Children's white matter development is driven by experience, yet it remains poorly understood how it is shaped by attending formal education. A small number of studies compared children before and after the start of formal schooling to understand this, yet they do not allow to separate maturational effects from schooling-related effects. A clever…

The Abecedarian Approach is an internationally recognised early childhood intervention program that has shown long-term positive outcomes for children living in low SES communities. However, there are few studies examining the broader influence of such interventions for young children on the lives of their parents. This article describes the…

Children who experience homelessness have an increased risk for negative outcomes in several developmental areas (Bucker, 2008). While there are numerous programs that hope to mediate these and other risks by offering services to families experiencing homelessness, there is a paucity of research that addresses how children's psychosocial needs are…

Parent-teacher conferences have been used by school districts across the country to report student progress since the 1930s. A review of the literature revealed that there are many benefits to be gained from conferences. Some of these benefits include: the sharing of information (by parents and teachers) to further the child's academic and social…

Examines the likelihood of children and families being resilient in the face of poverty and its associated risks. Discusses findings from the resilience research literature and provides some recommendations regarding Head Start. Suggests that competence and confidence can flourish even under adverse conditions, if children are provided with a…

Overviews the philosophy and theory of camp experiences and discusses the special benefits of camps, including experiences that can lead to significant life-changing outcomes, sound educational goals, a sense of psychological and physical safety, and helping children to deal with social problems such as the degradation of the environment and human…

The relationship of time spent in either Montessori or traditional preschool programs to the preschooler's development in five parameters was studied. The five parameters were: (1) personal skills; (2) relationship with teachers; (3) peer relations; (4) behavioral control; and (5) cognitive skills. A review of the literature on Montessori and…

Raises concerns about the failure of mental health service providers to address the psycho-developmental needs of people with mental retardation, especially incarcerated individuals with severe behavior disturbances and both mental illness and mental retardation. A "flight from developmental theory" is seen in most service providers to this…