Although most American adolescents are psychologically, socially, and physically healthy, adolescence remains a time of considerable change and risk. To examine what works to promote well-being among America's adolescents, Child Trends reviewed contributing influences and programs that lead to positive behavior in seven areas: mental health,…

Organizations, regardless of size and complexities, must depend on communication as a medium to effectively function. Regardless of the best-laid strategies, lack of communication may yield unfavorable results. Needless to state, organizational communication has been perceived as a challenge within many educational organizations. The intent of…

Because social competency is an important element for adolescents' healthy development, a central question is what can be done to help adolescents achieve and maintain social competency. This report details antecedents of two key aspects of social competency: quality social relationships and good social skills. For each social relationship and…

Noting that amid the enormous change inherent in early adolescence, many parents fail to distinguish between behaviors signaling healthy growth and those indicating troubled development, this book uses the stories of 12 representative adolescents from various locations in the United States and existing research literature to provide guidance on…

Survey of 66 Black high school students reveals that social support buffers the effect of stress on mental health. Support from family was reportedly higher than that from friends. Respondents whose parents were separated had higher levels of stress than those whose parents were married. (BJV)

Describes a cooperative-learning technique that uses a computer network and involves cooperation among teams separated by physical and social distances. Teachers' messages and students' work illustrate positive features of network connections for inner-city classrooms that are at-risk because of academic, physical, or economic conditions. (RLC)

Children who had been classified at 12 and 18 months of age according to their attachment to mother and father were observed in play groups and given a social perception test at 5 years. Findings suggest that infant-mother attachment is a more powerful predictor of social competence in preschool than is father attachment or combined mother and…

A sample of 183 third through sixth grade students were administered the Revised Class Play (RCP). Seven years later, these children and their parents completed a questionnaire measuring the students' behavioral symptoms and social, athletic, and academic competence. The RCP scores were related to adolescent competence and psychopathology. (BC)

Discusses effects of peer relationships on preschoolers' social development. Peer acceptance is important for successful social interaction and adjustment to school, whereas antisocial behavior is associated with rejection. Family interaction and experience are connected to peer acceptance. Suggests approaches that teachers may use to facilitate…

Observed 88 first and second graders and 76 fifth and sixth graders during playground interactions. A time-sampling procedure recorded gender, race, and group size of all interactive play in seven playground areas. Found that mixed-gender interactions were more likely than same-gender ones to include other races, and mixed-race interactions…

Discusses a professional-development course for educators, team-taught by three faculty members, that combined the content of courses in multicultural education, special education, and human development. Each teacher describes his or her experiences and the issues addressed; student comments are examined; and the requirements for and benefits of…

Describes the introduction of a computerized peer assessment system as part of an undergraduate module in computer studies in the United Kingdom. Analyzes student responses to modification of the tutor-student relationship to a student-student relationship for assessment purposes, discusses plagiarism and the Web, and investigates effects on…

A study of 643 adolescents and 474 young adults explored relationships among young people's observations and opinions of exclusionary behavior and their reports of whether exclusion affects their social and academic adjustment. Findings indicated that, unlike young adults, adolescents' perceptions of, and attitudes about, school ecologies…

These two follow-up studies measured teacher-student interactions, peer interactions, students' perceptions of their teachers' expectations, student self-perceptions and academic engaged time with grade 2-4 children at risk or not-at-risk for learning, emotional and behavioral disorders. Findings suggest that as children at risk get older, they…

This qualitative research was designed to give voice to Latina students in single-gender and co-educational secondary-level special education placements for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Classroom observations and interviews were conducted with Latina special education students and classroom teachers in both single-gender…