The purpose of this report is to highlight common themes and issues expressed in papers presented at the International Symposium on "Trends in Social Science Research on Children." Issues fall into four general areas: children's needs, particular groups of children, child-rearing environments, and research methodology. Major issues and themes were (1) necessity of adequate nutrition, (2) need for active engagement with the environment, (3) pervasiveness of cultural effects, (4) centrality of self-concept and values, (5) sex differences in cross-cultural perspective, (6) special needs of the disadvantaged child, (7) necessity of bridging contexts and building supports, (8) focal role of the family, (9) optimization of traditional stability and modern development, (10) action and the choice of units of analysis, (11) need for environmental assessment and indicators, and (12) need for contextual measurement. Each issue is briefly discussed. Recommendations and proposals for practical action are made. Plans for the implementation of a network to facilitate communication among investigators concerned with child development research as broadly defined are reported. Participants' reflections on conference topics are appended along with names and addresses of participants and observers. (Author/RH)