A model is proposed to delineate several sociocultural, family, neighborhood, and personal coping factors thought to moderate the effects of stress and risk factors that ordinarily contribute to adverse developmental outcomes in children and adolescents. Research is proposed on issues related to resilience and coping. (SLD)

Argues that it is essential for preschool education to explore environmental and ecological values. Discusses cognitive development of socio-ecological knowledge at three age levels. Asserts that folk tales provide good examples of ecological values because beauty usually triumphs over ugliness and good over evil. (CFR)

Presents interview with Weikart, founder and president of High/Scope Foundation, on a multi-national study of the nature, quality, and effects of children's experiences prior to formal schooling. Discusses findings related to international similarities in children and parents, engagement levels, the impact of training on teachers, parent roles,…

Examined effects of early parental employment on children, using data from National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Found that more work hours were associated with slightly lower cognitive development through age 9 and lower academic achievement before age 7, but not with behavior problems, compliance, or self-esteem. Early parental employment was…

Comments on a study that reported positive effects of a neurobehavioral-intervention approach on motor skills of young children with cerebral palsy. Discusses problems associated with contrived research situations and urges researchers and practitioners to join together to design and investigate the effects of new interventions. (CR)

Examined how child and family factors influence individual differences in the language development of African-American children between 18 and 30 months of age. Found that vocabulary and utterance length increased linearly. Children from more stimulating and responsive homes had larger vocabularies, used more irregular nouns and verbs, and had…

Investigated two approaches to all-day kindergarten to determine their differential effects on the students. One approach provided teacher training and support; the other did not. Found that children in the program with teacher training and support were rated by teachers as more developmentally competent, exhibiting more prosocial classroom…

Describes the design and findings of the Victoria Day Care Research Project. Concludes that early day care experiences and family environments were associated with verbal abilities in early childhood and with competencies in early and late adolescence. Found that children from higher-resource families were most likely to have higher-quality day…

Examined predictors of development in very low birth weight infants from diverse backgrounds. Found that low income and greater frequency of medical problems predicted developmental risk on the Bayley Scales. In two-parent households, paternal education predicted developmental scores. Several individual biomedical factors predicted…

Teachers and parents rated the developmental status of 225 preschool children with and without disabilities on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. The study found a significant correlation between teacher and parent ratings for children with severe disabilities but not for children with mild/moderate or no disabilities. (DB)

Addresses the need of involving the family and aspects of child development into helping children achieve academic success. Several collaborative efforts are highlighted, and the key features of strategies for collaboration are discussed. The article concludes with analysis of these collaborative efforts to determine the lessons to be learned. (GR)

In "Failure to Connect" (1998), Jane Healy examined pros and cons of computer use, warning that good teachers, small classes, and challenging curricula trump high-tech products. Computers can impede youngsters' development. Computers enhance learning only if teachers comprehend them, use appropriate applications, and define learning…

A study compared developmental functioning, social, and environmental backgrounds of 62 overly active children (age 7), 37 with inattentive behavior, and 46 controls. Children with inattentive behavior were more likely to have general cognitive delays, particularly in language development and were more likely to have fathers with low occupational…

Illustrates problems facing researchers trying to demonstrate causal relationships between types of nonparental care and differences between groups of Swedish children. Argues that efforts must be made to validate and interpret differences that are found. Indicates ways to avoid misinterpretation of differences that are attributable to…

Outlines how verbal protocols were used to compare self-perceived intelligences of students to teachers' evaluations of students based on Howard Gardner's theorized intelligences. Results indicate a strong agreement between teacher perceptions and student identifications of Gardner's intelligences. Argues for more detailed studies before…