Chapter 2: Classroom Peer Relations and Children’s Social and Scholastic Development: Risk Factors and Resources

Much of what we know about school as a context for children’s learning and development stems from research on the academic challenges that youth face in classrooms. This is understandable because the primary mission of schooling is to ensure that children master academic skills and achieve scholastically. However, in classrooms, children are also confronted by a complex array of interpersonal challenges, some of which may have important implications for their educational progress. For example, instructional practices, learning activities, and other aspects of children’s daily lives in classrooms require that they possess age-appropriate social skills and know how to utilize them as a means of developing constructive relationships with classmates and teachers. It is conceivable, therefore, that not only the scholastic but also the interpersonal challenges that confront children affect their development and performance in school.