This study examined associations between sociometric status and friendship quality using observational and questionnaire data from 139 fourth-grade girls and their friends. Multivariate analyses of covariance (controlling for ethnicity and socioeconomic status) showed that rejected girls and their friends did not differ in their reported…

This longitudinal study examined consistency and change in human personality. Rather than studying the consistency of individual differences over time, an approach which considers only the stability of a variable at the group level and ignores differences in stability at an individual level, this study used a person-centered approach to study…

Gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth face formidable challenges, but are beginning to proclaim their worth and power and to assert their rightful places in the world. Being lesbian or gay means that a person's primary romantic, emotional, physical, and sexual attractions are with someone of the same sex. Bisexual people have these attractions to both…

A bibliotherapy intervention was used to foster acceptance of children with disabilities by their nondisabled peers. The study involved 247 regular students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade non-integrated classrooms at one elementary school. Treatment students read either fiction or nonfiction literature, followed by discussion of the material.…

This report presents case studies of six children (ages 9-10) at high risk for mild intellectual disability who were attending six different regular education primary schools in the greater Auckland, New Zealand, metropolitan area. The children were experiencing major academic difficulties and had made limited academic progress in the 6- to…

This study investigated the peer acceptance of integrated students with disabilities as a function of severity of disability and amount of overall student variance in the class. The study involved 14 classrooms and 285 students. Of the 44 students with disabilities, 30 had been classified as mildly disabled and 14 as severely disabled. A…

This instructional kit is intended to increase understanding and empathy within the school community to the needs of the student who has a facial disfigurement. For kindergarten to grade 3, the kit provides information for discussion and activities. For grade 4 through secondary school, an associated video features young people who have a facial…

This article discusses the history of the sociology of deviance and the exclusion from society of individuals who do not meet norms, and argues for a sociology emphasizing acceptance of differences on individual, group, and societal levels. Types of relationships based on mutual acceptance are discussed along with generalizations regarding the…

A study examined communication skills of college students to determine the relationship between individuals' skill valuings and their acceptance within peer groups of intact social systems. Data were gathered from 102 residents of two fraternities and 106 residents of two sororities. Subjects completed the Communication Functions Questionnaire and…

Suggestions to facilitate the reentry of the disabled student into the regular classroom are offered, and information on resource materials is presented. A chart lists mainstreaming materials for the normal child, children's books about handicaps, and teacher resource materials, along with the publishers' addresses, type of handicap, type of…

The second year of a 2-year study on the benefits of using handicapped students to tutor nonhandicapped peers focused on the effects of having all students in a special class tutor simultaneously (the total class tutoring method). Forty intellectually handicapped students (IQs ranging from 50 to 75) tutored 60 nonhandicapped agemates in basic sign…

The effects of uninstructed and teacher instructed cooperative group learning on the interactive behaviors of 32 nonhandicapped and 16 handicapped (moderately mentally retarded) elementary students and also on the attitudes of nonhandicapped students toward handicapped persons were investigated. In the teacher instructed condition, the teacher…

This newsletter focuses on the educational rights of the homeless. It contains the following articles: (1) Homelessness: A Barrier to Education for Thousands of Children; (2) New Federal Act Protects Education Rights of Homeless Children; (3) Suggested Questions Regarding the Education Provisions of the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; and (4)…

Acceptance of handicapped students by their peers is a major component of success in the mainstreamed classroom. How teachers plan for interactions and lessons determines the degree to which social acceptance is achieved. The teacher's behavior models desired social acceptance, and the structure of learning activities evidence academic…

A SOCIOMETRIC TEST WAS USED TO COMPARE THE SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE OF MENTAL RETARDATES IN THE GRADE SCHOOL SPECIAL CLASSES AND THE REGULAR CLASSES. MODIFIED SYRACUSE SCALES OF SOCIAL RELATIONS (SSSR) WERE ADMINISTERED IN TEST-RETEST DESIGN TO 400 CHILDREN. AN EXAMINATION WAS MADE OF THE FOUR SPECIAL NEEDS SCALES. CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM THE DATA…