Infants from low socioeconomic status families were randomly assigned to either an instructional day care program designed to prevent socioculturally caused mental retardation or to a nonintervention control group. The effects of these environments were then compared for fetally malnourished infants in terms of later intellectual functioning and…

Confirms that perceptual and linguistic differences exist between middle-class and lower-class children, favoring middle-class children, and lends support to the usefulness of the Vane Kindergarten Test as a screening test for determining the intellectual potential of young children. (RB)

This document reports an investigation of the relationship between maternal practices as observed in the home and the cognitive development of young children from low-income families. The purpose of the study was to determine if lower-class maternal warmth was associated with intellectual growth of the child. Fifty-two lower class mothers were…

To determine the relationship between parental childrearing practices, sex-role preference, and intellectual functioning in young boys, 21 lower class and 21 middle class white fathers were observed at home interacting with their 4-year-old sons. The Binet, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Brown's "It" Scale were subsequently…

To determine whether watching violence on television instills aggressive behavior in a child, the television viewing of 27 5-and 6-year old black males from a sample of urban poor families was periodically observed and charted over a 1-year period. Data was collected on each child's family unit, home setting and available media. Longitudinal…

The purpose of this research was to determine to what extent young lower class Negro children's actual achievements in the middle class school setting are influenced by maternal behavior and attitudes. Ninety Negro children, from 53 to 66 months of age, plus their mothers, were selected as the research sample. Interviews were conducted with the…

Fifty-four middle and lower class, black and white adolescents were observed interacting with their mothers during a discussion of seven child rearing problems. Maternal references to a range of disciplinary measures were identified, analyzed, and related to the subjects' scholastic performances. A factor analysis of process measures confirmed…

This report by the Schools Council Project in England examines questions and responses of children aged 8-16, and in particular, the role that curiosity and questions can play in learning. Chapter 1 compares comments of various government-sponsored reports. The second chapter reviews ideas and evidence about both curiosity and questions and the…