Research evidence currently indicates that young children's communication skills for both the speaker and the listener roles are often ineffective. The accuracy of children's communication improves gradually over the elementary school years. Current thinking in the area of metacognition may be very useful in understanding the development of…

Findings from research investigating the development of competence in young children are summarized in this pamphlet. Characteristics of the competent 6-year-old, derived from the systematic observation of more than 100 children in various settings over a two-year period, are listed. A study aimed at identifying the kinds of experiences regularly…

Written in 1965, the author describes the initial stages in the development of the elementary level curriculum, Man: A Course of Study. The structure and form of the course and three pedagogical techniques are discussed. The course is organized around the humanizing forces of tool-making, language, social organization, the management of man's…

A study was conducted to test the validity of the Linguistic Features Hypothesis, which predicts that unmarked personal pronouns will be learned first by children, yielding the following order of acquisition: first person before second, followed by third; singular before plural; and subjective case before objective or genitive. A review of the…

A study was undertaken on the effects of a specific parent administered infant language stimulation program, beginning at birth, on the longitudinal development of 60 normal first born infants. All infants and their environments were tested in their homes at 6 weeks and at 6 months utilizing the Bayley Scales of Infant Development and the HOME…

The second of four documents provides a summary of the scientific literature pertaining to spontaneous language acquisition in handicapped preschool children, and reviews and evaluates procedures for assessing language acquisition in these children. Chapter l focuses on language development in nonhandicapped children after they have acquired their…

This pamphlet is the eighth in a series of ten stemming from the view that language is central to learning, that teachers can gain insights into their work and into learning by examining the language of the classroom, and that current language theory can be the means to such insights. The pamphlet contains a discussion of the uses of language in…

EDUCATIONAL POLICY FOR AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN HAS BEEN BASED ON THE PRINCIPLES THAT THE INDIAN'S SALVATION LIES IN HIS CEASING TO BE WHAT AND WHO HE IS, THAT IT LIES IN BECOMING ASSIMILATED THROUGH ALIENATION, AND THAT ENGLISH SHALL BE THE SOLE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION. AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THESE PRINCIPLES AND THE INDIAN CHILDREN'S POOR…

ONE HUNDRED EDUCATORS FROM 13 SOUTHERN STATES MET FOR A 3-DAY CONFERENCE IN WHICH POSSIBLE DIRECTIONS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION WERE EXPLORED WITH SPECIFIC EMPHASIS ON STATE-FUNDED PRESCHOOL EDUCATION FOR THE DISADVANTAGED CHILD. REPORTS WERE GIVEN ON THE FOLLOWING ONGOING PROJECTS--(1) DEMONSTRATION AND RESEARCH CENTER FOR EARLY EDUCATION…

For each of 4 years varying numbers (from 45 to 750) of 3- to 5-year-old children, mostly Mexican-American, Spanish speaking, participated in a program aimed at language development. Classes met 3 hours daily, five times a week, in small discussion-and-activity groups that included five children and one adult. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test…

A study was conducted to test the effectiveness of a preschool program which emphasized rapid attainment of basic academic concepts. The experimentals were 4- to 5-year-old lower class, predominantly Negro, children. For 2 years they received instruction 2 hours daily, 5 times a week, in a group where the pupil-teacher ratio was five to one. To…

TWENTY HEAD START PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WERE GIVEN THREE LANGUAGE TASKS DESIGNED TO MEASURE THEIR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT--(1) A PRODUCTION TASK REQUIRED THE CHILDREN TO ENGAGE IN FREE SPEECH. THE CHILDREN WERE ASKED TO ANSWER A QUESTION, TO DESCRIBE A SERIES OF PICTURES, AND TO RETELL A STORY. THE FREE SPEECH OF THE CHILDREN IN RESPONSE TO THESE…

The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 led to the formation of three separate Head Start Programs in Waco, Texas. The first year, 1,500 children were involved. Of these, 40 percent were Negro, 30 percent Latin American, and 30 percent white. All teachers received a week of preparatory study at the University of Texas. The program involved four areas…

Reported is an inservice workshop program for the faculty of the schools of Randolph County, North Carolina. The major objectives of the workshops were to improve the instructional program in the newly desegrated schools and to aid the staff in adjusting to integration. The progress report contains discussions of teaching in the desegrated schools…

This report discusses a study of a Norwegian six-year-old child's acquisition of English syntax in a second language environment. Interrogative and negative sentences which require periphrasis with "do" are the forms considered in the analysis. Although the formal aim of the study is limited to an effort at discovering more about developmental…