Teachers must be apprised of the child's developmental stages in order to respond appropriately to their students. They must learn to place themselves in the world of the child and to value children's questions. (Author)

This article considers the idea that an analysis of the structure of geography and of the nature of spatial concept development in children will reveal a valuable conceptual link that might serve as a theoretical basis for developing objectives in geographic education. (Author)

This background article provides a general discussion of the possibilities of teaching preschool children to read in one or more languages. If external stimulation can match the rapid inner development of young children, rapid and extensive learning can occur. (CHK)

Concludes that children have a far broader range of intellectual interests than has generally been recognized. Bringing them into contact with fields of knowledge, methods of inquiry in these fields, and the processes of logical reasoning at a time when they have a natural receptivity which can have a fundamental impact on their intellectual…

A Michigan elementary school has developed an unusual six-tier grading structure to accommodate the needs of children at different stages of development. They provide half-step classrooms that allow students to move forward in school at a rate that allows success. (MD)

Describes two experiments that examined children's understanding of the distinction between real and apparent emotion. Discusses the findings in relation to research concerning children's concept of mind, their grasp of the appearance-reality distinction; their ability to produce complex, embedded justifications; and their ideas about emotion.…

Through examples of both a child's imagination and pretend play activities, demonstrates how a child's imagination is the thinking function that sets the stage for play, while actual play consists of a child's understanding and representation of reality. (HOD)

Children's nighttime fears, such as monsters in the closet, have been a common issue for the American. In children's cognitive development, vivid imagination has been recognized as a cause of fear, but not all children around the globe share this common experience. This qualitative, exploratory study examined the relationship between parent-child…

This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis between full term typical infants and those born micropremature in the developmental construct of mastery motivation. The sample consisted of 10 micropremature infants with developmental levels within the normal limits and 10 full term 9- to 12-month-olds (adjusted for prematurity) matched…

Although pretend play has long been part of the early childhood curriculum, recent emphasis on accountability in education seems to have led to a decline in the general understanding of the contribution that high-quality play can make to children's cognitive development in the early years. This digest defines the cluster of concepts related to…

Research indicates some early life stresses can have a profound impact, resulting in changes in brain function and behavior, and even differences in the ways some genes express their particular genetic code signature. At various times during early development, different neural systems appear to have an increased sensitivity to stress and can…

The public dollars spent to stimulate economic development would be more wisely invested in child development programs, according to two different streams of research. Brain research shows the impact of experiences and environments on the developing brain architecture, with weaker architecture leading to increased vulnerability to later problems…

Argues that how a child and the television set intereact, and its success as instruction, is determined by the design of program content and the degree to which it reflects understanding of the developmental process, discussing two programs which attempt to present solid academic material to young children through television. (Author/JM)

Truly integrated learning calls for all the school's resources and careful planning by teachers and pupils. (Author)