The goal of this study was to examine the prospective associations of prosocial behavior and aggression with social preference in classrooms and whether these associations were moderated by classroom levels of peer-perceived liking and disliking by the teacher. Participants were 2900 fourth-to sixth-grade students in South Korea (M[subscript age]…

This research was undertaken to determine whether monitoring by peers, self, or teacher would produce the most effective contingency management program. (RC)

Results of a study of 93 sixth graders indicated that peer feedback seemed to have positive effects on writing quality. Findings also suggest that students are able to significantly improve surface structure quality within a multiple-draft process both with and without the benefit of peer feedback. (IAH)

Studied the onset of puberty in girls aged nine to eleven as represented by breast, pubic hair growth, and height. Breast growth, but not pubic hair growth was associated with a positive body image, positive peer relationships, and superior adjustment. Height was linked to superior adjustment and rating of career as important. (RJC)

The author describes three "icebreaker" activities she uses to help a class of students get acquainted with one another--learning names and personal information--during the first days of the school year. (SJL)

Investigated relationships among sixth-grade peer partners' shared mutual-participation goals, gender, friendship, and collaborative task performance. Found that greater shared goals for mutual participation were associated with greater degrees of friendship, were more prevalent among same-sex dyads, and were related to better task performance for…

This study compared the cross-grade associations of students in an open-space and a traditionally designed elementary school. Sixth grade students indicated their willingness to engage in different activities with students in kindergarten through grade six. No significant differences were found between students in the open-space and traditional…

This study investigated the effect of similarity and reciprocity on dyadic friendship choices. Subjects were 34 third graders and 30 sixth graders. Reciprocal (mutual) and nonreciprocal (nonmutual) friendships were identified through use of the roster sociometric technique, whereby children choose their three best friends from an alphabetized list…

Examined the relationship between the ability to think divergently and the knowledge of social strategies on the part of 157 fifth and sixth graders. Subjects who obtained high scores on a test designed to measure divergent thinking tended to select relatively indirect, subtle, and mature social strategies. (RJC)

Questions designed to assess children's reactions to the ending of friendships were asked in structured interviews involving 64 children (30 third graders and 34 sixth graders). Subjects, divided almost equally by sex, were mostly white and primarily middle-class. Questions were specifically designed to elicit information regarding (1) why and how…

Observations indicate Black and White sixth-grade students interacted primarily with others of their own sex and race. Boys interacted more across racial lines than did girls, and Blacks were almost twice as likely as Whites to be the source of cross-race interactions. Peer behaviors were more likely to be task-related when directed toward White…

Investigates the relationship between name-calling and peer beliefs and how it is associated with students' grade level. Analysis of 48 second graders' and 70 sixth graders' responses suggests that name-calling frequency declined with age. However, the more names children reported having been called in the past, the more negative their beliefs…

Examined sixth graders' support from siblings and friends. Results indicated that (1) isolated children perceived their school friendships as least supportive and their favorite sibling relationship as most supportive; and (2) isolated, aggressive, and average children did not differ in their perceptions of support from nonschool friends. (BC)

Uses data from an ethnographic exploration into children's gender and sexual identities during sixth grade to examine how dominant notions of heterosexuality underscore much of children's identity work and peer relationships, illustrating how boys and girls are subject to pressures of compulsory heterosexuality. Discusses the implications of…

A total of 1,771 children completed self-report questionnaires during sixth and seventh grade. Early adolescents who believed their parents asserted and did not relax their power and restrictiveness scored higher than other adolescents on items that measured an extreme peer orientation. (MDM)