Discusses stages of identity development in early childhood, as well as ways teachers can be supportive of that development. Addresses components of identity development in young children, parental preferences, valuing diversity, and curriculum recommendations. Provides suggestions appropriate for children of any racial combination. (SD)

This article introduces a clinical forum that considers a variety of theoretical and analytical frameworks that have been applied to developing systems in phonological theory and treatment. It explains phonological theory, in which sound properties that are marked in language are those sounds that are most complex. (Contains references.)…

The present study explores how suppositions which conflict with accepted beliefs are represented and reasoned about. Two studies test the predictions regarding the nature and developmental changes in children's ability to represent and reason about hypothetical or make-believe suppositions which violate their everyday knowledge and beliefs. In…

The majority of physical activity initiatives have been directed toward promoting cardiorespiratory fitness and general health. Far less attention has been devoted to encouraging or understanding muscular fitness-promoting behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine if constructs from the Transtheoretical Model, a contemporary behavior…

In order to meet the NASPE (2002) "Active Start" guidelines for preschool age children, it is important to consider a number of factors. Preschoolers should have plenty of unstructured as well as structured (planned) physical play throughout each day. They are quite capable physically and should accumulate considerable practice of their…

Despite being a relatively new sport in the United States, soccer is incredibly popular among elementary aged children in physical education classes. Unfortunately, because the sport is still emerging, some physical educators lack the experience, content knowledge, and confidence to provide quality, developmentally appropriate lessons. This…

This paper provides the opportunity to understand children's behavior from a memory viewpoint. For the last three decades, cognitive developmentalists have been asking the question, "what develops in children's memory?" Four answers to this question are presented, complete with explanations, examples, and possible applications where appropriate.…

We evaluated the extent to which aggressive victims show unique developmental pathways that are different from those of passive victims, bullies, and uninvolved children. A total of 1,722 children were followed from 4th grade to 6th grade, and the prevalence and stability of each group were assessed. Aggressive victims became less prevalent and…

Reexamined Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development, investigating teacher development during a two-semester teaching internship program by examining patterns of evolving concerns and aspirations. Results supported and extended Fuller's developmental model. Interns' concerns shifted outward from self, to tasks, to students, as well as…

Magazines created for teenage girls are effective because of their developmental appropriateness; the relationship developed between magazine and reader represents a distinct feminine space, while the demands of the text itself are appropriate to the analytic ability of the adolescent. The inclusion of the confessional "embarrassing story" column…

In literacy and composition studies, efforts to develop data-driven theories of disciplinary writing expertise and of writers' developmental processes in joining specific discourse communities have so far been limited. This case study, of one writer's experiences as an undergraduate history major, parses the multiple knowledge domains comprising…

The purpose of this study was to investigate how early childhood teachers in Korea understand developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) and follow DAP's instructional guidelines. In order to obtain insights for developing "educare," an integrated system for the education and care of young children in Korea, a comparison of early…

This is the first study to investigate experimentally how children come to learn mappings between novel phrasal forms and novel meanings: a central task in learning a language. Two experiments are reported. In both studies 5- to 7-year-old children watched a short set of video clips depicting objects appearing in various ways. Each scene was…

The present research investigated whether children's referential choices for verb arguments are motivated by pragmatic features of discourse referents across different developmental stages, not only for children learning null argument languages but also for those learning overt argument languages. In Study 1, the form (null, pronominal, or…

Behavioral data establish a dramatic change in infants' phonetic perception between 6 and 12 months of age. Foreign-language phonetic discrimination significantly declines with increasing age. Using a longitudinal design, we examined the electrophysiological responses of 7- and 11-month-old American infants to native and non-native consonant…