Sports-related tool use abilities in children were investigated within a neo-Piagetian framework of development. The object was to establish whether development in the motor domain proceeds in a "stage-like" fashion. A model was developed which suggested how general and precise structural changes might manifest themselves in the sub-domain of tool…

The manual is intended to help parents and professionals understand the motor development of Down's syndrome infants and young children. Following an overview of motor development, gross and fine motor landmarks are presented along with exercises and activities to promote their development in infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood. Each landmark is…

The early cognitive development and motor development of male preschool children with an alcoholic father were compared with matched control subjects from non-alcoholic families who resided in the same neighborhoods. Families were participants in the Michigan State University Longitudinal Study, into which were recruited all drunk drivers…

This manual describes motor development laboratory activities to help future physical education teachers observe, assess, measure, and test students' motor skills. A total of 20 laboratory activities are described under five sections geared toward: (1) physical growth and maturation; (2) assessing early motor development; (3) assessing basic motor…

This report acknowledges the problems faced by industrial/organizational psychologists who must make personnel decisions involving physically demanding jobs. The scarcity of criterion-related validation studies and the difficulty of generalizing validity are considered, and a model of physical performance that builds on Fleishman's (1984)…

A series of easy activities for parents or caregivers to use in guiding the developmental progress of children at the infant, toddler, and preschool levels. (Author)

Infant reaction to adult speech was studied through frame-by-frame analysis of sound films. Infants' actions were found to be synchronized with the organized speech behavior of the adults in his environment. (ST)

The manual is designed to provide the physical education teacher or the kindergarten teacher with an orderly sequence of experiences for promoting growth in body awareness, dynamic balance, muscular strength, spatial awareness, and temporal awareness in the 5- and 6-year-old learning disabled child. The 33 weeks of lesson plans are designed for…

The purpose of this study was to construct a valid instrument that would accurately measure parental attitudes toward the motor development of young children. A Likert scaled attitude statement was developed with responses ranging from "very strongly agree" to "very strongly disagree." Parents were asked to reply to 20 statements on the subject. A…

This document presents abstracts of the papers presented at the convention of the research council of the Southern District of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. It is published for the use of teachers and researchers in the field of physical education. (JD)

This paper suggests that the general physical education curriculum in colleges and universities should reflect the changing attitudes toward physical activity in our society. A program of physical education should provide a series of guidelines to the student that will become a foundation for continued biological awareness of the body and for…

This report is a collection of five papers emphasizing the significance of the young child's motor development. Each paper addresses at least one of four objectives: (1) to help develop clearer insights concerning the significance of physical activity in the early years of childhood; (2) to examine the existing body of knowledge from research and…

Provides data indicating that development occurs in cycles, with behavioral competencies appearing and developing and then disappearing only to reappear again in a more complex form at a later age. Data on conservation and auditory-manual coordination in infancy are used to support this theory. (ED)

Investigation facilitated by small grant M-4327 (A) from the National Institute of Mental Health.