The Russian preschool educational system is described and general problems of preschool pedagogy are examined. Early childhood development and the psychological foundations of communist preschool education are discussed. (RM)

Concerns about the use of evaluation in early childhood education are clustered around some basic issues: the use of standardized tests with young children, the diversity of dimensions of early childhood education that should be evaluated, the relationship of early childhood evaluation to social policy, and the very nature of early childhood…

Study results do not demonstrate that early reading is made possible by precocity in speech-sound segmentation, blending, or discrimination ability, but that the complex skill involving the manipulation of sounds in temporal order may be more closely related to early reading ability. (AEA)

Examines components of familial risk in the context of a four-year longitudinal study of children with mentally ill mothers. Risk factors examined were parental mental health, social status, parental perspectives, and family stress. Interactions among risk factors were found to be complex and different for cognitive and social-emotional…

Inclusion of music in public school programs was originally justified on the utilitarian grounds that it fostered social and academic skills. Later an aesthetic rationale emphasized an intrinsic value of music in childrens' development. The position of music education will be precarious until educators provide strong evidence for their positions.…

A multivariate comparison of the childbearing and childrearing experiences of teenage and older mothers (N=67) was undertaken to investigate factors assumed to be responsible for developmental deficits experienced by children born to teenage mothers. The two groups were found to be quite similar on most of the variables studied. (Author)

Assessed the effects of participation in a Big Sisters' Program. The first part consisted of interviews (N=20) with pairs of Big Sisters-Little Sisters. The second part evaluated program effectiveness experimentally. Findings indicated positive relationships between pairs, and improved behavior of experimental girls versus controls. (RC)

Using a four-level sequential model of work task mastery, proposes a process task approach to task learning involving watching and listening, assisting, participating, and performing. Identifies the social, cognitive, and self-concept components contributing to the development of traits, attitudes, and values that undergird work behavior. (RC)

Describes how mental health counselors can begin to obtain the knowledge and awareness needed to help grieving children. Discusses (1) developmental stages of understanding death, (2) children's reactions to the death process, and (3) the counselor's role in helping a grieving youngster. (Author/JAC)

Analyzed the Weigl-Goldstein-Scheerer Color-Form Test using a sample of Danish children. Distinguished three dimensions: configuration of sorting, verbalization of the sorting principle, and the flexibility of switching sorting principle. The three dimensions proved themselves to constitute the a-priori-defined gradients. Results indicated a…

The case is made for basing analysis of longitudinal data on each subject's curve of scores. In this analysis of IQ scores from a longitudinal study, fitted curves yielded significant error reduction, rendering untenable the doctrine of IQ constancy. A visual method of curve classification is also presented. (Author/SJL)

Demographic data indicate that changes have taken place in family life and child rearing in Australia. Because more women work, traditional parenting roles have become strained. Children's emotional and physical development has been linked to effective parenting; preschool centers are accepted resources for parents who cannot stay at home with…

Reviews several current social, economic, and educational trends that are likely to influence the provision of early childhood education in the future. Implications of the trends for parent education, art education, teacher education, and school practices are discussed. (DB)

Presents the child development section of a project to provide adult educators with a tool for measuring the proficiency of experienced homemakers of either sex who seek high school credit in home economics or diplomas by demonstrated competence in the adult performance level program. (MF)

The article, directed primarily at creative writing teachers of gifted students grades 3 through 12, explores the use of the personal journal as a means for capturing creative visual images and describing those images through the written word. (Author/DLS)