Recent research has found that maternal employment is associated with worse child performance on tests of cognitive ability. This paper explores mechanisms for that correlation. We estimate models of instrumental variables using a unique dataset, the American Time Use Survey, that measure the effect of maternal employment on the mother's…

Learning invariably proceeds by relating new facts to the already familiar and present in the conceptual structure. In the context of FL study the familiar is, of course, the student's mother tongue. Drawing on the learner's L[subscript 1] (or another mastered tongue) and showing comparisons and contrasts between the languages mirrors, facilitates…

Parental care plays an important role in the emotional and cognitive development of the offspring. Children who have been exposed to abuse or neglect are more likely to develop numerous psychopathologies, while good parent-infant bonding is associated with improved resiliency to stress. Similar observations have also been reported in non-human…

We argue for the importance of processes of shared intentionality in children's early cognitive development. We look briefly at four important social-cognitive skills and how they are transformed by shared intentionality. In each case, we look first at a kind of individualistic version of the skill--as exemplified most clearly in the behavior of…

Problem solving is applicable to all grade levels and subject areas. This study focused on the development of problem-solving skills in fifth grade students using problem-solving software. A pre- and post-test were administered to 21 fifth grade students. Four students were chosen for the treatment group and four for the control group. The…

This longitudinal study examined the question of change and stability in students' used learning strategies during the first 2 years of study at the university. A total of 188 students from Tilburg University in the Netherlands took part in the study, including 90 in law, 27 in art, 48 in economics, and 23 in the social sciences. The students…

This study examined the hypothesis that children with persistent otitis media with effusion (OME) during the first 3 years of life are at risk for cognitive and language delays. The prospective study enrolled 698 children and controlled for 8 demographic and environmental factors. Subjects were recruited at birth, and frequently monitored at home…

Although counselors have implicitly understood and used a number of its tenets, an action-theoretical approach is a relatively recent development in career counseling. This digest analyzes the tenets of this approach. An action approach to career counseling sees clients as agents who steer and direct their activities. It represents an integration…

Pictures are often used by cognitive psychologists to investigate the development of cognitive functions. Different attributes of the picture, such as object or picture familiarity, word frequency, and age of acquisition, are known to correlate with naming latency and to affect memory, particularly retrieval processes. But without the use of…

Drama is a means to develop imagination and empathy. Simulated experiences can affect profoundly one's judgment and understanding, adding insights and expanding the frame of reference. The name game is a good beginning exercise, especially if participants do not know one another. Each player states his or her name and a favorite object that begins…

This study investigated manifestations of collaborative work with pairs of kindergarten children during counting tasks designed to promote early number development. The data were collected by means of classroom observations, interviews with individual students, and teaching sessions with pairs of students. Ten students were paired to be compatible…

This symposium examines the science education research enterprise from multiple theoretical perspectives. The first paper, "Contextual Constructivism; The Impact of Culture on the Learning and Teaching of Science (William Cobern), focuses on broad issues of culture and how constructivism is affected by the context of culture. Culturally based…

Some studies of young children's understanding of false belief have generated controversy, even to the extent that others' failure to replicate these studies was viewed as problematic. A Vygotskian perspective on internalization enables researchers to reverse the classic developmental competence-performance distinction, and to argue that the…

Two studies examined preschoolers' understanding of germs as causes of illness. Previous research suggests that preschoolers know that certain behaviors lead to illness without understanding why or how. In the first study, 22 children between 4 and 5 years old were presented with 12 brief stories describing characters engaged in either dangerous…

This paper briefly explores the related enterprises that assisted Virginia Woolf in her effort to re-form the English novel to include, not only the deeds, but the thoughts of her characters. Among these enterprises were Woolf's diaries, which she utilized to practice writing, work out her writing philosophy, and collect observations which would…