After arguing that there are substantial advantages to incorporating student play as a learning strategy in educational reform, the paper defines play, notes common misconceptions about play, examines reasons why children play, describes types of play, and looks at the function, outcome, and benefits of play. (SM)

Compares the developmental characteristics of early and middle adolescents and identifies elements necessary to a Montessori secondary program. Describes implementation at middle and high school levels in one Texas school, with elements relating to community building and student leadership; responsibility for learning and assessment; academic…

Describes an undergraduate course project where students helped mentally alert senior citizens write their life stories. By assisting senior citizens to organize memories and interpret life decisions, the students experienced stages they had not yet lived through. Students evaluated the course project as a positive learning and personal growth…

This longitudinal case study examined the emergence of oral language skills in a child with deafness whose cochlear implant was activated at 20 months. Normal or above-normal rates of development were observed in decreased production of nonwords, increased receptive vocabulary, type-token ratio, regular use of word combinations, and phrase…

Investigated the relationships between parental separation anxiety and adolescent identity development in a longitudinal study of first-year college students and seniors. Found that mothers' need to provide security influenced their adolescents' identity achievement, while father's anxiety about distancing had negative and positive consequences…

The effects of early educational intervention on the attainment of the Piagetian cognitive stage of concrete operations by 86 socioeconomically disadvantaged children aged 5, 6, and 7 years were assessed. The Concept Assessment Kit-Conservation developed by M. L. Goldschmid and P. M. Bentler (1968) was used. (SLD)

This article relates the ability to understand individual sentences both in and out of context by normal and developmentally delayed children at various developmental stages to the concept of world knowledge. Implications for assessment and treatment of sentence comprehension deficits among language-disordered students are discussed. (PB)

Discusses historical precedents for studying life stage. Discusses current conceptualizations of adolescent and young adulthood. Explains why such views of life stage progression are antiquated. Demonstrates the need for theorists to include a new life stage, created by changes brought about by our postmodern society. (JS)

Discusses the development of the Indonesian Chart of Developmental Milestones, designed for use with existing nutrition and mother-child welfare programs to monitor children's development. A reliability and validity study using 108 Indonesian children from birth to 36 months of age established a tester-observer reliability of 0.97 and a…

The articles in this special issue take a "uses and gratifications" approach that emphasizes that people make choices about the media they choose and that they differ in their interpretations of media content. The articles integrate this approach with developmental perspectives on adolescence. (SLD)

Using Piagetian tasks designed to assess specific mental structures, researchers investigate the relationship between logical thinking structures and the ability of students to construct and interpret line graphs. Results revealed that a significant correlation exists between the aforementioned variables. Suggests and cautions that only at certain…

Reports on the beginnings of visual representation in early childhood by using longitudinal studies in both London, England and Singapore. Finds evidence to support the theory that underlying children's use and organization of visual media are certain robust forms of behavior, or deep structures. (CFR)

Contends that emergent developmental sequences are energized in a continuous interaction with environmental influences. Asserts that a developmentally and individually appropriate curriculum is sequential and matched to the naturally emerging developmental sequences of the child. Proposes four research emphases for the 1990s. (CFR)

Examines development of the concept of commitment in relation to adolescents' choice of a career and romantic partner. Subjects were 163 male and female ninth graders, twelfth graders, and college juniors from public and private schools. Findings support the proposition that the concept of commitment is affected by grade, gender, and type of…

Because young children have difficulty comprehending abstract ideas and generalizing information presented in sexual abuse prevention programs, and because of their dependence on adults, the effectiveness of sexual abuse prevention programs for young children is questionable. (BB)