While once forbidden in classrooms, laughter is increasingly encouraged as contributing to a positive learning environment. However, analyses of laughter in conversation show that laughter performs multiple social functions, some of which are not necessarily positive. Applying this lens, this study investigates the interactional functions of…

In this article, we report on a study that sought to examine the willingness of pre-service teachers to apply the inclusion policy for students with disability. The study considered the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1985, 1991) as a means to explain the willingness of pre-service teachers in general and of the subgroups to engage in inclusive…

Objectives: To evaluate Israeli Arab social workers' custody recommendations, given the unique cultural context in which they operate. Methods: The current study used an experimental-design embedded within a survey. Data regarding custody recommendations were collected from 137 Israeli Arab social workers. Results: Israeli Arab social workers tend…

The study explored the nature of mother-child conversation during and after a shared book reading (SBR) interaction and how it relates to children's social understanding and prosocial behavior. Participants were 61 mother-child dyads (children's mean age 5 years, 8 months) from low socioeconomic strata (SES). Mother-child SBR and their…

This article presents an empirical study of a seventh-grade Talmud class in a religious boys' school in Israel. This case study touches upon and attempts to elucidate aspects of several broader areas. It is fundamentally an example of the transmission of culture, values, and culturally valued text in a schooling context, which exists within a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' classroom discipline techniques and students' individual and communal responsibility in Australian, Chinese, and Israeli classrooms. The sample comprised 5521 students in grades 7-12 and 748 teachers. The participating Australian, Chinese, and Israeli schools included both…

Most of today's societies are confronted with an increasing necessity to legitimate the organization of their access to higher education. Commonly used as a yardstick to compare societies, the level of access to higher education is often presented as an indicator of the level of development and the capacity to produce knowledge, as well as a…

Basketball experts (N=28) responded to "rule- and norm-related behavior" questionnaire, assessing crisis relevance of behaviors which were against rules of situation and were either fair or unfair, called or not called by officials. Results revealed that officials' calls and fairness of violations substantially influenced diagnostic…

Examines problems of the aged in organized crime, basing discussion on organized crime bosses over age 60 operating in Italy, the United States, and Israel. Looks at problems stemming from normative system in organized crime, role of the aged, intergenerational problems, fears of the aged, excuses and justifications, standards of life, and…

Two studies comparing urban and kibbutz children found that the acquisition of normative understandings was associated with a shift from mastery to ability explanations in urban, but not kibbutz, children. Cooperative learning settings helped maintain interest in using peers to promote mastery, even after the acquisition of the normative…

Describes the sequentially developmental life stages of healthy, normal families. Provides an exposition of these developmental stages and forms as a guide or normative framework within which to test for dysfunction and pathology in the family process. (Author/JAC)

First- and fifth-grade kibbutz and city children (320 in two studies) individually were requested to distribute rewards between themselves and a partner who had produced either more or less than the subject had. Fifth graders were also asked about the level of effort and merit displayed by themselves and their partners. (Author/RH).

This work explores whether a "psychological price" is indicated in the affective domain of the weaker student in abilty-mixed settings; whether this price differs for various dimensions of this domain; and whether it is related to academic achievement. Existing research in the fields of ability grouping, streaming, curriculum tracking,…

Compared the relationship of temperament to adjustment in Israeli and American early childhood group care centers. Cross-cultural differences in the ideals held by caregivers and their judgment of actual children were found. The relationship between temperament and adjustment differed between the two groups. Suggested that the "fit"…