This study was conducted to observe the effects of social class on the interaction of mothers and their 12-week-old infants. Data on the infants' cognitive and attentive behavior was also obtained. Each of 32 white and black infants from five different levels of social class was observed at home for two full hours of waking time. Observed infant…

THE BEHAVIORAL NORMS OF LOWER CLASS DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN ARE DIFFERENT FROM CHILDREN IN MORE MIDDLE CLASS GROUPS. THE BEHAVIOR OF LOWER CLASS CHILDREN IS INFLUENCED NOT ONLY BY GENERAL SOCIAL CLASS AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND BUT ALSO BY SUCH SPECIFIC INTRACLASS VARIABLES AS FAMILY ENVIRONMENT. THE PRESENT ABSENCE IN THE LITERATURE AND IN PRACTICE…

This study was conducted to find out whether extending the kindergarten day with individualized curricula would produce differences in achievement great enough to warrant the increased cost. Two pilot studies were conducted in this large suburban school district, using kindergartens from four of 17 elementary schools. Two of the schools served…

High and low SES mothers of one- and three-year-old children (N=104) were interviewed. Results showed that low SES mothers believed that infants acquire basic cognitive skills later and that the introduction of cognitively stimulating activities should occur later than did high SES mothers. (JMB)

To determine whether cognitive level rather than social class differences influence problem solving strategies, children from two SES levels were matched on cognitive abilities (preoperational, transitional and concrete operational) and administered a partial reinforcement task. (BD)

Refers to classification skills as preludes" to concept attainment. (Author)

Black children (N=233) from three age levels and two socioeconomic (SES) levels were given five Piagetian tasks to determine if differences in sex were associated with differences in cognitive development levels. Results showed that higher SES children performed better than lower SES children on all five measures of reasoning, seriation,…

This study of the cognitive-developmental approach to primary grade value education emphasizes the involvement of the reasoning process in solving moral dilemmas. This approach is in contrast to those which focus on clarifying values and developing an awareness of other cultures' values. Educational intervention in the cognitive-developmental…

Two studies were designed to examine the relationship between moral judgment and role-taking in young children. In Study I, 30 lower class and 30 middle class five-year-olds were presented with affective, cognitive and perceptual role-taking tasks. Task performances were then examined in relation to four dimensions of moral…

Argues that the lower class uses language to maintain social relationships more than to communicate information, and that lower and middle class differences in language usage explain much of the academic failure of disadvantaged and minority children. Proposes a functional approach for studying how language, socialization, and academic achievement…

THREE GROUPS OF FIRST- AND SECOND-GRADE CHILDREN, TWO LOWER-CLASS AND ONE MIDDLE-CLASS, WERE ASKED TO LEARN AND RECALL SEQUENCES OF WORDS AT FOUR LEVELS OF CONCEPTUAL DIFFICULTY--NONSENSE SYLLABLES, HIGH FREQUENCY NOUNS, ANOMALOUS SENTENCES, AND MEANINGFUL SENTENCES. IT WAS HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE STUDENTS' VERBAL MEMORY WOULD INCREASE WITH…

BASED UPON WORK WITH MIDDLE-CLASS ADULTS AND CHILDREN, THREE APPROACHES TO GROUPING HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED--(1) DESCRIPTIVE PART-WHOLE, (2) RELATIONAL-CONTEXTUAL, AND (3) CATEGORICAL-INFERENTIAL. A COMPARISON WAS MADE OF THE FREQUENCY OF THE USE OF THESE APPROACHES AMONG MIDDLE- AND LOWER-CLASS, NEGRO PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN. INITIALLY,…

The papers in this document represent preliminary results of a study which is part of a 3-year project being conducted by the Educational Testing Service in cooperation with the New York City Board of Education, with support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This document is divided into seven sections: (1) Introduction, (2)…

Focusing on the acquisition of science processes, a study was made of the relationship of acculturation and social class to cognitive development among 1,677 lower and lower middle class students enrolled in the public high schools of three rural, 11 semi-urban, and three urban communities. Acculturation was defined at the community level in terms…

Research supported by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation.