Asserts that liberal education has the promotion of intellectual development as a primary goal, and that to encourage intellectual progress, a context of intellectual freedom is necessary. Offers a set of principles of academic freedom that it suggests are foundational to the promotion of intellectual development. (EV)

Examined contention that social and intellectual development of African-American college students is nurtured better by traditionally Black colleges than by predominantly White colleges in 250 African American college students. Results did not support superiority of traditionally Black colleges. (Author/ABL)

Compared 120 full psychological tests and retest batteries of boys aged 11 and 17 years referred to Teen Ranch residential treatment program who had been in program for at least 1 year. Nine intellectual and academic change variables and nine personality change variables were significant. These changes were used to examine overall effectiveness of…

Neurochemical and psychological effects of fenfluramine were examined on 20 autistic children (aged 1-10) over a 48-week period. A decrease in abnormal motor behavior was found, but no improvement in intellectual functioning. Serotonin decreased 53 percent after fenfluramine treatment and rebounded to levels 35 percent higher than baseline…

Presents the findings and pedagogical implications of a study that focused on intellectual orientation and multiple-source writing. Suggests that first-year college students who write from multiple sources can approach divergent points of view from a variety of intellectual orientations. (MG)

A developmentally sensitive problem-solving task--the 20-Question Game--was used to examine development and treatment variables among 48 learning disabled and 48 normal boys at two age levels (8-13 years old). Results indicate that both younger boys and learning disabled boys demonstrated less efficient problem-solving skills than did others. (TJH)

There is a vast difference between factual information and a sense of understanding that comes from the organization of knowledge in a way in which it can be used in decision processes. Recognition of interdependencies and interrelatedness leads to understanding and utilization. (JD)

Gifted students come from all socioeconomic backgrounds. A broader definition of giftedness and improved assessment methods will help remove barriers that keep poor and minority students out of programs for the gifted. (TE)

This study delineates modes of thinking that differentiate exceptionally gifted children from more moderately gifted peers. Cognitive differences include viewing the simple as complex, a need for precision, viewing the complex as simple, abstract reasoning ability, early grasp of essential elements of an issue, high capacity for empathy,…

Minnesota technical college instructors (n=60) completed the Learning Environment Preferences Inventory based on Perry's developmental schema; 72% were in the category of multiplicity. Those with master's degrees scored higher than bachelor's or nondegreed teachers; women scored higher than men. Intellectual development and years of education were…

Reviews "Human Minds: An Exploration" by Margaret Donaldson, which inquires into the diverse uses of minds, their ontogenetic development, and their histories. The two predominant themes in the book are the ontogenetic and historical development of cognition, and development of social-emotional understandings and experiences as well as…

Analyzed the influence of a comprehensive program of nurse home visitation on the intellectual functioning of children born to women who smoked cigarettes during pregnancy. Found that comprehensive home-visitation services before and after delivery can offset the impairment in intellectual functioning associated with substantial maternal smoking…

Through a formal program offering in-school jobs to students who want or need them, kids at a small-town Oregon middle school can experience various work conditions and apply abstract knowledge to practical problems. As science aides, playground assistants, and groundskeepers, students earn tokens that can be spent for parties, field trips, school…

A study investigated the extent to which 210 college students' learning orientations were shaped independently and jointly by their academic and nonacademic experiences. Findings indicated that the two kinds of experience each made statistically significant and unique contributions to gains in intellectual orientation after controlling for…

"Politically correct" outlooks are to be neither wholly accepted nor wholly rejected; they are to be learned from. The self-scrutiny bred by concern about political correctness is an important part of the university tradition; and without it, colleges could not experience their current growing diversity. (MSE)