We report two studies that examine age differences in pupils' and parents' definitions of the term "bullying," and possible reasons for these including the role of specific experiences. Study 1 compared definitions of "bullying" given by participants in four age groups; 4 to 6 years, 8 years, 14 years and adult. Participants were shown/read 17…

This article presents an in-depth case study of the psychosocial experiences of Eric, a student with low vision, who is enjoying social success in his neighborhood school. It explores the factors that contribute to Eric's social successes at school and in the community and presents a model for inclusion.

We collected data on 170 college students to assess retrospective perception of school-aged bullying experiences, hardiness and aspects of friendships and romantic relationships on the dimensions of trust, relationship quality and shyness. We found that rates of reported victimization were positively correlated with contemporaneous shyness levels.…

Literacy education is at a crossroads. While traditional school experiences still prize disembodied experiences of reading print-based texts as the pinnacle of sound education, informal learning experiences provide fruitful examples of the ways that visual texts are read as they are embodied by readers. In this paper I draw from the literacy lives…

The author explored the underlying dimensions and construct validity of the Bullying Situations Identification Instrument (BSI; Hazler, Miller, Carney, & Green, 2001) using exploratory factor analyses. Three dimensions of bullying severity were found using 251 school professionals as participants. The three factors that emerged from analyses were…

Current recommendations for achieving high-quality professional development for teachers include the creation of a professional learning community. Key to the success of this approach, however, is the role of the peer mentor or coach. This study examined the experiences and perceptions of 31 professional development coaches in order to highlight…

The present study examined the effectiveness of a bullying prevention program. The responses of 270 fifth grade students on the Peer Relations Questionnaire, the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), and the Pro-social Tendencies Scale were examined before and after participating in the program. Students in the Bully, Bully-Victim, and Neither…

While most institutions know how many of their faculty members have terminal degrees and the number of books in the library, too few have reliable information about the frequency with which first-year students discuss ideas with faculty members outside class, how much time they spend on academic activities, or how often they interact with students…

There are numerous factors associated with not finishing high school. The purpose of this student was to shed new light on one of them, grade retention, as seen through the eyes of retained dropouts themselves. Respondents describe three interrelated phenomena that characterized their trajectory from being retained-in-grade to subsequent premature…

The purpose of this study was to describe the social interactions of students with and without disabilities in a general physical education (GPE) program. Participants were a girl with Down syndrome and mental retardation, a boy with severe juvenile scoliosis, and their 16 classmates (9 females, 7 males) without disabilities at a rural middle…

Although there has been a growing interest in research on bullying in the last decade the majority of studies have used definitions of bullying and victimisation derived from researchers' perceptions of the problem. The aim of the present study was to examine pupils' definitions of bullying in school. The participants were 166 pupils in the top…

Stable peer status clusters of rejected, popular, and average girls from ages 10 to 13 were identified and associated to young and middle adulthood adjustment. The study included a representative sample of 445 females from the longitudinal research program Individual Development and Adaptation. Results showed that, by young adulthood, rejected…

This study investigates perceived characteristics of victims of peer bullying in a sample of 1237 adolescents (mean age is 13.3 years-old) in two southern European countries. Focusing upon perceived characteristics of victimized peers, the main goal was to inspect how descriptions of the victims varied according to country, age, gender,…

This study examined the validity of teacher assistant report of children's classroom peer play behaviors using the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS). Participants for the examination of construct validity were 344 urban Head Start children. Exploratory factor analyses resulted in a reliable three-factor solution, corroborating the…

In order to facilitate the comprehension of social structure in preschool children, our research has two foci: first, to define controlling behaviours (nonaggressive group organisation) and to determine their organisational principles, and second, to analyse the relation of the controlling behaviours with aggressive behaviours. Through direct…