Maintains that Teyler and Fountain's presentation (1987) contains several limitations, namely, that the authors do not (1) distinguish between learning and memory, nor between storage and retrieval; (2) address the role of knowledge-based influences in memory and learning; or (3) employ concepts that can accommodate developmental phenomena in the…

Discusses the findings of a recent study concerning the ability of an infant to see an object as a symbol. Reports that infants between 36 and 39 months old significantly outperformed informed infants between 30 and 32 months old on a symbolic task. (TW)

Reports on a study in which the symbolic relation between a scale model and the larger space that it represents was displayed by two groups of young children. Three-year-old children outperformed 2.5-year-olds in finding an object in a room after seeing an analogous object hidden in a model. (TW)

Traces the relationship between human development and education through various philosophies. Explores differences in early forms of understanding, the goals of education, and the kinds of knowledge that specific fields require. Encourages a form of apprenticeship to provide students with a model for bridging the gap between scholastic and…

Responding to recent advances in developmental and cognitive science research on knowledge acquisition, this report presents a theoretical framework for analyzing cognitive development as a process of learning. The first section summarizes three developmental characteristics recognized in both the Piagetian and the quantita experimental tradition:…

Contends that criticism of progressive pedagogical methods may be creating an ideologically neutral orthodoxy of primary school practice in Great Britain. Expresses caution about this development by defending principles underlying progressive education. Argues for the development of child-centered teaching methods within the National Curriculum.…

Taking the perspective of environmental psychology, this paper interprets the influence of educational settings upon children's socialization. The physical environment and the social structure it reflects determine the nature of information acquired during socialization. Socialization functions, long assumed by institutions such as schools, are…

The second of a two-volume report, this document focuses on the study of written language growth and development among 3-, 4-, 5-, and 6-year-old children. The first section of the report introduces the program of research by examining its methodological and conceptual contexts. The second section provides illustrative and alternative looks at the…

Taking the premise that curriculum design embraces the historical introduction of "order" into schooling, this paper considers theories of curriculum order since the 16th century. Calvinist social discipline brought a curriculum of schooling to be followed and to be completed as well. Peter Ramus, a 16th century professor, reshaped…

This reaction paper offers evidence for the effectiveness of nondirective instructional models with special needs young children. The construct of "developmentally appropriate practice" is viewed as a working hypothesis and as a continuous variable, not a dichotomous variable. Relationships between early childhood education and early childhood…