Outdoor adventure education (OAE) is widely recognised for its ability to elicit personal and social development for its participants. However, quantitative evidence on which this recognition is based is frequently questioned, and is virtually absent in Scotland. To provide some of the first statistically determined evidence from Scotland that OAE…

There have been moves in a number of countries in recent years to develop appropriate pedagogies for the teaching of community/heritage languages, distinct from foreign language and mother tongue models. At the same time there has been a growing interest in ways of developing learners' creative abilities and there are grounds for believing that an…

Research in developmental social cognition should detail commonalities between self and other as well as the self-other differentiation process. A method which indexed developmental changes in the understanding of both intersubjective rules of interpersonal behavior and subjective individual perspectives was devised to research questions…

This article describes the main findings of a study of youth theatre commissioned by the National Association of Youth Theatres (NAYT), funded by Arts Council England (ACE) and carried out by the Centre for Applied Theatre Research (CATR). The study explored the impact of taking part in youth theatre on young people's personal and social…

This paper discusses the need for innovative research paradigms in assessing the impact of television on children. Past research has shown that television, as part of a child's environment, can influence the social behavior of young children in positive and negative ways. It is suggested that researchers now study ways in which children's…

This critical analysis examines the claim that learning within the student's zone of proximal development is enhanced by "making connections to what the learner already knows." It is argued that Rogoff's and Gardner's use of Vygotsky's theory to explain learning in school-like tasks places primary emphasis on how the adult should connect…

Used a data analytic strategy that was novel to the M-space literature to examine the mental capacity prerequisites of social-cognitive development of 99 students in grades one, three, and five. Used a structural equations analysis to determine whether M-power was a significant predictor of role-taking development. (RH)

This paper presents recommendations about measures for assessing cognitive and social-emotional outcomes of children in Chapter 1 preschool and kindergarten programs. Section I explains the purpose and design of the study, giving special attention to the Chapter 1 substudy. Section II covers critical issues related to cognitive and…

This publication focuses on the challenges faced by modern societies as they seek to plan for competing in the global economy, educating the population for new competencies, maintaining the social fabric for nurturing and socializing the next generation, and providing opportunities for the health and well-being of all citizens. Emphasis is placed…

Examined 2-year-olds' language acquisition with an emphasis on the agency and intentionality of the child. Concluded that development depends on the child's expression of intentionality by actions (performance), the essential tension between the child's engagement and effort, and the integration of linguistic, cognitive, and social aspects of the…

Comments on problems raised in this special issue, focusing on the distinctive aspects of the risk research reported. Highlights issues like sample characteristics, measurement strategies, specificity of risk factors, and risk mechanisms. Discusses the challenges of integrating alternative models of risk, with special references to research into…

Comments on research problems raised in this special issue. Suggests that recent research highlights the nature of the multiple processes underlying variability in child and adolescent adjustment. Views variability as a function of covarying influences from multiple domains, operating on specific developmental outcomes across a background of time…

Comments on the special theme issue examining the roles of socialization, biology, and culture as they affect adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes. Proposes a theory-guided research approach, based on four assumptive components of contemporary developmental theories: systematic change and relative plasticity; relationism and…

Comments on this special theme issue examining the roles of socialization, biology, and culture as they affect adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes. Presents models for predicting and understanding behavioral and affective change at transitions occurring especially from middle childhood through adolescence. Provides examples…

Since it began in 1965, Head Start has been the cornerstone of the nation's services for low-income children and their families. A substantial research base has been attached to Head Start, providing information about the program's overall accomplishments and directions about ways to improve services for young children. American Indian and Alaska…