This article reviews literature on normal and impaired spelling development, and discusses the influence of consonant clusters, phonetic influences, and the role of letter names. Research that underscores the importance of fine-grained linguistic analyses of spelling performance is described. It is concluded that such an approach holds promise.…

Presents the findings from two studies that demonstrate that parents' interactions, ego functioning, and moral reasoning are predictive of children's moral development. Illustrates the role of affective factors in moral socialization and the relevance of using real-life moral dilemmas in contrast to hypothetical ones. (CMK)

Explores children's play as social behavior in relation to cognitive style and identifies the social factors underlying both young children's play and cognitive style. Indicates that field-dependent children participated more in social play activities, while field-independent children engaged in more nonsocial play activities. Discusses the…

Examines some of the best school-based interventions being used for children of divorce and their effectiveness. These interventions include consideration of developmental stages, parent and teacher involvement, structured activities, and skill building. Offers a delineation of the salient features across the models. (Contains 20 references.) (GCP)

A brief history is provided of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a treatment option for infants that provides prolonged circulation and reoxgenation of blood outside the body to temporarily support a failing heart or lungs. The University of Kentucky ECMO program is described, along with the positive outcomes of 19 infants. (Contains…

This article presents a conceptual model of the cognitive social bases of language derived from the philosophical view of constructionism and theoretical perspectives of speech act theory and relevance theory. The centrality of intent, modality and core issues of language, lack of construct validity in assessment, and heterogeneity are discussed.…

Two studies, one within subjects and the other across subjects, evaluated the efficacy of teaching sounds in developmental sequence to nine young children (ages three to five). Treatment of later-acquired phonemes led to systemwide changes in untreated sound classes, whereas treatment of early-acquired phonemes did not. Findings suggest…

Describes types of puppets, including finger, glove, hand, shadow, marionette, and mechanical. Gives reasons for using puppets with children ages two through seven, including enhancing language and thinking skills. Explains how teachers can introduce tough issues such as AIDS and abuse through puppetry. Details a sequence of activities for…

Explores pediatric and child psychiatric research covering five areas of potential biological and social risk to infants and children in orphanage care, specifically, infectious morbidity, nutrition, growth, cognitive and socioaffective development, and physical and sexual abuse. Results showed that institutionalization in early childhood…

A total of 270 children from 3 ethnic groups were tested for understanding of concepts of heating and cooling. A strong horizontal decalage effect was seen, with children of all ethnic groups using more sophisticated explanations at earlier ages for heating than cooling. Implications for developmental theory are discussed. (SLD)

College psychology students rated 18 books on children's fears according to their potential impact on children's socioemotional growth. During a training program, they coded the books based on story grammar and specific categories of children's fears. Students then rerated the stories. Interrater reliability increased significantly from initial to…

Provides information on child abuse and how early childhood educators can help parents and their children in overcoming the trauma. Recommends two children's books on child abuse and provides a list of useful resources. (MOK)

Addresses the importance of climbing in early childhood and issues of facilitating children's climbing skills. Considers why children climb, when they learn, how they climb, socializing the climbing child, and creating safe, developmentally appropriate climbing environments for children. (JPB)

Discusses issues in reconceptualizing early childhood care and development ideas that were formulated in western industrialized countries to better fit the cultures of third world countries. Notes the importance of adapting early childhood programs at a conceptual level to ensure their success when implemented with other cultures. (JPB)

Introduces this special journal issue re-examining the contributions of Myrtle McGraw to developmental psychology in order to clarify misinterpretations of her work and to highlight dimensions that constitute promising lines of inquiry for contemporary researchers. Maintains that McGraw failed to receive credit for her alternative to…