The development of social cognitions about classroom life and their potential influence on children's classroom behavior were studied. Each of 360 first and fifth grade children from schools in middle class and working class neighborhoods were interviewed using booklets illustrating classroom behavior. The results indicated that children do…

Cognitive control over impulsive behavior on a Luria-type task was examined for 165 middle- and lower-socioeconomic status (SES) children in nursery school and first grade. Specific impulse control problems were found for both middle- and lower-SES children in nursery school. By first grade, only the lower-SES children continued to exhibit this…

Compared the effects of TEACH, a perceptual remediation approach, to those of phonetic tutoring on first graders whose performance in the SEARCH Program during kindergarten indicated they were at risk for reading failure. There was no evidence for significant academic effects of participation in the TEACH program for at-risk children. (GLR)

To determine whether preschool education benefits middle-class elementary school children, a study was conducted which compared the social, motor, and academic progress of kindergarten and elementary school children who had attended a Montessori preschool, another kind of preschool, or no preschool. The sample was chosen according to age,…

Achievement and locus of control data were gathered the first week of first grade, and seven months later, for middle- and lower-socioeconomic status (SES) children. While middle-SES children experienced greater achievement gains, lower-SES students increased in internal control. Results suggested that internal control contributed to achievement.…

Research on African American students' low academic performance has focused on Black adolescents, who, like most American adolescents, exhibit oppositional attitudes. In contrast, an ethnographic study of two all-Black elementary schools suggests that middle-class Black children begin school very much achievement-oriented and engaged, and that…

Students attending a Minnesota school in a middle-class neighborhood are finding that cooperation, conflict resolution, and civic values are creating a safe haven from the stresses of family and neighborhood life. Students have two innovative programs (Continuous Progress and Discovery) to choose from. Highlands Elementary nurtures its students…

Researchers assessed the ability of third and fifth graders to recall and report types and amounts of physical activity from the previous day. The study assessed the validity of the Caltrac electronic accelerometer as a field measure of physical activity. Children's reported physical activity minutes were higher than monitored minutes. (SM)

Motivational beliefs of children in grades 5 through 8 (ages 10 years, 9 months to 13 years, 7 months) were assessed in a cross-sectional and a longitudinal study. Children attended a nonsectarian, private school in which the method of evaluating academic performance changed over grades from an individualized, mastery-oriented approach to a…

Measured physical and cognitive development of 7- to 10-year-old Brazilian children in 3 social groups. Domestic servants' children were taller and heavier than children in slums, and shorter than middle-class children. Domestic servants' sons scored similar to slum-dwelling boys on cognitive measures. (BC)

Presents the results of the second year of a four-year longitudinal evaluation of a partial French immersion program in Cincinnati, Ohio, that includes children from lower socioeconomic group and ethnic minority group (Black) backgrounds in addition to majority (White) and middle-class students. (17 references) (GLR)

A study investigated developmental differences in children's self-perceptions of masculinity and femininity among 251 girls and 266 boys from grades 2 through 7. Meaningful developmental changes occur during the middle childhood period. Single summary scores ignore variations in gender-typed subtrait and raise study methodology questions. (JB)

A study of the effect of teachers' asymmetric perceptions of girls and boys on 147 Jewish Israeli second and sixth graders' (78 males and 69 females) perceptions of student prominence in school relevant categories found that students judged more boys as prominent. Same-sex peers were also judged prominent. (JB)