Recent work in the field of child and adolescent social skills is synthesized in this volume with new and unpublished information. The first three chapters provide a foundation for conceptualizing and assessing child and adolescent social skills. Chapter 1, "The Nature and Value of Social Skills," provides a definition, examples, historical…

This study examined the use of Conflict Managers, a program teaching students communication skills and the ways to apply these skills to resolve their own conflicts. Participating were 33 fourth and fifth graders from middle class families and with varying academic abilities. Of the participants, 23 were Caucasian, 4 Asian-American, 1…

Conflict is an everyday occurrence in young people's lives. To help them address conflict, ways to help young people learn and use alternative dispute resolution skills are presented in this manual. The program is organized around the following major themes: The Mediation Process, Cultural Diversity, Communication Skills, Feelings, Mediation…

The ability to deal effectively with conflict is an important life skill. Ways in which to teach children an understanding of the mediation process and to use the techniques of adult mediators in resolving ordinary conflicts are presented in this teacher's guide. The training is organized into 12 sessions, each lasting less than an hour. Complete…

Children need to learn and to use alternative dispute resolution skills. Ways in which to instruct young people in these skills are detailed in this leader's guide and accompanying video. After outlining the conflict management process, the text describes how to use the video. The video, which shows students what mediation is, opens with a typical…

This is the second of two studies of Ohio's Head Start programs conducted by the Legislative Office of Education (LOEO) of Ohio. The first study described the implementation of Head Start in Ohio. This study looked at the impact of Head Start's education component by examining urban kindergarten students on selected measures of school readiness.…

Noting that even one caring adult can help make a child more capable of handling later stressors, this paper lists some strategies for building a sense of specialness in young children in group care contexts. Also presented are ways to enhance optimism and combat attitudes of helplessness and pessimism among children. The paper outlines a pattern…

This paper considers the question "What are good child outcomes?" from the perspectives of developmental psychology, economics, and sociology. Section 1 of the paper examines good child outcomes as characteristics of stage-salient tasks of development. Section 2 emphasizes the acquisition of "human capital," the development of productive traits…

This paper focuses on the ways in which one teacher gathered artifacts and reflected on the progress of her first-grade students at a multi-ethnic school in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The paper emphasizes the importance of considering the social beings whose voices are embedded within the artifacts being collected. The paper uses a…

These facilitator's skill packets contain nine individual packets on skill alternatives to aggression: (1) asking permission; (2) sharing something; (3) helping others; (4) negotiating; (5) using self-control; (6) standing up for one's rights; (7) responding to teasing; (8) avoiding trouble with others; and (9) keeping out of fights. Each packet…

This review evaluates research on the Strategies Intervention Model (SIM) developed at the Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities, University of Kansas. The model is designed to teach learning-disabled and low-achieving adolescents strategies which will enable them to learn and perform independently, show appropriate social and personal…

This guide is intended to facilitate the personal and social development of students in 7th through 12th grades. A suggested program cycle is described which includes these parts: assess needs; select goals; select objectives; select strategies; implement program; reassess needs; reflect; and begin new cycle. The guide is divided into sections…

This document discusses the culture and lifestyle appropriate social skills intervention curriculum or CLASSIC, a 15-session social skills training program that is designed to be administered in a small group format to children and adolescents. The first chapter addresses the role of CLASSIC in the history of social skills training for children…

A study identified the academic needs of Australian vocational educators who are developing their own and others' communication competence in response to the imperative for vocational educators to provide a wide range of programs in communication for the workplace. Subjects, over 100 vocational educators enrolled in the University of Technology,…

This document is the Spanish language supplement to "Second Step" for preschool and kindergarten, a violence-prevention curriculum designed to reduce impulsive and aggressive behavior in young children and to increase their social competence. This supplement contains the translated portions of text from "Second Steps" that a…