In this book, readers will discover a developmental view of social functioning in children at different stages. Chapters are based in transactional theory in that the environment plays a role in the development of social competence skills as well as the biological contributions the child brings to his/her experiences. The familial and school contributions to social understanding are discussed in this volume.

This book examines the role of peer relationships in child and adolescent development by tracking research findings from the early 1900s to the present. Dividing the research into three generations, the book describes what has been learned about children's peer relations and how children's participation in peer relationships contributes to their health, adjustment, and achievement. Gary W. Ladd reviews and interprets the investigative focus and findings of distinct research eras to highlight theoretical or empirical breakthroughs in the study of children's peer relations and social competence over the last century. He also discusses how this information is relevant to understanding and promoting children's health and development. In a final chapter, the author appraises the major discoveries that have emerged during the three research generations and analyzes recent scientific agendas and discoveries in the peer relations discipline.

Socially competent children are better able to learn and thrive in the classroom. Drawing from research ... offer principles and strategies to guide teachers in strengthening children's social competence ... identify common classroom practices that undermine children's social development, and ... suggest methods that teachers will find more effective.

What determines the focus of a researcher's interest, the sources of inspiration for a study, or the variables scrutinized? If we were to examine the antecedents of these decisions, they would surely emerge as accidents of circumstance--the personal experiences of the researcher, the inspiration of early mentors, the influence of contemporary colleagues--all tempered by the intellectual currents that nurture the researcher's hypotheses. Among the accidents that mold the careers of researchers is geographic location. The culture in which a research program emerges helps determine both its very subject and its method. The primary purpose of this book is to assist those interested in the scientific study of children's social competence in transcending the boundaries imposed both by geography and by selective exposure to the highly diverse schools of thought that have led to interest in this field. Most of these ideas were presented and exchanged at an Advanced Study Institute entitled "Social Competence in Developmental Perspective" held in Savoie, France, in July 1988. This Institute was attended by scholars from France, England, Northern Ireland, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Canada, the United States and Brazil. Those who participated will recognize that the metamorphosis from lecture to chapter has necessitated many changes. In order to accommodate the reader who may be unfamiliar with the field, more attention has been paid here to identifying the theoretical contexts of the research described.

This timely collection explores how children display social competence in talking about their mental health and wellbeing. The authors analyse recorded conversations of young people’s interactions with professionals in which they disclose particular mental health concerns and their ways of coping, drawing on insights from ethnomethodology, conversation analysis and discursive psychology. Across a diverse range of institutional and international settings, chapters examine how children and young people employ interactional strategies to demonstrate their competence. The research reveals how young people resist or protect claims that they lack competence, especially in contexts where they might be seen as seeking or asking for support, or when their (dis)abilities and mental health is explicitly up for discussion. Each chapter concludes with a reflection on the methodological, professional and practical implications of the findings, highlighting areas where future research is necessary and addressing the empirical findings from the authors professional vision, facilitating innovative dialogue between conversation analytic research and professional vision. This book will be of great value to academics and professionals interested in how children express themselves, particularly in relation to their mental wellbeing.

Suitable for teachers of children aged four-eight years, this title shows how teachers can collaborate with parents in addressing children's educational and emotional needs. It presents a variety of classroom management strategies, which teachers can choose from to strengthen children's social and academic competence.

A text which addresses the relationship between childhood, competence and the social arenas of action in which children live. The contributors develop a picture of children as competent, sophisticated social agents, focusing on the contexts which both enable and constrain that competence.

This book provides a comprehensive and critical overview of current knowledge about family, school and cultural influences on children's relations with others and the emergence of social competence. Ongoing research in these areas is considered in the light of recent advances in the field of child development, especially the enhanced appreciation of the ways these context factors operate in conjunction with characteristics of the individual and with the process of development. This book will be of interest to students and researchers in psychology, human development, family relations, special education and sociology.

Social Competence: Interventions for Children and Adults focuses on the relationship between the social abilities and interpersonal skills of people, taking into consideration their satisfaction and productivity. This book offers a summary of innovative and validated interventions specifically made to improve social competence among adults and children. This text first presents how physical characteristics and behavior are considered as determinants of social competence. The differences that language plays among adults and children relative to self-control are highlighted. The role that parents play in shaping the mental health of their children is also emphasized. In molding the social competence of children, training programs on social skills in the classroom are given importance. The programs include the development of interpersonal skills during a child's elementary school years. However, the development of such skills has not been traditionally thought as a responsibility of the education system. Social skills training program have been added to the program for patients suffering from psychomatic disorders, and this has been proven beneficial to them.