This preliminary report is the fourth in a series describing the progress of a 6-year longitudinal study by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The present report specifically describes initial differences between children who go on to Head Start, and those who do not, based on results of 16 of the 33 measures administered in Year 1 (1969) in…

The following research projects are described in this annual report: (1) "Concept Learning in Discrimination Tasks," which indicates that kindergarten children are able to discriminate the letters "b,""d,""p," and "q"; (2) "Discrimination of Letter-like Forms," indicating that nursery…

In this paper the effects of environmental influences upon the development of reading readiness in young children were discussed. It was assumed that the effects of social, cultural, and economic factors on a preschool child are mediated in a large part through adults closely involved with the child's life. One hundred sixty Negro mothers and…

A modified approach to the development of verbal expression in young children is proposed as an alternative to either the prescriptive-instructional method or the developmental viewpoint which relies on self-initiated learning. The Bereiter-Engelmann method, the method based on operant conditioning, and the Montessori method are representative of…

This report is part of a comprehensive study of the cognitive, personal, and social development of disadvantaged children over the crucial period age three through grade three. The aims of the study are to identify the components of early education associated with children's development, to determine the environmental and background factors…

Educational reform appears to be moving in two incompatible directions, exhibiting considerable interest in increasing freedom on one hand, but on the other emphasizing the control and management of the educational environment. The purpose of this research is to examine the conceptual impact of various psychological theories, particularly…

A brief review of the findings of previously funded early childhood research is followed by a complete description and analysis of the longitudinal descriptive studies and longitudinal studies of intervention reported in FY 70 and 71 by the members of the Interagency Panel on Early Childhood Research and Development. The longitudinal descriptive…

A major study of the education of the American Indians, an area where virtually no research on a nationwide basis has been done since the late 1920's, is presented in this book. It draws heavily on information obtained by the National Study of Indian Education (funded by the U.S. Office of Education and completed in 1971). Every facet of American…

This research was designed to compare the responses of disadvantaged and advantaged 5-year-olds in typical Piagetian experiments, in order to determine whether differences exist in the normative characteristics of centering, conservation, egocentricity, space conception, and irreversibility. A sample of 60 children was drawn from a metropolitan…

During spring 1970 and January 1971, over 1,500 questionnaires were distributed in eight California public schools to delineate the cognitive and affective orientations of Mexican American and Anglo children to the three major components of the American political system: the political community, the regime, and the political authorities. The…

Although a lot of data on the psychological characteristics of children having learning disabilities have been gathered, not very much has been done to discover the underlying mechanisms, processes, or phenomenon of learning disability. Without more investigations which attempt to get at these, we will continue to be at a loss to prescribe…

This is the first of a two volume report on a Day Care Inventory designed to assess the day care child's understanding of his physical, social, and personal world. Theoretical and research literature on the development of the child, the available assessment techniques, and the results of an initial survey regarding day care objectives were the…

Much of our thinking about contemporary social problems reflects tacit presuppositions regarding the operation of heredity and environment in human behavior. These beliefs have important implications for practical decisions. Advances in genetics, psychology, anthropology, and other disciplines have contributed much to a clarification of the…

The Cognitive Developmental Early Childhood program at Pennsylvania State University has formulated a program, curriculum, and evaluation system guided by Piagetian theory. The evaluation system described in this paper is a result of an intensive examination of the purposes and types of evaluation systems for their compatibility with the Piagetian…

This booklet offers practical, easy-to-read suggestions for teachers, paraprofessionals, and parents to help them understand intellectual development and intellectual disabilities. The first section highlights some of the factors involved in intellectual development and the importance of being sensitive to different stages of learning. The second…