Presented is an attempt (1) to provide operational definitions of the learning objectives that have been clarified through firsthand experience with students in the physical science course for preservice elementary teachers at the University of Washington, Seattle, and (2) to identify some of the problems of intellectual development that have been…

Selective subject attrition from longitudinal study panels can bias estimates of developmental change. Particularly in studies of older adults, sampling effects can adversely affect attempts to estimate true ontogenetic change. Selective attrition effects were examined in 636 Pennsylvania adults (138 males, 498 females), aged 58-91, who were…

The complex theory of knowledge and cognitive interests by the sociologist Jurgen Habermas, the dominant critical theorist in present day Germany, is applicable to current composition pedagogy. According to Habermas, all knowledge is shaped and used in three ways: in technical ways for instrumental reasons; in practical ways for socio-cultural…

Issues concerning student intellectual development during college are considered in a symposium paper and in two reactions by faculty members. The symposium was sponsored by Bowling Green State University as part of the Academic Outcomes Project, which explores the effect of college on student growth and development. The reflective judgment model…

A geographically-based, random sample of 62 children, balanced for child gender, and their mothers who met selection criteria were observed and interviewed to determine the correlates of rural children's mental development. It was hypothesized that rural children's intellectual development would be positively correlated with a number of ecological…

Over 80% of the Taiwanese students who complete their graduate study in the United States do not return but instead stay to become members of American college faculties or to take jobs in research organizations and industries. The concept of the Taiwanese brain drain is described and how it developed and what the government has done to cope with…

A secondary school curriculum which includes a significant focus on individual developmental goals is proposed. Emphasis is placed on students' intellectual development, self-management, and interpersonal and small group involvement. The basic content of the developmental curriculum is summarized to include acquisition of the knowledge to: (1)…

To determine whether support systems ameliorated the impact of divorce on family stress and child adjustment, the present study examined the availability to divorced families of various support systems, including the extended family, church, work, and community groups. Specifically, the study addressed the impact of parental support systems on…

This discussion on the merits of requiring four years of general education studies for prospective teachers focuses on the philosophical ingredients of liberal arts courses. One, perennialism, advocates students learning content from great minds of the past. The other, essentialism, emphasizes that basic subject matter can be identified and taught…

William G. Perry, Jr.'s, ideas on the development of student writers were used as a frame of reference for a study of the discursive development of students enrolled in writing seminars at Skidmore College (New York). Perry posits that students execute a series of maneuvers in which they first try to assimilate new perspectives they are…

The "practical" approach currently emphasized in teacher education is critically appraised and contrasted with a more "intellectual" approach. It is suggested that more emphasis on intellectual activities is needed in teacher education and a number of arguments are presented to support a change in that direction. It is suggested that the quality…

This study discusses the importance of comprehension in reading and describes a tool for measuring reading comprehension according to an individual reader's "structures of meaning." The procedure for developing a visual representation of this structure involves three distinct steps. After reading the text, student and teacher employ techniques,…

There is in the higher education profession a strong and growing segment who believe that although our colleges may be successful in producing well-informed and skilled specialists they do not turn out citizens broadly informed about the complex world in which they live. Consequently, as a people we are unable to cope with our personal and civic…

The relationship between children's knowledge of particular situations and their comprehension of stories about them was investigated. Children in kindergarten and grades two, four, and six heard stories about differentially familiar situations and then answered questions. "Scripts," characterizing knowledge about stereotypical events, were…

The article underlines the necessity for a systematic approach to the development of learning comprehension skills. Through pilot testing, two distinctly different approaches (logical vs. psychological) are compared. Given the results in favor of the psychological approach, questions concerning its implementation and what should follow are raised.…