From her own experience as a secondary teacher in the People's Republic of China, the author concludes that multiyear student/teacher relationships have great potential for improving the academic and social/emotional environments of secondary schools. In China, the multiyear commitment gives teachers considerable academic autonomy and demands…

Open meetings are regularly scheduled times when all class members and the teacher sit together in a closed circle to discuss important topics, such as name-calling. Such meetings are structured, moving from reviewing ground rules to posing a warmup question, encouraging numerous perspectives, personalizing the topic, and challenging students to…

Argues that the development of an effective information infrastructure would contribute to Somalia's economic and social renewal. Outlines the attributes of such an infrastructure and makes specific recommendations to future Somali development planners and international donors supporting information development activities. (Author/PEN)

Discusses the National Science Foundation's Urban Systemic Initiative. Argues that educational policies and recommendations for educational reform in the absence of restructuring our social commitments to address oppression and poverty will be of little benefit to the many children who live under such circumstances. (JRH)

This case study of two young males (ages 3 and 5) with autism who have preoccupations with feminine activities and objects addresses the establishment of gender identity in children with autism and the need for further study of the complex interplay of environmental and neurobiologic factors affecting gender identity and preoccupations in autism.…

Interviews with 19 facilitators and 43 participants in collaborative learning elicited integral values of the approach. The hallmark of collaborative learning was engagement of the whole person. Dimensions included touching the affective, working with experiences, strengthening the cognitive, and enhancing the social. (Contains 62 references.) (SK)

Examined relations among parent and child social information processing components and their links to children's social competence. Found some consistency between parents and kindergarten children in the types of goals and strategies provided in open-ended vignettes involving peer conflict. Fathers' and children's goals and strategies related to…

Explores the contribution of participant observation as a research method to the study of childhood. Discusses how participant observation permits a more comprehensive understanding of the process of friendship making than traditional sociometric techniques, and shows that, for the researcher, remembered experiences of participation and…

A primary school community in Nottingham, England, has built a social system (via extensive orientation, parent teaching assistants, and multiple school assemblies) in which staff, parents, and students share responsibility for children's academic, social, and personal development. Holistic learning is encouraged by an integrated curriculum,…

Uses a case study to demonstrate the effects of cultural conflict, alienation, anomie, and contemporary urban society on the lives of troubled Native American youth. Shows that by teaching traditional Native American values, such as visions of hope and independence, society can help these youth enjoy a promising future. (RJM)

This synthesis reviewed the findings of 13 intervention studies, published between 1975-1999, that examined the effects of manipulation of toys or group composition on social behaviors of children (ages 3-5) with disabilities. Positive outcomes were associated with children's playing with social toys and playgroups that included typical children.…

A study examined the effects of social setting on the friendship formation of 333 preschool children (120 with disabilities) enrolled in inclusive early childhood programs. Typical children in specialized classrooms had significantly more friends. In child care settings, however, there were no statistically significant differences in number of…

This article reviews critical components of experience sharing, relates them to the specific social deficits found in children and adolescents with Asperger syndrome, then proposes factors in developing a relationship intervention program that would incorporate these essential components. The use of evenly matched peer partners for experience…

Explored the simultaneous sequential transition patterns of preschoolers' social play within classroom settings. Found that the proportion of social-play states did not vary during play episodes even when accounting for type of activity center, gender, and SES. Found a reciprocal relationship between parallel-aware and other social-play states…

A study compared 19 children with autism and 14 children with mental retardation (ages 2-11), on sustained interactions and responses to social bids. Children with autism produced fewer positive responses and more "no responses" than children with mental retardation. Both groups were more likely to make positive responses to adults. (Contains…