Using concepts and tools of a dynamical system approach in order to understand motor coordination underlying graphomotor skills, the aim of the current study was to establish whether the basic coordination dynamics found in adults is already established in children at elementary school, when handwriting is trained and eventually acquired. In the…

Children build up knowledge about the world and also remember individual episodes. How individual episodes during which children learn new things become integrated with one another to form general knowledge is only beginning to be explored. Integration between separate episodes is called on in educational contexts and in everyday life as a major…

We examined how rapid automatized naming (RAN) components--articulation time and pause time--predict word and text reading fluency in a consistent orthography (Greek). In total, 68 children were followed from Grade 2 to Grade 6 and were assessed three times on RAN (Digits and Objects), phonological awareness, orthographic processing, speed of…

Action-object phrases (e.g., "lift the bottle") are remembered better if they have been enacted rather than learned verbally. This enactment effect is largest in free recall for phrases with objects (e.g., "bottle") present because these phrases can be interactively encoded with those context objects ("interactive context integration") that serve…

Examines the relationship between children's literature and child psychology, concluding that the divergence between the two disciplines has more to do with function and method than with values or motivation. (GT)

Cautions that biography about adults, written for children, should not be allowed to replace other forms of literature, such as fairy tales, that are psychologically healthier for children's emotional levels. Biography tends to prematurely impose highly complex rational descriptions of life upon unprepared minds. (RAA)

A child's self-concept may be the most important determinant in his learning experience. Children have not been exposed to enough situations in which they become aware of their own feelings and to environments which encourage positive interactions with others. The purpose of this study was to develop some tools for creating environments conducive…

Defines imagination in Montessori terms, describes the power and centrality of imagination to emotional and intellectual life, and makes a carefully supported case for imagination as the foundation of the entire Montessori elementary experience and, perhaps, even for adult life as well. (HTH)

In taking standardized tests, children are placed in a position over which they have no control, are directed to perform illogical tasks, and are told to act as if everything were perfectly logical. It is hard to overstate the negative impact of testing on young children. (Author/MJB)

A sample of grade four students reported the secret-sharing and promise-making behavior of classroom peers and judged those classmates on trust and friendship. Findings suggest that the same-sex friendship patterns are maintained by same-sex trust patterns through infrequent secret-sharing with opposite-sex peers and the perception that…

Discusses (1) the possibility of children developing meaningful lives, (2) literature as a way of understanding children's lives, and (3) the importance of understanding children's consciousness and how this might be done. (SRT)

Suggestions are given on how parents and teachers can develop an environment conducive to the development of self-esteem in their children by providing activities and experiences that result in feelings of success. (DF)

The inhibitions which adults feel about praising themselves can be communicated to children. The existence of these inhibitions may help explain why few teachers directly teach children to praise themselves. Yet this type of teaching can be incorporated with other school experiences and can be a powerful tool in helping the child to be…

Identifies fears which can beset children on their first days of school, discusses reasons for a wide variety of specific fears (separation anxiety, transition from a familiar to a strange environment), and suggests ways for parents to help their young children overcome fears of school. (DB)