Thirty severely multiply handicapped deaf children have been served in an existing school for deaf children. Ongoing assessment is closely integrated with instruction to provide individual sequential programs. Children have one-to-one lessons and group experiences. The program is developed around the Social Learning Curriculum that has as its core…

Describes the value of teaching Standard English to working class adults who, though not illiterate, felt themselves disadvantaged through their poor command of language. Presents case of adult students in Belfast, Northern Ireland, who knew but did not use "public" language, i.e., Standard English, until instruction developed their…

Discusses the difficulties that students who are culturally/linguistically diverse or students with learning disabilities have in learning "how to do school." Components of learning to do school are described, as well as an ethnographic study of regular and special education students who were learning to do school in inclusive settings. (Author/CR)

Notes the differences between kindergarten and first grade in terms of children's learning styles and curriculum. Points out that play can be useful in kindergarten and also first-grade classrooms. Suggests the use of child-initiated learning centers to provide age-appropriate and individually appropriate activities. Gives examples of…

Aims to create awareness in early childhood professionals of the factors that contribute to emerging morality by suggesting ways to provide a developmentally appropriate social environment. (ET)

Examined effects of peer victimization and whether it was a precursor of school maladjustment. Subjects were 200 5- and 6-year-olds. Findings indicated that victimization was a precursor of children's loneliness and school avoidance. Children's feelings of loneliness were more pronounced while victimization was occurring, and delayed effects were…

For six years, the Project on High Performance Learning Communities, in partnership with the Illinois Middle Grades Network, has been studying a network of 97 schools as they undergo restructuring based on the Carnegie Council's "Turning Points" visions. Preliminary findings show that high-quality, well-implemented reforms can contribute…

Lists documents and videotapes recently entered into the ERIC (Educational Resources Information Center) and ECER (Exceptional Child Education Resources) databases that address the issue of enhancing the social competence of adolescents with disabilities at school and at work. Each listing includes a description of the content of the material. (CR)

Asserts social workers will be called on to respond to the continued dismantling of the federal social programs that sustain and support families and communities. Presents ideas to strengthen and expand community practice and community building, connects community practice and social development, describes the relationship between community…

Assessed social expectations of 163 Maori and European New Zealanders aged 9 and 12 in response to videotaped social encounters. Ethnic differences were greater among younger children. Among Maori children, an enculturated pattern was associated with less assertiveness and lower self-concept, but was not with cross-ethnic acceptance. (SLD)

Some character education programs are based on assumptions about children and how they learn that may undermine camp programs' long-term objectives for children. Key elements to consider are the assumptions made about human nature and children; how program structures like competition or cooperation influence character; whether kids are involved in…

This article describes success of an intervention to improve the social-communicative interactions of six Head Start children (age 3) at risk for delays in language and social skills. Skills targeted included: commenting about one's own play actions and actions of peers, asking and responding to peer questions, and taking turns. (Contains…

A study compared the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised in 61 children (ages 4-16) with autism. Correlations between the test scores for DSM-IV criterion sets were on the order of 0.7. SRS scores were unrelated to I.Q. and exhibited inter-rater reliability on the order of 0.8. (Contains references.)…

Explores parental participation in school governance utilizing data obtained from field research in Uganda. Argues that parent perceptions of the accountability of the school affect the way they participate in education. Indicates that accountability is one of the crucial factors for realizing local democracy through decentralization. (CAJ)

Argues that Ben Spiecker and Jan Steutel's use of the term mental retard is offensive and using either the United Kingdom terminology of learning disabled or the internationally accepted term intellectually disabled are more acceptable. Addresses rights of the learning disabled to sexual freedom. Considers implications of these issues for moral…