Two studies examined individual differences in 7- to 10-year-olds' contextual facilitation. Findings indicated that poor readers showed more contextual facilitation than good readers but the relative context benefit was greater for good readers. Comprehension was a better predictor of contextual facilitation that decoding. Dyslexics showed greater…

Examines verbal and physical intimidation and physical violence in high school athletics by program and sport. Antecedents were identified via principal component analysis, including contextual setting, attitude, pressure, and coaching. Coaching was the only significant overall predictor and only significant predictor of verbal intimidation in…

This study of 51 Australian elementary school students found that information seeking, driven by a contextual and practical need, resulted in greater retention. Research in the use of electronic information sources has shown that while students can retrieve information, they often fail to retain the information. Attributes the gain to an increased…

Analysis of matched samples of Swiss (n=443) and U.S. (n=740) women found important differences. Labor force participation of the Swiss was more strongly influenced by family configuration. Associations between educational credentials and occupational sex typing was more persistent in Switzerland. Results show how cultural, institutional, and…

Focuses on factors affecting timing in conventional communicative second-language classrooms, summarizes research evidence on the significance of timing, and identifies contexts where timing should be a consideration. The article argues for more use of time lapses, particularly deliberated silences, within the framework of classroom dynamics. (26…

Maintains that context effects and genetic effects are among the confounding factors that make it impossible to reject the null hypothesis of zero long-term parenting effects on child outcomes. Asserts that group socialization theory attributes outside-the-home socialization to identification with a peer group and assimilation of group norms, but…

Discusses ways in which researchers have examined the role of social and emotional factors in cognitive functioning and development to uncover additional sources of variation to explain interindividual and intraindividual differences in cognitive development from within a Piagetian framework. Considers the implications of recent Francophone…

Highlights the strengths of the Halberstadt et al. contribution to the literature on social-emotional development. Discusses three issues relating to their model: (1) the inseparability of cognitive representation in both emotional and social functioning; (2) the role played by context; and (3) the significance of goals in any construct involving…

Examines the traditional place of play in contemporary early childhood programs in light of new directions in theory and curriculum, the push for educational outcomes, and perceived pressures of the global market economy. Maintains that a new focus on teaching through play may provide a way to reconcile demand for outcomes with a concern for…

Analyzes a small group of 12th-grade students who interpreted the character of Gertrude in "Hamlet" through a "body biography," a life-sized human outline filled with student-generated words and images. Concludes with a reconsideration of the notion of engagement that includes attention to both the immediate social relations…

Article introduces this journal's themes that are used to discuss issues surrounding analysis of multilevel data. It cites Butler's work on whether the effect of welfare benefits on premarital childbearing varies by context, Hoffman's work on the effect of context on adolescent drug use, and Simons' research on how the relationship between…

Analyzes foreign language anxiety in the French as a second language and English as a third language speech production of 100 Flemish students. Findings suggest that foreign language anxiety is not a stable personality trait among experienced language learners. Societal as well as the individual contexts were found to determine levels of…

Argues that the operating characteristics of perceiving and remembering provide a foundation for progress on detailing the processes through which knowledge is realized in real-time tasks and in detailing the processes of developmental change. Includes three examples to illustrate how forming developmental hypotheses in terms of perceiving and…

Used contextual and transactional approach to examine age and gender differences in experience and consequences of life stress in clinic-referred 8- to 18-year olds. Found that adolescent girls experienced highest interpersonal stress, self-generated within parent-child and peer relationships. Preadolescent girls experienced highest independent…

Developed Urban Adolescent Life Experiences Scale to measure life events among urban adolescents based on data from focus-group interviews and examined impact of neighborhood on adolescents' perceptions of life stress. Found that life stress in the peer domain varied by adolescent's neighborhood of residence. Family/community stress was linearly…