Offers an overview of the philosophies and influences that have underpinned research into the metacognitive abilities of young children during the last two decades. Discusses the implication of this research for current teaching practice, and offers concerns and suggestions for the future. (EV)

Examines current concerns of early childhood practitioners regarding the effects of popular toys such as Barbie dolls and Power Rangers on children's understanding of gender. Critiques traditional theories of sex role socialization and argues that feminist post-structuralist views of gender are useful in deciding if and how popular toys may be…

Used a Piagetian model to examine five 4-year-olds' perceptions of the reality of television characters. Found that children understand that television images are representations with varying degrees of relationship to reality and that children used a number of strategies for judging the extent to which characters were "real," such as…

Notes that research has demonstrated the importance of parent-child interactions in developing literacy. Claims that parent literacy programs are effective in the children's literacy development. Proposes that research on the value of extensive interventions can suggest ways to improve parents' interactions with their children during the literacy…

Examined the home literacy experiences of 15 families who participated in a parent program which used a workshop approach to help parents develop skills and understandings needed to create a supportive literacy environment in their home. Analyzed results and outlined activities according to the pattern of use of nonliteracy, literacy, library, and…

A portion of the Child Care Cost, Quality, and Outcomes study finds that quality of center-based care was positively related to preschool children's concurrent cognitive and socioemotional development. More advantaged children are not necessarily buffered from effects of poor quality care. In addition, stronger positive effects of child care…

Examined effect of negative affect of parents and peers on young children's affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies. Found that compared to peer negative affect, children felt they could do little to help themselves when faced with paternal distress and frequently indicated they would use avoidant coping strategies to feel…

Discusses misconceptions about constructivism by identifying related myths such as students should always be actively and reflectively constructing, manipulatives make learners active, and cooperative learning is constructivist. One central goal of constructivism should be that students become autonomous and self-motivated in their learning.…

Describes a program that is teaching reading and communication arts in English to students in the Philippines. The program is based on the premise that thinking is the only genuine foundation for learning and that rote memorization is not learning. Emphasizes the need to foster conceptual development. (CR)

Uses clinical case studies showing autistic children's fascination with and understanding of machines, family studies focusing on occupations of fathers and grandfathers of children with autism or Asperger Syndrome, and experimental evidence using picture-sequencing methods to identify physical or intentional causality to show that children with…

Focuses on 36 items in the ACT College Outcomes Survey to identify areas of personal and social gain where students perceived colleges to have the greatest impact. Results indicate that, for average impact, colleges exerted only a moderate influence. Students perceived the greatest effects of college to be on cognitive and intellectual growth.…

Investigated whether Frederiksen and others (1985) multiletter recognition program improved speed, accuracy, and recognition of multiletter units. Found increased perceptual coding skills for 9- and 10-year olds in the training group compared to those in the control group. Results suggest that future research should focus on generalization of…

Examined Ojibwa families for relationship between quantity and quality of father involvement in childrearing and children's academic and social performance. Found that more time spent by fathers was associated with better academics and social development for boys, while greater nurturance was associated with poorer academic performance. Found that…

Argues that assessing how teachers apply their teaching knowledge requires an approach that examines their cognitive development and attitudes, allows teachers to demonstrate their competencies, and recognizes the complexities of learning to teach. One such approach is portfolio assessment with its three components to portfolio design: purposes,…

Reviews the major literature on creative processes in children that should be predictive of adult creativity, focusing on affective processes and children's play. Describes Russ's (1993) model of affect and creativity, and cognitive processes, personality processes, and affective processes important in creativity. Discusses theories of play,…