Reports on a study of Russian parental attitudes regarding appropriate age of initial school attendance and decisions regarding secondary education. Finds that 80% of parents of young children support kindergarten education. Includes 14 tables of data from the study. (CFR)

Compares case studies of early childhood education in schools in Germany and Ireland. Both schools emphasize the importance of children's emotional-spiritual development, but while Irish children are already in formal education, German schooling defers beginning of formal learning. Concludes that more teacher interaction with children in German…

Examined the role of biological factors, such as perinatal complications, and psychological factors, such as maternal attitudes, in predicting developmental outcomes in preterm children. Findings support the main effects model of biological and environmental factors in explaining developmental psychopathology, but also the interactional model, as…

Discusses collaborative writing with hypermedia and multimedia tools as well as the requisite hardware and software support that foster cognitive and social skills. Proposes research on the impact on and possibilities for students and teachers using collaborative writing in hypermedia environments. (102 references) (JKP)

Reports on an exploratory study of a metacognitive approach to teaching low achieving secondary students. Asserts that the research team hoped to examine a process whereby a dialog about learning processes would develop. Finds that all students indicated that they were able to focus on learning as a topic of conversation. (CFR)

Compared the use of conditional logic in adult-adult and adult-child conversation. Results indicated that conversation patterns and inferences were similar except that children made fewer independent inferences and shifts in taxonomic level and responded more frequently to socially controlling statements than did adults. (AA)

Fourth grade children (n=20) were matched on a pretest and randomly assigned to either a wooden base-10 block or computerized microworld group. Instruction was designed to establish relationships between notation and meaning, extending whole number numeration to decimal numeration. Neither group changed whole-number notational methods nor had…

Reports a study to examine secondary school students' (n=200) responses to two figurally and spatially similar problems from mathematics and science that require different responses before and after instruction. Results indicated that most students gave the same response to both questions. Reasons for this pattern are discussed. (MDH)

Measured physical and cognitive development of 7- to 10-year-old Brazilian children in 3 social groups. Domestic servants' children were taller and heavier than children in slums, and shorter than middle-class children. Domestic servants' sons scored similar to slum-dwelling boys on cognitive measures. (BC)

Presents the reactions of a mathematics educator and a mathematician to a seven-year-old student's response for finding square numbers. Reflects on the mathematician's focus on the mathematics of the problem and the mathematics educator's focus on the student's systematic way of working, and discusses the common focus of student creativity. (MDH)

Discusses concerns for mathematics education research on algebra and requestions methods that focus on the Piagetian concept of cognitive obstacles. Suggests the use of computer-based environments to develop the concept of variable and offers research findings indicating that experiences working with variables in LOGO influences student…

Review of models traditionally used by different disciplines to describe thinking processes led to development of a general model and testing in six pure and applied matched disciplines (physics, engineering, psychology, education, English literature, composition). Professors applied the models to their courses in different ways and used various…

Argues that arts education should be a basic subject in the school curriculum because perception which is a key characteristic of art education is basic to intelligence. Outlines three phases of research concerning spatial ability and theories of perception. Highlights higher education's role in the relationship between arts education and general…

Investigates the relevance and concomitant impact of sociocultural experiences upon the scientific literacy of 87 students, aged 13 to 16, concerning their comprehension and assimilation of scientific data involving solar eclipses. Results indicate that the students' nonscientific conceptions about solar eclipses, generated through sociocultural…

Proposes three types of supplementary problems to develop students' skill in interpretation of graphically represented data. Eleven examples are presented and solved for the following types of problems: comparison of one quantity to another, comparison of two quantities that each depend on a common parameter, and reasonable data prediction. (MDH)