way for research to be designed and interpreted. (Contains references.)…

This article discusses preliminary research results that indicate placement of children (n=216) with emotional/behavioral difficulties into a Nurture Group has a positive effect on a significant proportion of pupils. There is also evidence that the parents of children in Nurture Groups benefit from the positive progress made by their children.…