Summarizes school readiness and retention research issues, including youngest first graders' performance, entrance age policies, voluntary decisions to wait an extra year, assessment of children's readiness, and the negative effects of kindergarten and first-grade retention. Concludes that age disadvantages are seldom serious and usually disappear…

Proposes a theoretical model of cognitive development and applies this model to the secondary analysis of two large-scale studies which focus on the acquisition of formal operational schemata by adolescents in the United States and Israel. Results support the "unity" hypothesis of cognitive development that the various schemata of formal…

To foster individual development, educators must seek the gifts in every child, in those not demonstrating academic abilities as well as in the most brilliant. Instead of stifling thinking, creativity, and interest development, educators must encourage these behaviors. Currently, a big discrepancy exists between the child's potential and what…

Interactive media have come of age. The range of interactive entertainment products, intended to be used by children in and out of school settings is growing: CD-ROMs, computers, the Internet, video games (for a variety of handheld and console platforms), interactive toys (including educational talking books), and a variety of wireless software…

The book is the outgrowth of two studies: a cross-sectional analysis comparing the experiences and tested achievement of high school seniors over the decade 1972 to 1982, and a longitudinal analysis relating cognitive growth (particularly in mathematical skills) of 1980 high school sophomores to their schooling experiences over the period 1980 to…

This report describes a curriculum for the transfer of problem solving skills from the LOGO computer programming environment to the real world. This curriculum is being developed in the Calgary, Alberta, Canada schools for children in grades 1-6. The completed curriculum will consist of six units, one to be taught at each grade level: (1)…

Research that bears on the issue of school entry policies is summarized in this report. The focus is on the age children should be to enter kindergarten and the potential benefits of delaying school entry for all or some children. The research reviewed uses three methodologies: (1) comparing outcomes for children who have delayed entry by a year…

The rapid growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has prompted concerns among parents, educators, and policymakers over the suitability of many educational applications and electronic toys for young children. This book provides information on how children from birth to age 6 develop an early awareness--and subsequently develop…

This book discusses findings and recommendations of the Committee on Minority Representation in Special Education of the National Research Council. In chapter 1, the current study of the disproportion of minorities in special and gifted education is put into historical context. In chapter 2, an analysis of federal data on the representation of…

This volume presents a compilation and review of more than 400 research studies on science teaching and the preparation of science teachers that were reported in 1988, organized into 10 sections. The sections are: (1) "Professional Concerns"; (2) "Teacher Education"; (3)"Programs"; (4) "Curriculum"; (5)…