This paper examines the educational philosophy underlying Waldorf Education, focusing on Rudolf Steiner's concept of "vital" or etheric energy and comparing Piaget's and Steiner's stages of cognition. The paper begins with a discussion of school readiness and the trend toward lowering the school entry age, and maintains that this trend…

In all of his published work, Jean Piaget never abandoned his original theoretical framework for the understanding of human development. This framework insists that intelligence is essentially a biological phenomenon; its development is best understood as the development of a sophisticated and highly successful adaptation device. This device…

The increase in one child families in the 1980's is analogous to the one child family rate during the Depression years. Although family size was limited for economic reasons during the Depression, current increases in the number of one child families are attributed to advances in contraceptive technology, increased employment of women, inhibiting…

This report is designed to highlight certain aspects of the growth and development of primary education in Tasmania which have specific implications for those concerned with the education of children. The report focuses on the needs of children during the primary school years and the crucial importance of appropriate learning experiences at this…

This volume contains a series of seminars on parenting presented by the North Haven Right to Read Advisory Council. The major theme of the seminars is the role of the parent in stimulating the child's total development: emotional, social, and intellectual. Specific topics examined are: (1) the young child's view of himself: his basis for learning,…

Directed to parents of mentally retarded children, the manual describes the problem of retardation that these parents must face and their reactions to it. Mental retardation is explained, and both emotional and social maturity are discussed. The necessity of choosing a life plan for the retarded child and factors involved in the decision are…

Confirmatory factor analysis of data from a portion of a long-term study provided evidence for two components of math anxiety for 298 male and 266 female 6th through 12th graders. The components related to negative affective reactions and cognitive aspects. Age and gender differences were significant. (TJH)

Presents theoretical background for building an early childhood curriculum based on the Educare approach. Five principles are explained. They emphasize that learning drives development and that social interaction, interpersonal relationships, mutual understanding, and culture are unique in developmental processes. Concludes that teachers can have…

Reviews the place of creativity in the two major orientations of art education: (1) creative self-expression; and (2) discipline-based art education (DBAE). Asserts that critics of DBAE argue that it is dry and does not allow for creative expression. Rejects this notion and claims that properly implemented DBAE produces intellectual and emotional…

A year-long qualitative study of 10 families of gifted children (grades 5 to 8) found 4 levels of parental reasoning concerning their child's social and emotional development: (1) no framework; (2) an intellectual framework only; (3) a full intellectual and partial social-emotional framework; and (4) a comprehensive framework recognizing both…

Part of a series on early childhood demonstration programs designed to improve early parent-child relationships, stimulate positive child development, and prevent later behavior difficulties, the pamphlet describes a Toy Library project for low-income families in Washington, D.C., which, in addition to loaning books and toys, offers a wide range…

The works cited on this extensively annotated bibliography represent approaches for understanding the language development of disadvantaged children. The subjects covered are bilingualism and dialectology, developmental influences (ethnic, family and home, instructional, and social and economic) and developmental status and processes (behavioral,…

Coupled with justifications of nondescriptive and intuitive levels, research from Piaget's developmental theory is used to support play as a viable part of a day care curriculum. Within the context of Piaget's theory of play, three developmental stages or classifications of play are distinguished: (1) sensorimotor practice play (infants); (2)…

Based on recent research, it is now believed that brain growth is highly dependent upon children's early experiences. Neurons allow communication and coordinated functioning among various brain areas. Brain development after birth consists of an ongoing process of wiring and rewiring the connections among neurons. The forming and breaking of…

This paper discusses current perspectives on the education of young children in terms of five interrelated issues rooted in a developmental perspective: (1) the complexities of predicting the long-term developmental outcomes of early experience; (2) how to interpret gender differences in the long-term effects of different approaches to early years…