Investigated to what extent imaginary companions are created in the diaries of adolescents. Content analysis of questionnaire responses by participants, ages 12 to 17 years (N=241), indicate that the imaginary companion was similar to the writer in many aspects. Results show that the imaginary companion was not the result of an egocentric…

In a visual recognition masking experiment, a target stimulus to be identified is either preceded or followed by a second stimulus called a masking stimulus. The experiments described here provide estimates of both developmental and aging differences in visual backward masking under conditions which maximize interference in the central visual…

To teach a student to live his life is to give that student unlimited opportunities to be responsible for his actions, the ruminations of his mind, and the consequent actions that flow from his thinking. The only way to meet each individual child's needs is through a program geared to the student as a unique individual. The Individual Educational…

This study interviewed five philosophically precocious individuals (PPIs), four Chinese and one American, to examine their development. Theoretical frameworks used to evaluate data were the Transcendence Evolution Model and the taxonomy of developmental strategies. The Transcendence Evolution Model posits that children's different developmental…

Education is experiencing a loss of meaning and respect and a fading sense of connection. Education for the whole, individual person will result in the practical, creative, and moral growth necessary in today's society. (CJ)

Provides an interview with Russian Academy of Education Academician Vladimir Shadrikov, the first deputy minister. Focuses on topics such as the differentiation of education, the theory of developmental instruction, and the formulation of a state educational standard for the basic schools. (CMK)

The article reviews the role of development and individual differences in the concept of discrepancy as applied to the differential diagnosis of learning disabilities. It is concluded that discrepancy may be better used within learning disabilities rather than in distinguishing between learning disabilities and other handicapping conditions.…

Many educational questions of research interest focus on individual differences in attitudes and behaviors related to academic achievement, changes in such attitudes and behaviors over time, and the types of academic environments that facilitate or prevent development of achievement attitudes and behaviors at school. This paper, the first in a…

This book examines how nonnative speakers develop pragmatic ability in a nonprimary language, focusing on acquisitional processes, conditions, and sequential patterns. Nine chapters discuss the following: (1) "Introduction to Second Language Pragmatic Development"; (2) "Theories of Second Language Pragmatic Development" (e.g., the acculturation…

For the individual, gender difference falls along the feminine-masculine continuum with strong neurodevelopmental influences at various points throughout the lifespan. Neurodevelopmental influences are conceptualized in a vector model of sex difference. Vector attributes, direction and magnitude, are influenced initially by differences in levels…

Research on the development of ability to control variables during adolescence is reviewed. The first section discusses studies by Piaget and his collaborators, replications of Piaget's studies, and related studies by other investigators. Factors which influence performance on controlling variables tasks are delineated; the existence of Piaget's…

Five papers on research related to learning and instruction discuss the following: subjective competence and self-assessment; development of quantitative-relational abilities from childhood to adolescence; detecting functional relations in a computerized learning environment; developmental patterns and individual differences in word-search…

A developmental investigation of the ability to control variables was conducted. One or two logically similar physics problems were individually administered to 120 subjects age 12 to 14. The problems involved either familiar or unfamiliar variables. Each problem was presented in three different informational formats. Success on the problems in…

This book reports on a 40-year longitudinal study of factors that foster or inhibit creativity over time. Students in elementary grades were originally evaluated from 1958 to 1964. Follow-up in 1980 led to development of a Manifesto for Children which summarized conclusions in the form of guidance for aphorisms such as "Don't be afraid to fall in…

Oral history can contribute to social education in a number of ways. Traditionally, data collection has been considered as providing the most benefits to students of oral history. These benefits have derived from the facts that: (1) historical knowledge is immediate and tangible, (2) oral history stimulates students' interests, (3) students…