A first-grade teacher describes her efforts to relinquish class ownership and allow students to internalize self-discipline in developmental stages, learn respectful treatment of others, and generate their own curriculum. Children learn responsibility as they make decisions about how their classroom is run and are fascinated by subject matter of…

This study of 40 children with learning disabilities or mild cognitive delays and 66 children without disabilities (grades 4-6) examined social networks, social supports, friendships, and adjustment. Results indicated that, compared to nondisabled children, the children with learning problems turned to their family less for problem-solving support…

Investigation of the social preferences of typically developing children (N=40) toward peers (N=19) with special needs in inclusive preschool classrooms found the children with special needs received few positive playmate preference nominations, but did not receive a significant number of negative nominations. Children were disliked if they were…

Investigated children's' ability to detect and interpret another child's nonverbal, representational gestures. Found that in addition to being able to pick up general information such as affective or social information from nonverbal behavior, school-age children are also capable of abstracting specific information such as conceptual or…

Provides specific tips for preschool teachers on how to better include children with exceptional health needs, hearing needs, learning needs, communication needs, visual impairment, or physical needs. Suggests that facilitating social skills is an essential part of facilitating true interaction. (KDFB)

Interviewed family members about family relationships and observed family members' interactions. Found that, compared to other girls, early maturing girls experienced higher levels of psychological distress; experienced greater psychological distress in grade 10 when they had a mixed-sex friendship network in grades 7 through 9; and were more…

Presents results from a study investigating the effects of professional training on teachers' use of observations to assess elementary students. Describes the training program and its focus on professional empowerment, strategy development for observation-based assessment, and learning the value of peer support. Reports that participants'…

Examines the potential positive caregiving experiences of 20 adolescents and their perceptions of relational enhancement as a result of caregiving. Results merged into four primary categories: (1) increased sibling activity/sharing; (2) greater empathy for older adults; (3) significant mother-adolescent bonding; and (4) peer relationship selection…

Whether family structure variables and family functioning variables predict the amount of intimate time adolescents spend with family members and peers was studied with 299 Australian adolescents. Findings show the influence of age and sex on the amount of time adolescents spend with family or peers. (SLD)

This study investigated the peer-related social functioning of 291 children, ages 8-17, diagnosed with varying attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) subtypes. Subjects were given the Interpersonal Relationships Questionnaire. Analyses of variance revealed significant differences in self-reports by group for five of six questionnaire…

Examined the relation between perceived dissimilarity to peers and several peer-reported characteristics in 478 students from 26 fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms. Found that perceived dissimilarity was related positively to perceptions that a student was odd, socially excluded and withdrawn, bullying, and inattentive; dissimilarity related…

This article describes the development of the Preschool Taxonomy of Problem Situations (PTOPS). An examination of the PTOPS using a clinical sample of 42 maltreated children (ages 2-5) indicated the PTOPS subscales were high in internal reliability and were highly convergent with subscales of the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire. (Contains…

A study examined the social pretend play and conversational behaviors of three children (ages 4-6) with language impairment in dyadic interactions with peers. In all dyads, social pretend play yielded greater conversational success than other forms of play. Quality of play varied as a function of partner characteristics. (Contains references.)…

A study of the effects of assertiveness training to enhance the social/assertiveness skills of 36 adolescents with visual impairments found that parents, the students, teachers, and observers judged the adolescents' social skills differently. However, the training did have some specific effect on increasing assertiveness. (Contains references.)…

Examined relations between Hong Kong and English mothers' socialization goals and childrearing practices and their impact upon preschool peer competence. Found significant correlations between socialization toward filial piety and authoritarian practices, and valuing socioemotional development and authoritative parenting for both groups. Chinese…