Discusses responsibility of developmental scientists to convey the complexity of development lest oversimplified popular accounts gain credibility. Presents a model of development elaborating on the role of experience in relation to constitutional, cultural, economic, and social factors contributing to children's development. Discusses importance…

Argues that the operating characteristics of perceiving and remembering provide a foundation for progress on detailing the processes through which knowledge is realized in real-time tasks and in detailing the processes of developmental change. Includes three examples to illustrate how forming developmental hypotheses in terms of perceiving and…

Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005) was a pioneer in studying the behavior of children in their natural life space of family, school, peer group, and community. His concept of the ecology of human development is transforming practice for effective work with children and youth. Bronfenbrenner's research highlights the power of human relationships to…

The articles in this collection consider one very interesting puzzle of development: U-shaped developmental functions. At some point during development, an organism might exhibit what seems like a regression from its expected developmental trajectory and, according to continuity models of development, this is aberrant. In this special issue,…

A population of 12-19 year-old adolescents (n = 994) was selected from a pool of 7264 students in order to study adolescent's perception of autonomy. Eleven behavioural autonomy items were elected by the adolescents and used to evaluate the frequency of desire, achievement and disobeying parents in early (12-13 year-old) and late (18-19 year-old)…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

Based on intense observations of one child's development from 1 to 3 years of age, this book describes how children acquire the knowledge they need to become persons. The book has 13 chapters, divided chronologically. Topics covered include: (1) personhood and social identity, and methodological issues; (2) 15-16 months, doing a lot with a little,…

This volume is a collection of nine papers focusing on different aspects of play. The first section, "Play, Growth, Development, and Learning," contains discussions dealing with make-believe play and learning; an all-in-fun approach to thinking, playing, and language learning for young children; and ways children learn through play. The…

THE EFFECTS OF TRAINING GIVEN TO A GROUP OF GIFTED CHILDREN IN A SPECIAL SUMMER PROGRAM WERE TESTED DURING THE FOLLOWING SCHOOL YEAR WITH RESPECT TO OVERALL ACHIEVEMENT AND ADJUSTMENT AMONG THE STUDENTS. THE PROJECT WAS DESIGNED TO COMPARE THIS EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WITH TWO CONTROL GROUPS DRAWN FROM DIFFERENT SCHOOL POPULATIONS. IT WAS THE SECOND…

An intervention study with mothers and infants is discussed. The project staff consisted of two home visitors, a materials specialist, an infant examiner, and a project coordinator. This study assessed the effectiveness of the program for mothers and infants. Infant abilities and psychological development were tested and homes were rated. One home…

Three studies examined three-, five-, and seven-year-old children's understandng of verbal terms ("easy" and "hard") concerning personal competence. Studies focused on developmental change in understanding the terms and were designed to provide information about the order in which understanding of the terms was acquired. (HOD)

Based on research which has followed the behavioral development of 133 subjects from infancy to early adulthood, discusses incidence of behavior disorders, defines the concept of temperament, and briefly discusses findings. Remarks on the usefulness of the "goodness of fit" concept for tracing developmental sequences. (GC)

Based on experiences gained at the Palo Alto Infant-Toddler Center, this book presents a model of infant and toddler child care. The purpose of the book is to offer caregivers and interested parents a repertoire of ways to respond to infants and toddlers that support individual development. Planned experiences and practical strategies for…

Stresses the importance of camp staff understanding why campers misbehave. Offers recommendations for helping campers to learn responsible behavior, including setting clear expectations and consequences for camper behavior; teaching campers self-discipline and problem-solving strategies; asking campers thought-provoking questions; avoiding power…

Elementary schools generally expect similar achievement levels of children who are 12 months apart in age at the kindergarten level. Suggests 11 steps to apply practices to primary grades that are common in working with younger children that allow for the normal variation in development that exists among children. (MLF)