The embodied-cognition approach views cognition and language as grounded in daily sensorimotor child-environment interactions. Therefore, the attainment of motor milestones is expected to play a role in cognitive-linguistic development. Early attainment of unsupported sitting and independent walking indeed predict better spatial cognition and…

The goal of this study was to investigate reliable cognitive change in epilepsy by developing computational procedures to determine reliable change index scores (RCIs) for the Dutch Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children. First, RCIs were calculated based on stability coefficients from a reference sample. Then, these RCIs were applied to a…

Adolescents become increasingly sensitive to social evaluation. Some previous studies have related this change to pubertal development. The present longitudinal study examined the role of sociocognitive development. We investigated whether or not the transition to recursive thinking, the ability to think about (others') thoughts, would be…

Empathy is an important social skill and is believed to play an essential role in moral development (Hoffman, 2000). In the present longitudinal study, the authors investigated adolescents' development of perspective taking and empathic concern from age 13 to 18 years (mean age at Wave 1 = 13 years, SD = 0.46) and examined its association with…

The cognitive growth of children with developmental disorders, like autism, can be seriously impaired due to the disorder. If so, in the Netherlands, these children can attend special schools where they are treated to ameliorate disorder symptoms and to stimulate cognitive growth. The aim of this paper was to identify teaching strategies that…

This longitudinal study examined the question of change and stability in students' used learning strategies during the first 2 years of study at the university. A total of 188 students from Tilburg University in the Netherlands took part in the study, including 90 in law, 27 in art, 48 in economics, and 23 in the social sciences. The students…

The proportion of low-achieving children in a class can affect the progress of individual pupils in that class. Having a large proportion of low achievers in a class could slow down growth in cognitive achievement but, might also boost such growth, due to the effects of specialist teaching geared to low achievers' needs. In a longitudinal study of…

This investigation--the first Dutch longitudinal research project on reading and spelling spanning the whole 6-year period of primary education--examined (1) whether it is possible to identify certain aspects of literacy--namely decoding skills, reading comprehension, and spelling skills--within verbal intelligence as latent variables, and…

A model of family, child, and parental childrearing characteristics was developed and tested for predicting the cognitive competence in a sample of 10,774 six-year-olds from The Netherlands. Results of LISREL analyses showed that parent education level played a central role in explaining differences in children's cognitive competence. Family…

This study attempts to identify potential school problems in preschool children in order to facilitate the provision of relevant information for systematic screening and early guidance. Data from the first 14 months (to the end of the preschool period) of a longitudinal study extending from 4 1/2 years of age to the end of second grade are…