Argues a violent society adversely affects the development of young children, and caregivers must play a healing role in caring for children. Examines how violence affects children's sense of self, a child's relationships with others, and a child's world view. Supports building worthwhile relationships with parents and providing a safe haven. (SD)

This study compared psychometric results on the Fear Survey Schedule for Children-II for 187 children and adolescents with mental retardation and 372 intellectually average students. The schedule demonstrated sound psychometric properties for both samples. Mentally retarded subjects scored significantly higher than the comparison sample, and their…

This article discusses using "PEPSI", a screening and programming method that evaluates the physical, emotional, philosophical, social, and intellectual levels of development in children with disabilities. The steps in the PEPSI screening process are described and a case study is provided. A chart depicting indicators in teaching respect for self…

Examines the social and emotional benefits for children in early childhood multiage classrooms and the strategies teachers implement to promote those developmental domains. Explores findings about the social and emotional advantages for students, and presents advantages and disadvantages from the multiage perspective. Reviews findings on…

Describes an initiative of the National Association for the Education of Young Children with the goals of helping early childhood professionals prevent child abuse and neglect and promote healthy social and emotional development. Highlights findings from the Phase 1 research project confirming that most educators are willing to participate more…

Interviews with 46 adults with mental retardation in Flanders, Belgium, found there was no one type of relational-sexual experience, but common to all was the absence of support for building relationships and for coping with ensuing relational difficulties. Structural, organizational, and attitudinal barriers appeared to shape perceptionsof…

Examined whether the quality and content of everyday parent-child conversations about negative emotions differed from everyday talk about positive emotions. Found that children and parents talked about past emotions, causes of emotions, and connections between emotions and other mental states at higher rates during conversations about negative…

This article offers an overview of the development of practical approaches to professional development that, by deepening teachers' insight into emotional and social factors in children's learning, have been shown to supersede the need to exclude the disaffected. It discusses moving towards a more nurturing connective school culture. (Contains…

Fifty two-year-olds and fifty three-year-olds from low-income families were observed in 10 urban day care centers. Child-teacher interactions were coded as positive or negative. Boys engaged and elicited more negative behaviors than did girls. It is concluded that providers should not reinforce negative behaviors in children who are emotionally…

Assessed the differential effects of academic versus socioemotional focuses in kindergartens. Subjects were 307 predominately African-American children in 86 inner-city classrooms. Found a detrimental impact of an overly academic focus in kindergarten on young boys' development and school achievement. Although girls were developmentally more ready…

The functions of solitary media use in the daily emotional lives of adolescents are discussed, suggesting that solitary television watching and music listening give adolescents an opportunity to explore and cultivate a newly discovered private self. Solitary media experiences provide an important context for dealing with stress and negative…

This review examines research done on affection behaviors of children with visual and hearing impairments. A social interaction perspective is utilized, and areas for further empirical investigation are identified. (DB)

Today's students lack sufficient opportunities to practice caring or be rewarded for caring behavior. A caring culture in schools requires not radical restructuring of policies, curricula, and systems but subtle changes in attitudes and scope. Educators must consider students within their social and developmental contexts, redefine the teacher's…

Examined the relationship between childhood loneliness and insecure-ambivalent attachment in infancy. As predicted, the most loneliness in early childhood was reported by children classified insecure-ambivalent in infancy. Possible explanations center on the contribution of attachment to peer relationships, internal working models, and child…

Weaknesses in traditional forms of social-emotional curriculum development are identified. In the Data Based Curriculum Project, teachers submit, on a standard reporting form, interventions they have found to be effective in changing student behavior, and forms are duplicated, distributed to each participant, and filed by behavior label. (JDD)