I think I can,I think I can: Expanding book experiences

A favorite book of Julia, age three, wasThe Little Engine That Could. When her teacher asked her if she could eat nicely with the class next door, she replied, I think I can, I think I can. As Jenny tramped across a bridge on a bike, she called to her mom, Hey, mom, trip trap trip trap; I hope there's no ugly troll down there. One of her favorite bedtime stories at age four was The Three Billy Goats Gruff.Sharen Halsall is an Assistant Professor in Child Development at Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL. Connie Green is an Associate Professor in Curriculum and Instruction at Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.     

The relationship between social behavior and self-concept in school settings

The relationship between social behavior, as measured by the School Social Behavior Scales (SSBS), and self-concept, as measured by the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC), was studied. Subjects included 41 public school students in Grades 5 and 6. These subjects were rated on the SSBS by their classroom teachers and also completed the SPPC as a self-report measure. A number of significant positive relationships were found between the Social Competence scores of the SSBS and the SPPC self-concept scores. Relationships between the Problem Behavior scores of the SSBS and the SPPC scores were extremely weak, and none of the obtained coefficients was statistically significant. The pattern of associations identified through this investigation provides support for the criterion-related validity of both the SSBS and SPPC, and raises some interesting questions regarding the relationship between social behavior and self-concept in children.     

Toward Academically Based Community Scholarship: Ideals,Realities, and Future Needs

Service to the community, a recent interest in higher education, poses numerous challenges and questions including: How can public colleges and universities fulfill their responsibilities to their surrounding communities? In doing so, how do formal responsibilities of faculty and students change? How do courses and programs change? What are the benchmarks or progress indicators for success? What are the facilitators, constraints, and barriers for this type of orientation? We explore these questions in the ensuing analysis. We begin with indices of need and an accompanying rationale. Then we share the results of a faculty focus group's problem-solving in relation to these kinds of questions. We conclude by