Draws on journal articles to discuss how cultural variability can be reconciled with developmental theory and dimensions that matter most for development. Argues that cross-cultural research should be predicated on a model of how culture interacts with forces that guide development and that interpretation of cross-cultural research is severely…

Discusses social belonging as both a health-related goal and an antidote for emotional crises. Examines how social connectedess represents both a content and process variable in Northern Scottish young people's discussion of their health concerns. Analyses reveal both the potency of all these concerns and participants' belief that skills acquired…

A study examined whether three children with autism could be trained in conversational skills and whether this would lead to changes in standard tests of theory of mind. The amount of shared interest exhibited by the children during conversations increased during training sessions and children made more responses that were appropriate. (Contains…

A study compared 21 adolescent boys with Asperger syndrome and 21 controls and found significant differences between the two groups on measures evaluating social perception, social skills, number of close friends and frequency of contact, and social competence. There was also a significant difference on receptive language. (Contains references.)…

Presents ideas for teaching social competence through an integrated curriculum in Head Start programs. Suggestions include planning a grocery store trip, using play to show children how to get along, honoring diverse families in the classroom, bringing diverse community helpers into the classroom, selecting a child of the week, and examining…

Explores the importance of understanding modern and postmodern student identities in contemporary open and distance learning. Describes these different identities and relates them to consumerism in education. Determines that open learning plays a significant role in the development of contemporary trends at individual and social levels.…

Group friendship activities can help young children with disabilities in preschool programs develop social skills. Suggestions for successful implementation address the size of the group, activity length, choice of activity, selecting expressions of friendship, and participation of individual children. (DB)

The social development of a female rhesus monkey was followed from birth until death, age 32 months. The monkey had an extra autosome and was hydrocephalic. The monkey showed serious motor deficiencies, delayed social development, poorly established dominance relationships, and heavy dependence on mother and kin. The monkey was, however, well…

Presents and describes the adolescent developmental pathways paradigm, a rites-of-passage model for African American youth that provides a developmental framework for ethnic identity development and integrates it into the current literature on adolescent rites of passage. Attention is given to the ecological context within which adolescent-focused…

A community restaurant begun in Montreal by 12 welfare recipients has provided jobs and inexpensive meals and served community interests. It attempts to integrate social and economic development, operating not primarily as a job training program but as a community-based, socially useful business. (SK)

Examines the way three feminist, queer teachers of writing experience and perform their gender, class, and sexual identities. Critiques both the academy's tendency to neutralize the political aspects of identity performance and the essentialist identity politics that still inform many academic discussions. (SC)

Effective heterogeneous cooperative learning helps students grow academically, socially, and emotionally. Within heterogeneous groups, teachers can differentiate tasks by complexity and quantity, use high-achieving students' ideas, enhance individualized work, plan challenging peer-tutoring assignments, add enrichment options, vary criteria for…

Twenty-three high-functioning children with autism (ages 5-11), 42 6-year-old controls, and 43 10-year-old controls were presented with six emotion-evoking stories and were asked to explain protagonists' typical and atypical emotions. In the case of atypical emotions, the children with autism performed as well as the 10-year-old controls.…

Fourteen adults with high-functioning autism, 2 with Asperger syndrome, and 10 controls matched for intellectual ability and reading competence were shown excerpts of films showing characters in social situations. Adults with autism and Asperger syndrome were most impaired in their ability to answer questions about the films requiring mind-reading…

A study compared psychosocial functioning in 20 male adolescents with Asperger syndrome and 20 with severe conduct disorder. Results found those with Asperger syndrome had severe impairments in practical social functioning despite good cognitive ability and lack of significant early language delay, and high levels of anxiety and obsessional…