Evidence from twin studies points to substantial environmental influences on intelligence, but the specifics of this influence are unclear. This study examined one developmental process that potentially causes intelligence differences: learning to read. In 1,890 twin pairs tested at 7, 9, 10, 12, and 16 years, a cross-lagged…

In the summer of 1899, [John] Dewey gave two series of talks at Honolulu High School on Tuesday and Friday evenings from 8:00 to 10:00. The first set of five lectures was entitled "The Life of the Child;" the second set, "Movements in Nineteenth Century Thought." The first talk of the lecture series was delivered on the evening…

Little research has been conducted on whether deficits in developmental functioning affect the range of core symptoms for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study represents a first attempt to determine whether developmental level has an effect on the expression of ASD symptoms in infants and toddlers. Eight hundred and fifty-three infants were…

Instructional management focuses on planning, execution and evaluation of learning experiences. For teachers in pre-secondary schools to plan, execute and evaluate learning experiences effectively, they need to have good understanding of the process of cognitive development in children. Piaget has postulated that children progress through a series…

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…

The author credits Piaget for giving an operational definition of deduction and for his descriptions of child behavior. But he states that the latter apply only to white, middle-class urban youths in Switzerland in the first half of the 20th century and cannot support Piaget's claims about invariant stages of intellectual development for all…

In an attempt to make Vygotsky's theories more accessible, Wertsch in "Vygotsky and the Social Formation of Mind" takes significant liberties with the original works. That leads to serious errors and moves the focus away from the author's own psychological theories. (PS)

Examined cognitive-developmental functioning across a series of developmental domains among 8- to 10-year-old children. Results supported the sequential nature of stage development from less complex to more complex levels of functioning. There does not seem to be support for synchronicity of development across the three domains. (BL)

The purpose of this paper is to disconfirm Piaget's theory of an invariant sequence of intellectual maturation for all youths in all cultures. The author's view is that the kinds and sequences of human development vary greatly, depending on the cultural milieu. The author derives 36 propositions from Piaget's theory, dismisses 5 of them as…

The article reviews the literature on two questions: what is the normal course of creative development, and do peak periods exist during which people are most open to efforts to foster creative abilities. Six specific periods are identified as peak periods of creative growth. (DB)

Mental test data cited by H. T. Epstein as supporting his theory that new concepts should be taught during periodic spurts in childhood intellectual development (at 3-10 months; and 2-4, 6-8, 10-12 or 13, and 14-16 or 17 years) are reanalyzed. It is found that the data do not substantiate Epstein's conclusions. (TJH)

Summarizes recent research which attempted to discover what children of different ages know about the appearance-reality distinction and related phenomena. Findings show that what helps children grasp the distinction is an increased cognizance of the fact that people are sentient subjects who have mental representations of objects and events. (PS)

Refutes six common misconceptions about Piaget's theories, including their educational implications; Piaget's position on heredity v environment; and the relationships between developmental stages, age, and brain growth spurts. Condensed from "Impact on Instructional Improvement", Winter 1981, p7-11. (SJL)

The article uses Jean Piaget's theory of four stages of intellectual growth to describe (1) developmental aspects of the six- to seven-year-old child which are pertinent to the teaching of social studies and (2) a social studies program which teaches rational thinking. (Author/KC)

Shows a wide variety of task performance ability. Supports the hypothesis that the tasks require the use of the same or a unified set of cognitive processes. (RL)