The Department of Early Learning (DEL), in partnership with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Thrive Washington, has published the Early Learning and Development Guidelines (guidelines) for children from birth through third grade. The guidelines replace the Early Learning and Development Benchmarks, which were first…

Much has been written about literacy and popular culture but less about the role, if any, of popular culture in children's play. In view of the fact that play is recognized by many as a primary mode of learning, particularly in the early years, and also as an essential process in the representation of ideas and feelings, this is something that…

Examines three alternatives to the classical framework of early cognitive development: modularity-nativism, connectionism, and theory-theory. Arguments are marshaled to support the "theory-theory" view, which emphasizes a combination of innate structure and qualitative reorganization in children's thought based on input from the people and things…

Reviews research assessing the mother's contribution to children's early symbolic play competence, focusing on children ages 12-36 months. Finds that, as with other family members, mothers can encourage pretend play, but perhaps there is no special maternal role in the process. The quality and quantity of sophisticated play might be affected by…

Summarizes research findings that challenge long-standing theories of infant cognition and motor development and proposes alternative theoretical models to describe skill acquisition during the first several years of life. Findings are discussed with respect to research in the area of infant speech physiology and production. (Author/CR)

Explored the interrelations between cultural-familial factors such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, family structure, and parental behavior and measures of metacognitive and academic performance in 154 second-grade children. Findings corroborated assertions that theories emphasizing racial differences in cognitive and metacognitive functioning…

Discusses the influence of culture and family and the importance of self-esteem in the development of competency in young children. Describes the role of the teacher in creating a developmentally appropriate environment that fosters self-initiated learning and a personal locus of control. (SH)

This study is concerned with experiences of ethnic identity amongst a group of three-year-old and four-year-old children, four-fifths of whom are of Pakistani heritage and the remainder of white indigenous heritage. Focused on a nursery school in the United Kingdom, the study explores the relationship between the individual and the social and…

Explores developmental issues regarding domain theory, a theory explaining moral development. Concludes that this theory does not explain how domains of moral reasoning and behavior evolve, neglects social and historical aspects of domain development, and does not recognize the effects of individual differences on domains. (JW)

This book explores the conceptual and historical bases for examining creativity, cognitive functioning and creativity, cultural influences on creativity, research methodologies for examining creativity, assessment of creativity, and effectiveness of major creativity training models. Chapters include: (1) "Issues in Studying Creativity in Youth"…

This book emphasizes female adolescents' healthy development within a psychoanalytic frame of reference for what is normative, that also indicates the boundaries of and transitions to what is deviant. The book's 12 articles relate to 3 general topics. The two articles in part 1 of the book, which addresses biological issues, are "Female…

The purpose of this 1967 study is to analyze patterns of political learning before and after adolescence. The hypothesis grew out of recent political science research. 297 fifth, eighth, and eleventh grade children and 205 of their parents were interviewed. (See Appendix A for questionnaires.) Some of the results are: 1) There is substantial…

Reviews research on influences on children's symbolic play. Finds little support for the effects of child-adult symbolic play interactions on child solitary play. Discusses three theoretical perspectives that should support these effects: attachment, ethological, and scaffolding theories. Reconsiders the essence of specific variables affecting…

Response to article by Bornstein and Tamis-LeMonda in this same issue. Delimits the faults of the ethological, scaffolding, and attachment theories in assessing maternal effects on children's symbolic play. Concludes that environmental influences are important to, but are not necessarily the sole cause of, child behavior. (JW)