Discusses ways that educators can encourage the developing of decision-making skills in literacy learning by demonstrating how to select appropriate reading materials, providing time for reading immersion, reading aloud a wide variety of resources, and fostering the use of tape-recorded books. (Author/CR)

Describes the theoretical orientations that frame current understanding about the development of self and the social processes that may shape it. Components of the self are discussed, and current thinking about their development in infancy and toddlerhood is described. The role of temperament is also addressed. (Author/CR)

Examines the assumption that a high level of autonomy within a context of attachment provides the best constellation for psychosocial adjustments with adolescents (N=400). Results show that attitudinal, emotional, and functional autonomy were connected with attachment to father, mother, and peers to predict indices of psychosocial adjustment:…

Study looked at the importance of early education and labor market careers for nest leaving and returning to the parental home. The data determined that employment means a high probability of nest leaving but less stability of independent living. The early career was more important for structuring women's nest leaving than men's nest leaving.…

This paper translates research findings on systematic preference assessment with individuals with nonsymbolic or limited symbolic communication skills into guidelines for planning such assessments to reduce the risk of missing or misinterpreting the person's preferences. It offers four questions for guiding the planning of preference assessments,…

Discusses Harmonium Inc., a community-based agency that counsels adolescents who are at moderate to high risk of developmental defeat because their behavior either threatens their health or jeopardizes their future. It is designed to assist these adolescents using a collaborative, strength-based counseling model built in the integrative capacity…

Examined relationship of maternal control and sex differences in children taking responsibility for failure and possessing strong standards. Found that, in using control, mothers were more likely to grant autonomy to boys than to girls. This socialization pattern partially mediated girls' tendency to take greater responsibility for failure than…

A pilot study involving 10 participants with mental retardation investigated the effectiveness of Feel Safe, a program designed to increase personal safety skills. Feel Safe participants increased their knowledge of personal safety skills and could apply this knowledge in their day-to-day lives. Participants did not perceive themselves as being…

Discusses how the Montessori classroom environment provides the conditions necessary for young children to fulfill the inborn drive for independence. Describes how children from toddler age through middle school age exhibit their growing independence and their need for autonomy; discusses how the Montessori classroom environment facilitates that…

This article offers a set of principles, procedures, and special considerations for teaching students who are deaf-blind with cognitive disabilities to make their own choices during mealtimes. The article shows how a typical daily activity can be used to teach choice making and how this skill can be increased in complexity as the student…

Four adults with mild mental retardation were taught to sort based on what two pictures had in common and to comply with a series of instructions to sort the pictures selectively. After failing the task, they were taught to act on what they told themselves and self-instructed correctly. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

An experience with a client with cerebral palsy at an adventure education challenge course generated a review among program leaders of communication, consent, and choice issues concerning children with special needs. Lessons learned include: learn the participant's communication cues, explain the activity with the participant, and have the…

Describes the process of coaching individuals in their efforts to change themselves in the context of their family systems. Coaching begins by training clients to become observers of their role in family patterns of behavior. Coaching then moves to bring behavior more in line with their deepest beliefs, even if it means violating family norms. (BF)

In this article, the author explores the role of research in relation to EU policy on lifelong learning as part of the strategies and techniques of contemporary governing, wherein research is positioned as one of the intellectual technologies of governance, both one of those actions at a distance and contributing to such actions. Here the subjects…

The current perspective of autonomous learning defines it as the agentive exhibition of resourcefulness, initiative, and persistence in self-directed learning. As a form of human agency, it has been argued in the literature that this perspective should be consistent with Bandura's (1986) Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). The purpose of this article…