The purpose of the paper was to examine the relationship between shared decision making and successful community-university research partnerships. Community partners and university researchers from 60 different partnership projects completed the Head Start Research Partnership Questionnaire that assessed the level of shared decision making of key partnership participants. The questionnaire also addressed the formation, maintenance, and focus of the partner- ship, community partners' levels of participation in the research, overall satisfaction with the partnership process, and the perceived value of the projects' findings and products. Respondents whose projects had a high level of shared decision making were compared to respondents whose projects had a low level of shared decision making. Results showed that high levels of shared decision making among partnership members led to more openly expressed and valued differences of opinion, better defined roles among partners, higher levels of concern for cultural sensitivity and for the protection of participant rights, as well as greater participation by Community partners in all phases of the re- search project. Finally, partners with high levels of shared decision making reported higher levels of overall satisfaction with the research partnership project and found greater value in the research findings and products. Implications for future research also were discussed.

During the last two decades of the 20th century, the number of children reported abused or neglected has risen steadily. Nearly 3 million children were involved in maltreatment reports in 1993 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995). Demographic data indicate that the likelihood of victimization is not equal for all children. The child victims of maltreatment are disproportionately young and from low-income households (Wolfner & Gelles, 1993). Fifty-one percent of the children reported abused or neglected in 1993 were 7 years old or younger, and almost one-third were between the ages of 3 and 7 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1995). Repeatedly, national incidence studies have indicated a strong relationship between low-income levels and a higher-than-average risk of child maltreatment (Pelton, 1994).

Forty-eight Head Start teachers and 48 parent volunteers from 24 classrooms were randomly assigned to either the Collaborative Training (CT) or Workshop Training (WT) approach. CT teachers and parents were involved conjointly in experiential training which included receiving guided practice and feedback from exemplary peers. WT consisted of a series of workshops conducted by outside trainers for separate groups of parents and teachers. Training methods were compared with respect to (a) teacher and parent reports of their level of involvement in training and satisfaction with the training experience, (b) teacher and parent reports of parent classroom activity, and (c) observation of adult-child classroom interactions. CT teachers and parents reported significantly greater levels of active involvement in and satisfaction with the training, as well as significantly greater levels of parent classroom activity than WT participants. With respect to adult-child classroom interactions, CT teachers demonstrated significantly more positive initiations and praise than WT teachers. Parent reports of their perceived role in the classroom as well as parent levels of initiation with children did not differ between training groups. Implications of these findings for further research were discussed.

The study is a follow-up evaluation of a Collaborative Training curriculum for Head Start. The previous curriculum was enhanced by adding parent exemplars and demonstrations in trainees' classrooms. Two Head Start teachers and two parent volunteers from each of 70 classrooms were randomly assigned to either the enhanced Collaborative Training (CT) or Workshop Training (WT) approach. CT teachers and parents were involved conjointly in experiential training that included receiving guided practice and feedback from exemplary peers. WT consisted of a series of workshops conducted by outside trainers for separate groups of parents and teachers. Training methods were compared with respect to (a) trainees' reports of satisfaction with training and collaboration, and (b) observed levels of adult-adult and adult-child classroom interactions. CT teachers and parents reported significantly greater levels of satisfaction with the training, as well as significantly greater levels of collaboration than WT participants. Teacher-teacher and parent-teacher observations indicate that CT trainees showed higher levels of positive classroom interactions than WT trainees. With respect to adult-child classroom interactions, CT teachers demonstrated significantly more praise, supportive physical contact, and positive interactions in instruction than WT teachers. CT parents showed higher levels of adult-child classroom interactions across all observed categories compared to their WT counterparts. Implications of these findings for further research were discussed.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS), a teacher-rating instrument of the interactive play behaviors of preschool children. The PIPPS was designed (a) to differentiate children who demonstrate positive play relationships with peers from those who are less successful with peers, (b) to identify play strengths of resilient preschool children living in high risk urban environments, and (c) to inform early childhood intervention. The PIPPS was based upon teacher descriptions of actual play repertoires that children routinely displayed during free play. Thirty-eight teachers from 5 representative urban Head Start Centers completed the measure on 312 African American children enrolled in Head Start. Exploratory factor analyses revealed three reliable underlying dimensions: Play Interaction, Play Disruption, and Play Disconnection. Concurrent validity was established by comparing the factor patterns of the PIPPS and the Social Skills Rating System. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.