Arts Education is, technically, core to the school curriculum according to federal mandates and certain state mandates. However, it is rarely made accessible to all students despite earnest advocating on the part of dedicated organizations and individuals. In order for a democratic society to function successfully, its members must be invested and…

Examines benefits to individuals and society of cooperative--as opposed to competitive--interpersonal relationships. Discusses children's sports, games, and play as means to promote cooperation and reviews research showing positive effects of children's cooperative play. Provides standards for a cooperative philosophy that would promote positive…

Counselors must become active participants in the practice of full inclusion of children with disabilities into classrooms with nondisabled youngsters. Full inclusion is distinguished from mainstreaming; successful models are reviewed. Topics of collaboration and consultation among counselors and teachers, building social adjustment, and…

Presents salient features of workshop discussion on encouraging social collaboration through play. Main topics covered are: theories and play; play and the curriculum, including evidence that play-based curricula are developmentally appropriate, desirable educational outcomes; and promoting the value of play, including Parten's typology, grouping,…

Children and youth require safe and supportive schools and communities if they are to succeed in school and thrive. These needs are particularly great for children who struggle with the impacts of chronic poverty, lead poisoning and lead effect, community and media violence, drugs and alcohol, trauma and loss. There are many such students in…

Because evidence is clear that in many developing countries development will be postponed indefinitely unless slower population growth can be achieved soon, the international community must work together in a renewed effort to slow population growth. Assistance can be accomplished in three ways: (1) encouraging dialog aimed at forging…

Discusses the effect of children's outdoor play on their learning, the promotion of children's development by their playing of games which they have invented, and suggestions for adults to encourage children to invent outdoor games. (BC)

It is the position of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) that all elementary school children should be provided with at least one daily period of recess of at least 20 minutes in length. Various cited organizations support school recess as an integral component of a child's physical, social, and academic development,…

Offers a theoretical and methodological approach to study of children's socio-cognitive interaction. Observation of object-centered activities among three age groups of children showed different modes of collaboration. Processes were similar across age groups; roots of basic peer interaction patterns reach back into infancy. Similarities across…

Comments on Verba's ideas about collaboration in peer interaction in this issue. Praises Verba for setting new direction in the study and understanding of social processes in cognitive development and for establishing important continuities in how children communicate with peers. Notes that Verba's analyses suggest natural categories of…

Discusses the use of authentic assessment during creative learning activities in kindergarten classrooms to document growth and support further learning. Provides an example of how authentic assessment was used to document the social progress of one child during kindergarten. Concludes that authentic assessment of children's activities and…

This document is a report of the proceedings of a symposium on university distance education and innovations in telecommunications designed to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas among administrators, educators, and researchers representing various organizations and nations. It is noted that, in Asia and the Pacific region in particular,…

Suggests that parents who are aware of the differences between home play and school play more fully understand and value the role of play in the early childhood curriculum. Discusses benefits of school play along several dimensions, including interaction with peers and adults, group size, materials, planning, and guidance. Suggests ways for…

This paper discusses the importance of parent involvement in middle schools, focusing on the increasing need for such involvement in today's society. It examines the development of the parent-student and teacher-student relationship, and considers the importance of the parent-teacher relationship in relation to the student's development and…

Chronicles the experiences of a second-grade teacher as she accepts special-education students into her regular education classroom and emphasizes the cooperation between the special education teacher in charge of academic development and the regular education teacher who focused on the special education students' social development and the…