A conceptualization of social skills as resources in social exchange is offered, and a social exchange theoretical framework is applied to educational research. In a social exchange framework, the contribution of the peer group to the social exclusion of an individual would not be ignored. (SLD)

This study found that 74 high school students with learning disabilities were more likely than 85 nondisabled students to expect that a teenager trying to convince a peer to engage in misconduct would use simple, direct requests and were less likely to expect requests that minimized the possibility of getting caught. (JDD)

A college professor examines her feelings about working in a university, her attempts to create a more supportive and congenial relationship with fellow teachers, and the frustrations of an environment in which colleagues are out of daily communication because of workload and the need and ability to work at home. (MSE)

A total of 136 mothers of preschool-age children participated in interviews about their disciplinary style. Children of power-assertive mothers engaged in more antisocial or disruptive behavior than other children and expected successful instrumental outcomes for hostile methods of resolving peer conflict. (LB)

This study of 20 preschool children with disabilities and 8 normally developing children found that more peer interaction occurred during play activities that were more structured, whereas teacher interaction rates were not related to activity structure ratings. Among children with disabilities, rate of peer interaction correlated positively with…

Three typical preschoolers were trained as peer tutors for three young children with autism. Tutors used incidental teaching to obtain verbal labels of preferred toys by children with autism. Adult supervision and assistance were faded systematically with resulting maintenance of increased reciprocal interactions. (Author/JDD)

Examined development and validation of measure of adaptation to problematic academic and interpersonal tasks during transition to middle school (Survey of Adaptational Tasks of Middle School). For girls, peer relationship tasks appeared most salient with regard to criterion measures, whereas for boys, peer relationship, conflict with authority,…

Nashville (Tennessee) elementary-school students with and without disabilities produced a musical play called "Super Kids." The play included songs about super heroes, communication, student rights, aspirations, and believing in oneself. The impact of the play on peer attitudes and development of friendships is noted. (JDD)

Examined how the preestablished framework of social relationships affect adjustment to the transition from home to a college dormitory. Subjects were 61 female first-year college students. Found that agemate-dominant-type students more easily developed relationships with new agemates and reported fewer difficulties in making the transition than…

Gifted and talented adolescents have two primary social needs: to have normal social interaction with others and to develop an identity as a person who is gifted and talented. The choices an individual makes are always influenced by personal needs in a social context. Gifted children are members of a subgroup--the gifted--which has negative and…

Defined peer-rated, narrow-band dimensions of undercontrolled behavior of 362 third through sixth grade boys that was associated with peer rejection. Results revealed three narrow-band dimensions in the peer perceptions of grade school boys: (1) aggression; (2) hyperactivity; and (3) inattention-immaturity. (SH)

Presents one parent's perspective on what children of different abilities teach each other. The parent gained this perspective as a result of her son's experience with a developmentally disabled classmate in his fourth grade class. (BB)

In this study, the occurrence of preschool children's affectionate behavior did not appear to be gender typed. A considerable percentage of the children's affection was restricted to same-gender peers. Children expressed affections more frequently to individuals than to groups of individuals. (BB)

Piaget's hypothesis that children's interactions with peers during middle childhood are essential to their moral reasoning development was tested with 48 female preadolescents who were paired with a female agemate or their mother. Subjects paired with peers showed more sophisticated moral reasoning and used more active transacts in their…

Twenty-one articles employing peer-mediated interventions to promote social skills of children and adolescents with behavioral disorders were analyzed on their experimental, procedural, and generalization components. The review found that peer-mediated approaches produce immediate positive treatment effects and have contributed to the…