Reviews various studies on childs play and its relation to young childrens development in music learning processes and explores the role that cognitive and social play categories have in studying childrens play with music. Provides strategies for initiating music-play opportunities in a preschool classroom. (CMK)

Describes how the author uses numerous books of biography and autobiography in her primary classroom. Demonstrates how these genres engage students in critical discussions focusing on issues of human experience, historical significance, and social concern. Offers a list of 47 recommended children's biographies and autobiographies. (SR)

Describes the history, curriculum, and methodology of elementary school foreign-language (FL) learning within Waldorf schools, using information from Waldorf FL teachers, class observations, and research readings. Waldorf students study two FLs. An oral/choral method is used in the early years. Reading, writing, and formal grammar are introduced…

Examined associations between children's early experiences in family disputes and later conflict management with close friends. Found that argument used by mothers and siblings that considered children's needs was positively associated with children's later constructive argument and resolution techniques. Mothers' use of argument predicted…

A study tested the relationship between prelinguistic pragmatic functions and later expressive vocabulary of 58 toddlers with mild to moderate developmental delays. Results indicate that rate of joint attention and rate of communication were statistically significant predictors of later expressive vocabulary. Rate of behavior regulation was not a…

Describes the Parent Resource Library in the Children's Museum of Houston that focuses on early childhood development, parenting, and family enrichment. Discusses the collection; the partnership with the Houston Public Library; the facility and personnel; resources; and future plans. (LRW)

A study of elementary students (n=949) revealed some support for each of the hypotheses of Ginzberg, Roe, and Havinghurst. Results indicate that interests play the major role in both the selection and rejection of careers throughout childhood, that family configuration influenced occupational choice/no choice, and that identification with a…

Describes a study conducted with kindergartners and second graders that examined developmental differences in children's production and recall of information presented via a computer presentation. Highlights include children's information processing skills; action and verbal labels; story versus list formats; and production and recall scores.…

Examines family life factors that contribute to, or inhibit, the development of a child's emotional health and social well-being. Special problems in the socialization of African Americans are discussed, and the goals and practices these families should strive for to help them survive are explored. (GR)

Examined age differences in the operation of beliefs-performance cycles and the effects of these cycles on the development of children's perceived control and classroom engagement from the third to the seventh grade. Found that children who experienced teachers as warm and contingent were more likely to develop optimal profiles of control. Beliefs…

Community mapping is a relatively new technique using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and scientific software to generate visual representations of community characteristics. In North York (Ontario), community mapping provided information about the influence of community resources, including educational, recreational, cultural, health, and…

Offers three public policy perspectives on the issue of juvenile violence: (1) kids need a nonviolent popular culture; (2) kids at risk need more help; and (3) kids need more moral discipline. Presents a way to approach each of the perspectives. (Contains references.) (CMK)

A survey of 24 farm families in eastern Washington with at least one child aged 4-18 examined parents' attitudes toward children's farm work, children's experiential learning about farm work from an early age, safety instruction and practices with children, and supervision of children performing farm work. (Contains 24 references.) (SV)

Evaluates what has been learned regarding the impact of early close relationships on psychological development, by examining the origins of continuity and change in attachment security and its prediction of later behavior. Evaluates research on impact of changing family circumstances and quality of care on attachment security. Offers new…

This article presents a discussion of peer relationships, family relationships, and the contexts of junior high and high school as experienced by normally developing adolescents and offers implications in each of these areas for adolescents with language disorders. Case studies of adolescents with language impairments are presented. (Contains…