Introduction; Part I A world apart?; Chapter 1 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in Social networks and social support in childhood and adolescence, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1994., James Youniss; Chapter 2 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in The sociology of childhood, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1997., William A. Corsaro; Chapter 3 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in A lifetime of relationships, Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 1996., Thomas J. Berndt; Chapter 4 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in Children's social competence in context, Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1993., Barry H. Schneider; Part II Conflict and cooperation; Chapter 5 *This is an edited version of a paper that appeared in Child Psychology & Psychiatry Review, Volume 3, No. 2, 1998., Peter Blatchford; Chapter 6 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in Learning about relationships, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1993., Peter K. Smith, Louise Bowers , Valerie Binney, Helen Cowie; Chapter 7 Children in Need, Helen Cowie; Part III Moral development in context; Chapter 8 *Specially prepared for this Reader, based on a chapter that first appeared in Children and Controversial Issues; Lewes: Falmer Press, 1988., Geoffrey Short; Chapter 9 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in Deconstructing Developmental Psychology, London: Routledge, 1994., Erica Burman; Chapter 10 Moral understanding in socio-cultural context, Helen Haste; Part IV Negotiating competence; Chapter 11 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in Children's Childhoods Observed and Experienced, Lewes: Falmer Press, 1994., Berry Mayall; Chapter 12 Discourses of adolescence, Julia Brannen; Chapter 13 Researching children's social competence, Allison James; Chapter 14 *This is an edited version of a chapter that appeared in A Century of Psychology, London: Routledge, 1997., Sheila Greene;