The article explores the notions of children's intellectual 'ab/normality' that were conceptualised in the context of emerging special educational measures at the turn of the twentieth century and the concomitant notions of child development. From the mid-nineteenth century onwards, the medical classification of 'idiocy' provided the framework for…

"Early Childhood Development" celebrates the rich diversity of development among children in all neighborhoods in the United States and around the globe. It examines the physical, social, emotional, linguistic and intellectual characteristics of children from birth through age 8. Within each development domain, it considers the typical…

As a society we want our children and young people to thrive and fulfil their potential. How then, can we best identify and respond to their needs in order to achieve this? In this lecture, Professor Claire Cameron takes the case of children in state care and the longer-term impacts on those young people of having been in care. In particular, she…

This paper aims to discuss the relevance that the concept of "perezhivanie" had for Soviet psychology and its implication for the development of topics that have been largely neglected both in Soviet psychology and in the Western Vygotskian tradition. According to the position defended in this paper, "perezhivanie" is not just…

Learning in the earliest stage of life--the infancy, toddlerhood and preschool period--is relational and rapid. Child-initiated and adult-mediated conversations, playful interactions and learning through active involvement are integral to young children making sense of their environments and to their development over time. The child's experience…

That students' social and economic characteristics shape their cognitive and behavioral outcomes is well established, yet policymakers typically resist accepting that non-school disadvantages necessarily depress outcomes. Rather, they look to better schools and teachers to close achievement gaps, and consistently come up short. This report…

Case studies of extremely gifted individuals often reveal unique patterns of intellectual precocity and associated abnormalities in development and behavior. This article begins with a review of current neurophysiological and neuroanatomical findings related to the gifted population. The bulk of scientific inquiries provide evidence of unique…

The detrimental effects of lead exposure in children have been known for over 100 years. Although a few initial measures implemented about 30 years ago were effective in somewhat reducing levels of lead exposure in children, relatively little has been done recently from a policy perspective to protect children from lead. We now know from recent…

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 article considers the problem of power and sample size calculations for normal outcomes within the framework of multivariate linear models. The emphasis is placed on the practical situation that not only the values of response variables for each subject are just available after the observations are made, but also the levels of explanatory…

The general European discourse of childhood presents children as innocent and vulnerable, but within this discourse different images of "the perfect child" exist. In this article ideals for upbringing are studied as they are represented in French, German and Dutch printed advertisements for children's products. The sample consists of 290…

Prevailing conceptions of young children's mental life represent children's thinking as confused and lacking western rationality. Instead, we should consider their mental life as a positive oral culture, and evolve a new science of early childhood education based on understanding of peoples in oral cultures. (MSE)

Discusses recent brain-research findings relevant for educators: the brain changes physiologically as a result of experience; IQ is not fixed at birth; some abilities are acquired more easily during certain windows of opportunity; and learning is strongly influenced by emotion. Environmental enrichment unmistakably influences the brain's growth…

Presents a developmental theory of mentoring proposing that mentoring enhances creative and intellectual growth as it facilitates task accomplishment uniquely characteristic of early life stages. How different levels of mentoring facilitate this developmental process is described. The synergism of creativity, intellectual accomplishment, and…

Developmental assumptions that are frequently regarded as constraints on elementary school science curricula are analyzed. The argument that elementary school children cannot function as experimentalists because they have not yet attained formal operational thought is not supported by the Piagetian or non-Piagetian research reviewed. (SLD)