Friendship is of paramount importance to children's holistic well-being and development. Friendship often runs smoothly, but when it runs into difficulties this can be unsettling and time consuming, particularly after the lunchtime break. This article makes an original contribution by placing the lunchtime period under scrutiny and specifically…

Mealtimes have rarely been considered outside a healthy eating agenda yet may be important social contexts for children's social, emotional and moral development. Little research has examined the social value of time spent in the school lunch room. This study examined the nature of children's interactions, activities and experiences of mealtimes…

Several interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving social outcomes for children with autism; however, few have been successfully implemented in schools. This study compared two implementation strategies to improve the use of a social engagement intervention for children with autism in public schools. In total, 31 children with autism in…

Much attention has been paid to the role of effective instruction in classroom settings and there is compelling evidence that teacher clarity, student engagement, feedback, and active supervision are keys to student success. In positive behavior interventions and support (PBIS) schools, these principles are applied school-wide with students…

This study examined the effectiveness, generalization, and maintenance of a multi-element intervention consisting of brief direct instruction social skill lessons, a prompting procedure, and a fading procedure to promote social engagement in an integrated lunchroom and playground setting for three elementary age students with developmental…

A trio of researchers presents a case study from a practical, participatory action research project to demonstrate how one school district implemented a school-wide bullying prevention initiative for all elementary schools based on Bully Prevention in Positive Behavior Support (BP-PBS). The purpose of this manuscript is to discuss the process of…

This study was designed to investigate the reflective comments of 55 first grade children regarding their experiences in kindergarten and first grade. Data collection involved a conversational interview during which children voiced their reflections and comparisons on specific issues (e.g. friends, teacher, learning) they had encountered during…

A considerable number of bullying prevention and intervention programs are being implemented in elementary schools across the United States and worldwide. However, although the majority of aggressive interchanges between students occur in the playground and lunchroom contexts, many well-known outcome measures of bullying are not particularly…