Iheoma Iruka is founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and research professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her work focuses on supporting the optimal development of children from low-wealth and marginalized communities and ensuring excellence…

This article discusses current developments in connectionist modeling and the extension of principles of dynamical systems theory to cognitive and language development that have resulted in a new theory of language development known as emergentism. Specific language impairment is discussed within this emergentist view and preliminary implications…

This article discusses primary education in Britain and the development of performance indicators for children with movement difficulties. It focuses on children's central movement difficulties as a factor in their total development and calls for early assessment and regular monitoring. (Contains references.) (DB)

Presents a thematic overview of this issue, which focuses on teachers as active decision-makers who are responsible for children's learning. It is noted that teachers can become active decision makers (even with curriculum mandates) in their understanding and view of the importance of child development, curriculum, evaluation, and their continuous…

Documents and argues the need to move beyond linear conceptions of development in art. Proposes an art education that explores multiple pictorial repertoires, including those that rely on cooperation of multiple modalities of expression, and allows students to construct meaning through connections across symbol systems. (DSK)

A balanced appraisal of holistic scoring of writing is presented via: examination of the present popularity of holistic scoring; analysis of several weaknesses associated with the holistic scoring method; and recommendations for remedying these weaknesses. Six reasons for the popularity of holistic scoring are: (1) relative lack of expense; (2)…

Explicates the construct of asynchronous development, advocating for its inclusion in planning for and educating gifted students. The paper examines the work of several researchers as it relates to asynchronous development of gifted students. It also discusses social and emotional aspects of vulnerability; socialization versus social development;…

This volume is a collection of nine papers focusing on different aspects of play. The first section, "Play, Growth, Development, and Learning," contains discussions dealing with make-believe play and learning; an all-in-fun approach to thinking, playing, and language learning for young children; and ways children learn through play. The…

The articles in this engaging volume, mostly from Young Children, address the purposes of and uses for assessment. Expert commentary from Marian Marion, Gayle Mindes, Richard Clifford, Diane Trister Dodge and others offers an overview of the topic and specific examples to show how assessment informs and improves practice in early childhood…

The use of standardized tests to evaluate young children has been widely criticized. Alternative methods for assessing the emerging literacy development of young children through functional meaningful activities is needed. Assessment must accommodate the developmental needs of each child. Guidelines for the appropriate use of standardized tests…

This discussion of problems associated with deriving pragmatic norms for older children and adolescents presents a model for analyzing and comparing pragmatic performance across language tasks. The multilevel model involves the interrelationship of situational, discourse, and semantic contexts--knowing what, to whom, when, and how much to say. (DB)

Four predictive models offering an ecocultural perspective on the educational and personal-social development of children at risk for learning disabilities and other learning problems are proposed: main effect, additive, multiplicative, and compensatory. Preliminary results favor the compensatory and additive models. Both risk and protective…

This article concludes a forum that considered theoretical and analytical frameworks applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It discusses the role of complexity in target selection of children with language impairments: error pattern interaction and complexity; complexity, treatment, and constraint demotion; and…

This article discusses assessment and intervention efforts for young children with disabilities, based on an approach to children's peer-related social competence which stresses developmentally appropriate practices. Application of the model to children with Down's syndrome illustrates the model's appropriateness to the special needs of children…

The 59 articles in this sixth edition of "Annual Editions: Early Childhood Education 83/84" are drawn from several professional journals and present a wide variety of points on the philosophical and educational continuum of early childhood education. Divided into four sections, these points focus on the history and care of young children;…