This article focuses on the link between social norms and behavioral development as presented in research on norms regarding bullying and aggression. The aim is to present a conceptual framework for how classroom norms may explain children's decisions to defend others or refrain from defending. Norms emerge from group consensus about what is…

This commentary engages the three elements of a social justice framework in the study of African American Boys and Men's (AABM) positive development, proposed by Barbarin, Tolan, and Gaylord-Harden (2019). In agreement with the importance of and in support of employing a social justice framework in developmental science, we offer theoretical and…

Background: Schools around the world are increasingly diverse in ethnicity. Given the importance of peer acceptance in children's well-being and development, it is a pressing concern for educators to promote intergroup acceptance in schools. Aims: First, to examine the developmental trends of acceptance of outgroup members in both the ethnic…

The aim of the study was to profoundly gain understanding into specific cultural values that underlie traditional practices which pose as barriers to rural girls' education in Zambia. A pairwise case study approach was used to identify and describe types of cultural values prevalent in the Bemba and Tonga ethnic groups of Zambia. A total of 28…

Although three articles in this special issue address three very different social groupings--gender, ethnicity, and academic needs--they all highlight why inclusion is important for students' healthy development. The authors make specific suggestions for how schools might promote a more inclusive and welcoming climate for their students.…

Ingroup preferences when deciding who to include in 2 distinct intergroup contexts, gender and school affiliation, were investigated. Children and adolescents, in the 4th (9-10 years) and 8th (13-14 years) grades, chose between including someone in their group who shared their group norm (moral or conventional) or who shared their group membership…

This article examines territorial negotiations concerning gaming, drawing on video recordings of gaming practices in middle-class families. It explores how private vs public gaming space was co-construed by children and parents in front of the screen as well as through conversations about games. Game equipment was generally located in public…

The concept of limits on child and teenage behavior is discussed in this book. Section I includes the core hypothesis of the theory of limits and discusses these essential concepts: (1) the pleasure/pain principle (the need to increase tolerance for stimulation in the pain center of the brain in order to be able to tolerate more stimulation in the…

Examines the quality of conversation produced by small groups of subjects in fifth, ninth, and twelfth grades and the last year of college. Results supported Piaget's sequence of conversational development. However, topical coherence apparently is not fostered by focused turns but emerges as a generalization of the normative constraints applying…

Three principles of work distribution were considered: (1) direct cause; (2) self-regulation; and (3) continuing responsibility. Children of 8, 11, and 14 years of age performed a job sorting task and commented on the fairness of work arrangements in vignettes. Results showed a differential development for the three principles rather than a…

Criticizes Dorval and Eckerman (included in this issue) for their findings' lack of generality due to the artificial nature of the conversational groups studied. Also both age changes in the ability to plan large conversational units and the functions of particular kinds of turns within these larger units are left unexplored. (CB)

This study examined the developmental and gender influences on children's normative emotional expression and control. The study surveyed 307 pairs of middle-class European-American children who were 7, 11, and 15 years old, and one parent of each child. The results of the survey showed that children were closer to the norm in their expressive…

Presents a study designed to assess children's, pre-adolescents', and adolescents' awareness of the norm of internality and to confirm previous results that showed the importance of school in its acquisition. Concludes that children's development of internality in LOC (locus of control) should be regarded as the acquisition of a norm rather than…

This book introduces the concept of a youth charter -- a communication strategy that can help young people understand the reactions of others to their behavior. Such charters identify a community's standards and expectations for young people's behavior and created occasions for imparting these standards and expectations to the young. The process…

Most adolescent mothers are unmarried and on welfare. Congress enacted new welfare legislation that emphasizes reducing teen pregnancy and requiring work, but states are reluctant to meet this challenge. Discusses child poverty's new face, public policy and culture wars, welfare reform, and social norms. Concludes that reducing unwed parenthood…