Characterizes the telling and learning of political jokes as a powerful socializing tool for children to learn about the world. Maintains that this activity serves as a means of storing and transmitting social knowledge as well as information about the world of public affairs. Includes some representative examples. (MJP)

Discusses recent brain-research findings relevant for educators: the brain changes physiologically as a result of experience; IQ is not fixed at birth; some abilities are acquired more easily during certain windows of opportunity; and learning is strongly influenced by emotion. Environmental enrichment unmistakably influences the brain's growth…

The third edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-III) is reviewed. A comparison of the WISC-III with the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) is included. Discusses shortcomings of the WISC-III while noting that overall, there are substantial improvements in the WISC-III over the WISC-R. (KW)

Describes preliteracy skills in infants and toddlers and the ways adults encourage them, including communicating, incorporating floor and object play, and giving them a wide variety of real experiences. Asserts that caregivers can reassure parents by showing them how they encourage children's intellectual development on a daily basis. (KB)

Preschools are environments where children are given opportunities to develop emotional, social and intellectual capabilities, characteristics that by recent research have been revealed as health protecting. The objectives of this study were to examine the intentions of 25 Swedish municipalities to develop such capabilities through activities in…

This research examines the purposes of education perceived by teacher education students preparing for a career in Israeli public religious schools. Participants were 164 men and 364 women in their first or final year of teacher education. They responded to questionnaires that explored educational purposes in four ways. Twenty-four students also…

In this article, the author shares tips on how to develop a student's creative intelligence and provide activities that enable students to discover their innate abilities. These include making sure that the classroom is a home for students and reflects their hopes and aspirations, creating an effective classroom where every child has the…

The purpose of this paper is to provide an operational definition of college readiness that differs from current representations of this concept primarily in its scope. The paper suggests that, while much has been learned about this phenomenon, particularly during the past 20 years, few systematic attempts have been made to integrate the various…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of student-faculty informal interpersonal relationships on student's intellectual and personal development. An instrument developed by Pascarella and Terenzini (1977) based on Tinto's model, was applied on 252 students (100 males and 152 females) who were enrolled in bachelor programs at…

Character includes the emotional, intellectual and moral qualities of a person or group as the demonstration of these qualities in prosocial behavior. Character education is an inclusive term encompassing all aspects of how schools, related social institutions and parents can support the positive character development of children and adults.…

Current reform efforts in education emphasize role changes for students and teachers within classrooms and schools. A phenomenological study examined one teacher's internal conflict while negotiating the shifting boundaries of power relations between teacher and students. The goal of this study was to explore the processes and constraints involved…

Higher education not only contributes to the development of the human resources and intellectual betterment of the nation but is also a major economic enterprise. This research brief reviews and highlights data on the size and growth of higher education and illustrates how higher education institutions are preparing the future labor force. It…

This study examined (1) the effects of onset of timing for early nonparental care patterns on later child development, and (2) the effects of length of daily enrollment in care on later cognitive attainment and socioemotional behaviors. Preschool teachers rated 105 middle-class children on the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire (PBQ) and the…

Discusses the possibility of introducing the booklet "Now Listen Carefully" (Volk und Wissen, Berlin 1975), which contains 72 texts. A topical arrangement of the texts into teaching units is attempted, and hints on method are given. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Analyzed and compared to other disability groups were patterns of intellectual functioning in 120 institutionalized boys 10- to 15-years-old. (CL)