Young children's development takes place across multiple strands to support readiness for literacy and other academic learning. These strands include: (1) physical development; (2) social engagement; and (3) language development. This article describes some common things that can be looked for within each of these strands when children are three…

Discusses the concept of bioplasmic forces--the foundation of human growth, regeneration of cells, and life energy--and the relationship between physical and mental development of the child, focusing on the theory that premature or forced learning may cause intellectual or academic retardation. (TO)

Research has provided inadequate scientific basis for incorporating fundamental motor skills into the curriculum. More knowledge on how children acquire motor skills is imperative. Motor development of a child is generally viewed as an inherent sequential process of motor unfolding, while skill acquisition is the process mediated through practice,…

Nine articles on the young adolescent consider the ability of middle schools to adapt to the needs of their students, the educational implications of preadolescent development, adolescent brain growth and cognitive ability, and the relevance of Piaget's psychology to the middle school. The authors' conclusions include the necessity to identify and…

In 1990, the National Education Goals were established by the President and the 50 state governors. Goal 1 states that by the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. This booklet is a condensed version of an earlier document intended to further amplify the dimensions of early learning and development used by the…

The U.S. National Education Goals were enacted into federal law in 1994 as the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act." The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin is addressing the first of these goals, which states that by the year 2000 all children will enter school ready to learn. This paper…

Notes that the practice of delaying school entrance for summer-born children, especially boys, to give them some academic advantage, is not substantiated by sufficient research. Describes a subsequent study indicating higher achievement for children held-out than those entering school on time. Argues for more research and consideration of the…

This study was designed to determine whether chronological age, the number of permanent teeth erupted, or the combination of the two would predict a child's readiness for formal arithmetic work. Sixty-four children were randomly chosen and three phases of testing conducted. The findings did not support the use of the number of teeth erupted as a…

This paper is an empirical statistical analysis and interpretation of data relating to school readiness previously examined and reported on a theoretical basis. A total of 118 white, middle class children from six consecutive kindergarten groups in Dearborn, Michigan were tested with seven instruments, evaluated in terms of achievement, ability,…

This paper examines the educational philosophy underlying Waldorf Education, focusing on Rudolf Steiner's concept of "vital" or etheric energy and comparing Piaget's and Steiner's stages of cognition. The paper begins with a discussion of school readiness and the trend toward lowering the school entry age, and maintains that this trend…

This article focuses on the importance of school readiness to school success and long-term life success. Issues relating to school readiness include what constitutes readiness, types of fundamental knowledge, how children approach learning, children's mental and physical health, and how readiness is defined. The article first examines what is…

"Reaching the Goals" is a series of eight books designed to inform people involved in education reform, or people who want to be involved, of the myriad of programs and resources that are available from the Federal Government to support each of the National Education Goals defined in 1990. This first book is dedicated to Goal 1,…

This appendix includes seven papers which focus on various aspects of the learning processes of children ages 5-7: (1) S. Thompson, "Transitions to concrete operations: A survey of Piaget's writings" (in outline form); (2) S. H. White, "Changes in learning processes in the late preschool years," an examination of cross-cultural…

Assuming the premise that "a child has gone fifty percent of the way in organizing the thinking patterns that we call his intelligence by the time he has reached the age of four, and the next thirty percent by the time he is eight," 50 Schenectady kindergarten-through-first-grade teachers and administrators formulated a chart of behavioral…