This commentary on a study that found the use of a system of least prompts produced increases in rates of conversations between preschoolers with and without disabilities discusses the absence of teaching promoting verbal behavior in the baseline condition and emphasizes the need for better teacher preparation and inservice education. (Author/CR)

This commentary on a study that found the use of a system of least prompts produced increases in rates of conversations between preschoolers with and without disabilities discusses the benefits of the hierarchical model of intervention that maximizes the usefulness of research to practitioners. (Author/CR)

A majority of 1071 Norwegian eighth graders studied reported satisfactory support from teachers and relations with peers, although 12% reported more severe emotional complaints and 10% reported more severe musculoskeletal complaints. Exposure to harassment at school and a perceived lack of academic support show the strongest associations with…

Peers are rarely credited as the source of positive behaviors; rather credit is given to the child or the parent for doing a good job. This introduction provides an overview of some of the methodological complications involved in studying peer influence, and discusses a new model for conceptualizing peer influence. (Author/SD)

Examined influences of friends and friendships on adjustment to junior high school via self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and school records. Found that sociability and leadership increased if students had high-quality friendships, and behavior problems increased if students had friends with behavioral problems. Separate and…

Identifies eight characteristics of college culture that are supportive of teaching, and shows the importance of readily available feedback from different sources (colleagues, consultants, chairs, students, self). Such feedback helps address the need for self-determination and excellence in teaching, provides opportunities for faculty learning and…

A review of the literature on the socioemotional development and status of hard-of-hearing students in regular classes identifies sources of negative attitudes to which students may be exposed. These include the presence of a hearing aid, requests for clarification, speech impediments, erroneous information in available literature, confusing…

Studied whether co-parenting and family-group process influence early social competence. Found indirect pathways linking low levels of support and mutuality in the co-parenting relationship to problematic peer relationships, and direct pathways linking the family's affective climate to positive peer behavior. Discovered that effects were strongest…

Examined relationship between child behavior and peer preference from the person-group similarity and the social-skill models with 2,895 first graders. Found support for both predictive models, with the acceptability aggression and withdrawal varying across classrooms and the effects of inattentive/hyperactive behavior and prosocial behavior…

Examined technical and adaptive competence in coping among 97 African-American adolescents with learning disabilities. Findings indicated that short-term, reactive, technical competence was a better predictor of feelings of efficacy, and longer-term, developmental adaptive competence was a better predictor of behavioral problems. Gender subsample…

"Depth interviews" reveal the development of autonomy to be a complex process characterized by a network of interrelated life experiences in multiple domains. Relational, personal, and educational events influence the pace and direction of developing autonomy. Six themes emerging from the data are discussed and related to developmental theories…

Suggests that quality child care includes loving relationships between staff and child and between child and child. Emphasizes personal attachment and socialization as builders of a child's tolerance, self-identity, independence, and generosity. Identifies positive emotional context as crucial for learning environments. (DLH)

Four 8th graders with learning disabilities were taught to recruit assistance from peers during cooperative learning activities in two general classrooms. Training consisted of modeling, role playing, corrective feedback, and praise. Recruitment training increased the productivity and accuracy with which the students completed their language arts…

Explored the relation between measures of emotional competence, behavioral regulation, and general social competence and African American preschoolers' peer acceptance and popularity. Found that gender, emotional knowledge, emotion regulation, and themes of violence in response to hypothetical situations of interpersonal conflict were strongly…

Examined influence of teacher feedback on children's (n=91) evaluations of hypothetical videotaped peers, presented as being liked, disliked, or neutral by the teacher. Teacher feedback had a significant and discriminative effect on subjects' perceptions of the peers. Implications for classroom intervention are discussed. (SNR)