Describes a method of modifying a spelling curriculum to meet the academic needs of gifted learners. Word Class combines a self-selected approach to spelling instruction with thinking skills and enables gifted learners to make choices about their learning as they engage in creative, high-level thinking. (Author/CR)

Discusses the connection between creativity in the arts and competitions, and shares a sampling of competitions that might entice secondary students to maximize their creative abilities. The benefits of competitions are described; they include the opportunity for students to enhance self-directed learning skills and their sense of autonomy. (CR)

A study evaluated an off-site/on-site program for reducing job coach assistance provided for three adults with severe multiple disabilities in a part-time community job. On-the-job assistance was reduced, while the individuals received more traditional day services when not at work. No adverse effects on productivity were observed. (Contains…

In this study, a prototype web browser, called Web Trek, that utilizes multimedia to provide access for individuals with cognitive disabilities was developed and pilot-tested with 12 adults with mental retardation. The Web Trek browser provided greater independence in accessing the Internet compared to Internet Explorer. (Contains references.)…

In the last decade, consensus around equality and efficiency in New Zealand adult education shifted to a focus on autonomy and accountability, economic rationalism, and vocational skills. Adult educators seeking change should emphasize participative democracy, connectedness, and valuing and advancing groups with diverse identities and interests.…

A sequence of choice levels was implemented using constant time delay to teach choice making to five children with severe intellectual disabilities. Evaluation indicated that both the specific sequence of choice levels and constant time delay were effective in teaching these students to make choices. It also found that individual preferences…

Provides an overview of the life of Mary Wright Plummer, a leader in American librarianship, and her effort to construct a personal identity as an independent woman. Highlights include her Quaker childhood; European travels; self-actualization and career strategies; and blending public and private spheres. (Contains 101 references.) (LRW)

Explains why early interactions are so vital in teaching young children about themselves, their world, and success. Explores the function of internal and external motivation to development, and the importance of positive feedback to development of children's trust and self-confidence. (HTH)

Examines specific and narrow nature of selfhood. Debates social consequences of two central notions of the constructed self-authenticity and autonomy. Suggests that propagation of these notions within selfhood may have some derogative consequences to social relations. Suggests that counselors need to develop much more awareness of the sociological…

This article offers a way to salvage the ideal of the autonomous person from the predicament besetting it and to reclaim it as a worthy and respectable ideal. Carefully maneuvering around this ideal, jettisoning its obsolete qualities while reaffirming its sound ones, the authors offer outlines for a conception of personal autonomy suitable for…

Reports of prejudice and discrimination against Arab Americans have increased since the events of September 11, 2001 (I. Ibish, 2003). Perceived prejudice events are recognized as stressors that are linked to lowered mental health for those who experience such events (e.g., R. Clark, N. B. Anderson, V. R. Clark, & D. R. Williams, 1999; E. A.…

The complexities of autonomy and connectedness in the self-conceptions of late adolescent European Americans provide empirical support for the theoretical position that autonomy and connectedness are multifaceted and interrelated self-characteristics that reflect cultural values about individuals in relation to others.

In proposing connections among the paradigms represented by domain theory, parental control theory, and Baumrind's configural approach to parental authority, the worldview of each paradigm must be respected and ambiguities in core concepts must be resolved.

This paper considers how parents are affected by and play a role in the lives of their young adult children. The years during which young people make the transition to adulthood has changed significantly in recent years--this transition now takes place over a longer period of time. We describe how young people experience these years; how they…

The authors explore the Foucauldian concept of self-surveillance in the context of the use of Individual Action Planning (IAP) as a central process of a 1-year teacher training course. Drawing on work that examined whether IAP was experienced by student-teachers as empowerment or control, the article postulates that Action Planning can be seen as…