Uses case studies on promoting interaction skills for integrating young children with special needs in nursery schools to examine the link between research methodology and promotion of educational quality. Asserts that the research process can influence interaction strategies and promote effective, reflective practice. Notes that teams need…

This study examined the effects of severity of disability, and classroom composition (heterogeneous or nonheterogeneous) on peer acceptance of students with disabilities. Predicted severity of disability-by-classroom composition interaction effects on peer acceptance were indicated by multivariate analysis of variance, and analysis of variance…

This study focused on self-perceptions of social relationships of hearing-impaired adolescents. Three sets of perceptions regarding social relationships were investigated: participation, relatedness, and perceived social competence. The Social Activity Scale was administered to 84 mainstreamed hearing-impaired adolescents in secondary schools and…

A study examined (1) whether there is a significant difference between the inclusion needs of delinquent high school girls, high-achieving nondelinquent high school girls, and nondelinquent high school girls; (2) whether there is a difference between perceived inclusion by peers and teachers in these groups of females; and (3) whether there is a…

A detailed description and sociological analysis were made of peer interaction in a public school kindergarten located in a large urban school district. Data collected over a 5-month observation period included field note transcriptions of hundreds of interaction events, records of formal and informal interviews with classroom participants, and…

This paper reviews research on children's friendships in nursery and elementary school settings. Studies that have implications for educational practice were selected for review. The first part of the paper is concerned with the influence of enduring personal characteristics on peer relations. Some of the stereotypes that affect children's…

In considering whether subcultural values were associated with violence, it was critical to determine both the precise content of such values and the way in which the subculture interacts with structural forces to affect the level of violence. Based on interview and observational materials, this qualitative study examined the role of…

This study investigated the lives of adolescents with and without disabilities in nine high schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas in Kansas, Washington, Oregon, and California. It gathered information on key contextual factors and realities that adolescents confront throughout the day. In this investigation, 53 ninth-grade high school…

Interviews with mothers of preschool age children with established disabilities (n=230) and those classified as at-risk (n=32) were conducted, focusing on issues of children's peer relations and friendships. Mothers of children in both integrated and specialized settings perceived their respective settings as facilitating social development. Both…

The concurrent and longitudinal risk of enemy relationships, using both nominations- and ratings-based methods of assessing enmity, were examined among elementary school children. After controlling for peer rejection, only ratings-based enemies were found to have negative developmental impact. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study tested the predictive links between children's interactions with peers in early elementary school and their social and emotional adjustment at the end of elementary school. A sample of 231 boys starting kindergarten and first grade were observed during this longitudinal study, on three separate occasions: kindergarten and first grade,…

Studies are reviewed showing that the social status of a high school has a small independent effect on the college intentions of its students, over and above the effects of their family status and mental ability. This finding is analyzed with data from the Educational Testing Service's 1955 sample of 35,330 students in 518 American high schools.…

This report, the first in a series of four 1996 releases of students' opinions, represents a continued effort by MetLife to provide insight and understanding to the issues of violence and social tension in American public schools. The survey focuses on the social climate of the nation's public schools from the perspective of public school students…

This guide is designed specifically as a resource for classroom teachers, librarians, or consultants who are concerned with helping children develop an understanding and an ease with people who are different, especially people with disabilities. The book includes materials to be used in sensitivity and awareness discussion sessions based on 12…

In this qualitative study, five female students in the sixth grade were interviewed and surveyed about their views on popularity at their urban middle school in Ohio. The objectives of the study were to investigate whether middle school girls engaged in academic competition, to describe their subjective experiences of popularity in middle school,…