Explores how first-grade children cope with changes during their transition to school, including changes of status, environment, social experiences, and cultural influences. Notes the importance of communication and friendship for helping children cope. (JPB)

This article describes three cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies for students with disabilities, including the CAST (character, action, setting, the end) reading strategy, the PLEASE writing strategy, and the LISTEN (look, idle your motor, sit up straight, turn to me, engage your brain, now.) social skills strategy. (Contains…

Discusses how elementary school counselors can best promote personal and social development of children through group work, in which peers contribute to development. Proposes that a group focused on developing empathic skill helps children move beyond egocentrism and build the foundation for social skills. Presents a psychoeducational group model…

Examines the formation of group norms in computer-mediated communication (CMC) among students who used e-mail as part of a course. Shows that norms prescribing a particular use of technology are socially constructed over time at the level of locally defined groups, and also shows that the influence of these norms is limited to the boundaries of…

This study compared parent and teacher perceptions of 23 gifted children's (ages 6-12) social skills and the importance of different social skills. Teacher ratings of cooperation were significantly higher than parent ratings, and teachers valued cooperation highly. Parent ratings of assertion were significantly higher than teacher ratings, and…

Main and interactive effects of delinquent friends, peer attachment, and association with Chinese friends on delinquency were studied with Chinese-Canadian youths ages 10 to 20. Results show that association with delinquent friends increases delinquency involvement, while attachment to peers has the opposite effect. (SLD)

Development of social identity is crucial for adolescents. Because of the difficulty in developing a healthy identity in a homophobic world, gay and lesbian adolescents are an at-risk population. The counselor's role regarding the process of social identity formation, issues of isolation, educational issues, family issues, and health risks is…

Evaluated changes in mothers' interactive behaviors with infants from 6 to 40 months who were medically high risk, medically low risk, very low birthweight preterm, or full-term. Found that variations in mothers' responses to children's changing capabilities predicted rates of change in children's social skills. (Author/KB)

Transfer involves disembodying knowledge and transferring it for use in different contexts. Vocational knowledge arises in communities of practice, and difficulties arise in transferring it from one distinct community, such as a workplace, to another, such as a classroom. (SK)

New brain research shows that music improves our brain development and even enhances skills in other subjects such as reading and math. Music enhances creativity and promotes social development, personality adjustment, and self-worth. Music making provides the most extensive exercise for brain cells and their synaptic interconnections. (12…

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…