This article examines the role of the support and advisory teacher in serving handicapped students in the British educational system. Stressed is the process of developing a positive profile so that teachers perceive the support staff positively. A model of varieties of credibility is applied to the support teacher's role. (DB)

A study of 25 British students (ages 11-12) found that children with identified special needs did appear to be potentially at risk of being bullied through their social isolation. The most effective way of avoiding being bullied was to ensure there was someone lower down the pecking order than themselves. (CR)

Hypothesizes that self-consciousness and perceived peer acceptance correlates with social anxiety. Focuses on 508 French fourth- to ninth-grade students who completed questionnaires that assessed their perceptions of social anxiety with peers, self-consciousness, and perceived peer acceptance. Discusses the results. (CMK)

This study explored the relationships between social coping and psychological distress in a sample of Chinese students in Hong Kong. These students, nominated by their schools to join university gifted programs, were assessed with respect to their nonverbal IQ (nonverbal reasoning) social coping strategies in response to being gifted, and…

This longitudinal study examined the relation between stable sociometric status among same-gender classmates at age 10-11 and peer situation and social adjustment at age 15. Rejected, popular, and average groups of both genders (N = 90) were selected from a representative school sample. Rejected boys and girls preserved their low position among…

This article considers common dilemmas faced by schools undergoing change. The dilemmas are related to three areas: autonomy, focus, and acceptance. How teachers and administrators resolve these dilemmas is fundamental to the way change in schools is implemented. This study examines the way curriculum leaders in a regional Australian government…

This paper examines the relationships of pupils' on-task orientation at school and their opposition to teachers with perceived cognitive competence, perceived relevance of schoolwork, and the belief that going against school norms increases peer status. The study was conducted as a survey among a national representative sample of 3834 pupils in…

This exploratory study investigates whether associations between social network measures and substance use differ according to type of substance and social context. The analyses use data obtained from 13 and 15 year olds (N=3146) in a school-based survey and focus on three social network measures: sociometric position (e.g. group, dyad, isolate);…

This study examined social communication behavior during play time among eight kindergarten (5- to 7-year-old) children with profound hearing loss in integrational situations (with normal children ages between 4-6) in Ankara, Turkey. Observations were made of children's preferences for different play centers, types of social play, social…

This study examined the strategies teachers use to promote social play among special needs students and their nonhandicapped classmates. Children with special needs confront teachers in mainstreamed early childhood programs with the responsibility of promoting social interaction and peer acceptance among children with different levels of maturity,…

Classroom and playground behaviors of 95 integrated mildly intellectually handicapped and mildly disabled students were compared with those of 95 nonhandicapped, age- and sex-matched regular class students. All subjects attended state government primary schools and were between 8 and 13 years of age. Subjects' behavior was observed in the…

Results of using the "Peer Attitudes toward the Handicapped Scale" with Australian intermediate grade children (N=368) indicated its suitability in its present form (including U.S. norms) for sixth grade students, though it is suggested separate norms need to be developed for other grade levels. (Author/DB)

Since Malaysian school children spend a considerable portion of their lives in school, whether in activities arranged for them, or interacting with peers, there is a great deal to learn about their perceptions of schooling and classroom experiences. This paper discusses the meaning of schooling to these students, particularly, how all these school…

In this study, questions regarding the prevalence of mutual antipathies and their relation to the behavior of individual children were examined among preadolescents and adolescents. Mutual antipathies were defined as relationships in which children mutually nominated one another as least liked on a sociometric task. A distinction was drawn between…

Although foremost among the benefits of cooperative learning is improvement of student academic achievement, additional affective benefits may further convince teachers that the value added by cooperative learning is worth the effort. This study examined the effect of an 8-month cooperative learning intervention on children's friendship choices in…