Findings from a study comparing the effects of segregated versus mainstreamed preschool settings on handicapped and non-handicapped children strongly suggest that mainstreaming is the preferable alternative for all types of handicapped preschool children. Initially, handicapped children in both segregated and mainstreamed settings were found to be…

This guide is designed to help teachers instruct students in the areas of alcohol, drugs, and traffic safety. It consists of two units, targeted to seventh-grade students and the other to tenth-grade students. Each unit can be used over a two-week period. The lesson plans and related materials focus on helping students gain insight into factors…

The ecological theory of teaching views the classroom as a unit within which social and psychological interactions determine the learning patterns that will take place. Three fourth-grade classrooms were observed to test and clarify this theory. A description is given of the characteristics of the pupils in each class, the teacher's instructional…

This monograph on significant other influence and vocational development begins with a short historical overview of the concept of "significant other." The author then presents a summary of the ways in which the concept has been measured and reviews selected empirical studies with an emphasis on findings related to race, sex, and…

This analysis of peer editing techniques briefly discusses the following: (1) the advantages of peer group editing, such as the availability of a wider audience and writing models; (2) the potential disadvantages of grouping unskilled or uncommitted students; (3) forming groups; (4) using sentence combining exercises to facilitate trustbuilding;…

This group of studies investigated the level of traditionality/flexibility in the sex-role attitudes of 376 six- and nine-year-old children, and in the attitudes of their parents. Sex-role questionnaires assessed: (1) the child's attitudes regarding toy and activity preferences, future domestic aspirations, occupational choices, and tolerance of…

A major problem in teacher education is the maintenance of beginning teachers' idealism in the face of practicing professionals' pragmatism. Teacher education programs train students in theories, concepts, and practices only to assign them to public schools, where the antithesis of everything the program attempted to teach is an accepted,…

Two differing viewpoints on the socialization of student teachers are presented in this review of the literature on the subject. The functionalist view places the student teacher in a passive role, shaped by childhood experiences, and influenced by peers, pupils, cooperating teachers, supervisors, and the structure of the school environment. The…

In this paper, it is noted that there are three reasons for studying the black gifted child. First, black destiny has in part been shaped by talented blacks--for example, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. Second, the black gifted are a minority within a minority. The gifted black female, subject to sexism, is even more of a minority. Third,…

This study measured the effects on children's behavior of peer influence and prosocial and antisocial television messages. The subjects, 120 children in second, third, and fourth grades, were placed in three different situations: one in which no television was viewed, one in which an excerpt from a television program portraying violence was…

Semistructured interviews with 47 unemployed teenagers and 49 Youth Training Scheme (YTS) trainees in Great Britain suggest that beyond directly vocational aspects of YTS, psychosocial factors (social roles/status, peer influences, leisure pursuits) are important to self/social development of youth in transition to adult life. Implications for…

A questionnaire was distributed to Native American registered nurses to discover what factors helped them succeed. Analysis of the 104 questionnaires returned from a sample of 185 showed that personal characteristics were significant, as was peer support from other Native Americans. (JHZ)

Examined the relationship between an adolescent girl's family relationship patterns and her peer relationship patterns. Measured degree of connectedness in family relationships using global coding of family interaction process, and peer connectedness by a sociometric questionnaire. Demonstrated similarities between degree of connectedness…

Research on social interaction of severely disabled adolescents is reviewed. A conceptual model for research and instruction is based on the reciprocal exchange of responses between two interactants. Among topics addressed are peer initiation strategies, teaching disabled students to initiate, the environmental context, social scripts, and school…

Synthesizes literature on social comparison in young children. Findings center on (1) children's motivations to engage in social comparison; (2) peer targets; (3) age when social comparison appears; (4) developmental sequences; (5) effects upon subsequent behavior; and (6) sex-related differences. Suggests pratical implications for teaching.…