Selective sustained attention (SSA) is crucial for higher order cognition. Factors promoting SSA are described as exogenous or endogenous. However, there is little research specifying how these factors interact during development, due largely to the paucity of developmentally appropriate paradigms. We report findings from a novel paradigm designed…

While it is accepted that there are "sensitive" and "critical" periods of life during which certain human capabilities are more readily acquired, and where the multiplied returns on our investment in human capability building are more significant, it is also argued that there are place-based contexts (society, nature, culture,…

In Health Education, much sexuality education appears to have little evidence of an acknowledged theoretical basis for its knowledge and skills' teaching and learning. The Health Education teacher can frequently be at a loss to decipher what theoretical principles could or should permeate sexuality education curricula, which may be both detracting…

In this paper we examine the development of children's metamemory and provide practical implications of research findings for the classroom. In the first part of the paper we define and discuss the global concept of metacognition, the component processes of metacognition and the importance of each component to children's learning. We…

Contemporary education theory (and official South African policy) underwrites learner-centredness. I analyse learner-centredness as a possible piece of the puzzle about why it is proving so difficult to improve academic achievement. Learner-centred ideas are grounded in the belief that cognitive abilities develop spontaneously in accordance with a…

This paper reports on the findings of an evaluation of Project Giant Step, a program funded by New York City to provide comprehensive services to all 4-year-olds in the city, beginning with low-income children who are unserved by existing programs. Both the costs and effects of Project Giant Step are examined. Effects of the program on children…