This article discusses traditional and contemporary definitions of middle childhood play, the value of such play for children's development and learning, the implications of home, school, and societal practices that have resulted in changing the play scenario of middle childhood, and suggestions for assuring that play's value will be maintained…

This paper presents an overview of the Early Head Start program. The objective of the Early Head Start program is to enhance the cognitive, social and emotional development of low-income children, including children on federally-recognized reservations and children of migratory farm workers, through the provision of comprehensive health,…

As more and more early childhood programs implement response to intervention, the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) will be the tool of choice for fast, reliable, and ongoing progress monitoring. That's why every program needs this book, the only quick guide to conducting the popular IGDIs accurately and efficiently. Bringing…

The authors review the research literature on breastfeeding benefits and promotion. Although breastfeeding confers numerous benefits to infants, mothers and society, the authors conclude that breastfeeding promotion efforts sometimes overstate or misrepresent what the research actually supports about the benefits of breastfeeding. Psychological or…

Communally organized, as opposed to bureaucratically organized, schools are expected to provide significant advantages to students in terms of their cognitive and social growth. However, for students to avail themselves of these benefits, they need to experience school as a community. One factor that may influence whether students view their…

This volume brings together leading authorities from multiple disciplines to examine the relationship between brain development and behavior in typically developing children. Presented are innovative cross-sectional and longitudinal studies that shed light on brain-behavior connections in infancy and toddlerhood through adolescence. Chapters…

Utilizing a developmental-ecological framework, the purpose of this study was to understand the unique impact of multiple maternal risks across time on ethnically diverse, low-income, preschool children's cognitive skills, pro-social behaviors, and behavior problems. Additionally, this study sought to understand the variability of maternal risks…

Descriptive and comparative follow-up studies of young adult males with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosed in childhood, using both interview, self- and parent assessment instruments for the study of aspects of emotional well-being, social functioning, and cognitive-practical skills have not been performed in the past. One-hundred males with AS…

Attention has been focused for decades on the need to improve high school students' preparation for the workplace. Employers report that nearly half of their entry-level employees are inadequately prepared and lack basic communication and critical thinking skills as well as a work ethic. Although a postsecondary credential is considered necessary…

Poverty remains an urgent crisis worldwide. In the United States, 28.6 million children live in low-income families and 12.7 million children live in poor families. In nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 47 million children live below national poverty lines. These figures pertain to…

Background: One of the debates around service-learning is if and what changes can be affected in the short duration of a college course, typically 15 weeks. This study explores how one education program addresses this challenge by taking into consideration students' cognitive and social development and systematically designs a progression of…

Preschoolers' theory of mind (ToM) was examined in relation to emotional features of their conflicts with siblings, using mothers as privileged informants. Fifty-four children aged 3 to 5 years and their 54 mothers took part. Children were given 10 standard false belief tasks and a standardized language test. Mothers completed questionnaires,…

Individuals with Down syndrome are predisposed to show a specific behavioural phenotype, or a pattern of strengths and challenges in functioning across different domains of development. It is argued that a developmental approach to researching the Down syndrome behavioural phenotype, including an examination of the dynamic process of the unfolding…

This academic review critically examines the theoretical and empirical bases of claims made for the educational benefits of physical education and school sport (PESS). An historical overview of the development of PESS points to the origins of claims made in four broad domains: physical, social, affective and cognitive. Analysis of the evidence…

Investigated developmental differences in males' (ages 3-20) descriptions of video scenes in which various interpersonal situations were depicted. Alternative paradigms for study besides egocentrism-decentering approaches are discussed. (DP)