An overview of early childhood education discussing its role in stages of life, current trends, teacher training, and international organizations introduces a 371-item international annotated bibliography covering selected reference works, linkages to lifelong education, integration, creative and psychomotor development, play and preparation for…

To test a programed instruction in orientation and mobility, 44 multiply impaired low vision children and young adults (ages 5 to 28) were instructed over a six-week period. Instruction was in the areas of motor development, sensory training, concept development, and mobility skills. The experimental group using the materials showed significant…

A study investigated the effectiveness of a therapeutic motor development program in increasing the social adjustment and peer acceptance of a mainstreamed 10-year-old educable mentally retarded boy. The motor development program was based on the games analysis model and involved the S and 13 of his normal classmates. (Author/DLS)

Notes the importance of positive human interactions and experiences on child development, and describes seven developmental areas crucial to early brain development. Suggests ways to enhance young children's development of emotional intelligence, social skills, motor skills, vision, language acquisition, vocabulary, and thinking skills. (TJQ)

Contributions of motor skill and cognition to sport performance change across age, expertise, and sports. Knowledge and decision making should not limit the development of expertise. Specific strategies for teachers may help students develop expertise. The paper discusses the contribution of knowledge and skill to expertise and its development.…

Currently, little is known about knowledge and cognitive skills that underlie expertise in learning, performance, and instruction of sport and physical activity. The paper makes research suggestions, encouraging the exploration of expertise and the translation of research about expert knowledge and cognitive and motor skills to the design of…

This paper argues that cognitive referencing (which compares skills to cognitive level rather than to chronological age standards), used to determine children's eligibility for special language and motor services, is not consistent with current theoretical formulations. It also lacks empirical evidence for validity and results in exclusion of…

Describes the use of activity boxes with 43 young children with blindness, deaf-blindness, or severe learning disabilities and visual impairments. Discusses the contribution such boxes make to intellectual development, particularly the development of voluntary hand function from the integration of the primitive grasp-and-release instincts shown by…

This article proposes that changes in pediatric therapy in the 1990s have made the dichotomy between educational and medical therapy moot. Contemporary models of motor development and motor learning, combined with an emphasis on functional outcomes and family-centered services, are seen to pertain equally to children receiving occupational and…

Presents six articles on brain research and child development: "Brain Research, Infant Learning, and Child Care Curriculum" (J. R. Lally); "The Thinking Brain" (P. Schiller); "Early Experiences Shape Social Development" (B. Caldwell); "Facing the Challenge of Motor Development" (P. Weikart); Language…

Presents information on physical activity levels in young children. Provides guidelines for appropriately promoting physical activity in early childhood classrooms, focusing on movement concepts of body, space, effort, and relationship. Includes appropriate teaching strategies and activities. Concludes that guided movement instruction helps…

This study investigated the concurrent validity of the Mayes Motor Free Compilation (MMFC) using the mental scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) as the criterion variable with 50 typically developing preschool-aged children. Results indicated that the MMFC and the BSID scores were significantly and positively correlated.…

This article reviews data collected during evaluation of two programs based on conductive education principles established in Sydney in the early 1990s by parents of preschool and school-age children with motor disabilities. Results indicate programs based on conductive education are not more effective than other currently available forms of…

The authors' objective in this article was to explore the accuracy of mothers' estimates concerning their children's developmental functioning, especially with respect to vocabulary and gross motor development, by comparing the results of diagnostic tests administered to both the children and their mothers. The authors studied 55 children with…

Forty-four children who had been born preterm and their mothers participated in the follow-up study. At 3 and 14 months (corrected age) cognitive development was assessed using the BOS 2-30, the Dutch version of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. The BOS yields measures of mental and motor development. At 7.5 years, intelligence was measured…