By participating in carefully managed writing exercises at the end of class, physical education students can learn to set goals, evaluate themselves, and communicate effectively. The article presents excerpts from student journals in which students express their feelings about their own work and how the class is taught. (SM)

A cluster analytic approach was used to identify self-esteem trajectories among 1,160 adolescents from 6th to 10th grades. Four self-esteem trajectories were identified: consistently high, moderate and rising, steadily decreasing, and consistently low. Healthier grade-10 outcomes were associated with higher self-esteem. (SLD)

This article outlines a five-step process for use in selecting and adopting curriculum-based measures designed to facilitate a linked system approach and promote family-centered, collaborative, early childhood intervention practices. Within a linked system approach, assessment information guides the development of goals and objectives, which in…

Analysis of data for the NICHD Study of Early Child Care revealed different prediction models for children (n=5,416). Early home environment, later behavior problems, and children's health problems contributed to identification by medical professionals, while early home environment and socioeconomic status contributed to identification based on…

A program designed to enhance children's prosocial development was conducted in three suburban elementary schools for five years. Findings for students from kindergarten through grade four emphasize the need for supportive teacher-student relationships and opportunities for student decision making, autonomy, and collaborative interaction. (TJH)

Ten children diagnosed with juvenile Battens disease were tested over a three-year period in general intelligence, memory, listening and speech, motor skills, and general learning. Results showed that the patients followed a predetermined pattern but that the time span for development of memory, communication, and behavior problems varied greatly.…

Reviews recent developments in the following areas of research on affective disorders and related syndromes in the preadult years: (1) psychiatric and diagnostic (nonbiological) studies; (2) hypothesis-testing and causal-explanation studies; and (3) studies of developmental psychopathology. Indicates directions for future research. (Author/BJV)

Child development can be fostered through relationships between older adults and children. Children's social isolation resulting from demographic, economic, and social changes can be addressed by means of intergenerational programs. During four developmental stages from infancy to adolescence, older adults can play a significant role in…

Maintains that pictures are one constant aspect of children's books. Reviews research on whether pictures hinder or facilitate the development of reading skills in young children. Provides suggestions on when and where pictures might provide instructional support. (CFR)

Describes parent-child activities during storybook reading, suggesting that interactive reading (constructing meaning) is more developmentally enriching than attending to story. Found that Curacaoan mothers were more concerned with child's understanding of story than with constructing meaning. Argues that parents should be trained in dialog that…

Notes that achieving school readiness for all children by the year 2000 will require a reconceptualization of the concept of readiness. Reviews some of the relevant history of readiness as an area of inquiry, and details the issues surrounding readiness, including school readiness versus learning readiness, and chronological age of entry versus…

Examined 39 mother-infant dyads to see whether qualitative differences in adolescent mothers are associated with differences in child functioning. Multiple measures of parental characteristics indicated that parenting expectations had a unique and differential power in explaining both objective child observation ratings and the mothers' Parenting…

Reports on a study of the role of pupil age in scholastic performance among 4,123 Maltese primary-age students. Finds a strong and consistent age effect in Maltese, English, and mathematics achievement in three grade levels. Also finds that girls consistently outperformed boys in the three subjects. (CFR)

Reports research on teachers' beliefs about children's development. Discusses (1) teachers' estimates of ages at which children succeed on tasks, (2) teachers' ability to engage in task analysis, (3) their view of children's error, and (4) their view of developmental accounts. Concludes that good teachers' beliefs provide an inadequate basis for…

Discusses general conclusions for which evidence is provided by the research presented in this issue. Conclusions relate to (1) child-teacher relationships and attachments; (2) concordances between children's relationships with their teachers and parents; (3) children's internal representations of their relationships; (4) factors underlying…