Extrapolating from current developmental theory and using practice-to-theory/theory-to-practice methods, the authors propose a framework for individual diversity development among faculty, staff, and students. The model offers individuals in-depth cognitive, affective and behavioral frameworks of development toward consciously valuing complex and…

In this article, the author gives a general introduction of a few ideas on cognitive development in children. In the first part, he deals with the topic of development, a process which concerns the totality of the structures of knowledge. He reviews the stages of development of operational structures, distinguishes four main stages of development,…

The current paper reviews four research perspectives that have been used to investigate the development of risk-taking. Cognitive developmental research has investigated the development of decision-making capacities that potentially underlie risk-taking development, including sensitivity to risk, probability estimation, and perceptions of…

In this article, the author emphasizes that the fundamental goal of environmental education in middle school is to establish the correct environmental awareness by teaching students that is vital to our survival to love nature and to take care of the environment. In other words, one should help students establish the correct outlook on nature,…

Over the past five years, creativity has become a focus of attention for policy-makers in education. However, the increased interest in creativity has occurred as if without reference to any value framework. This article suggests that in fact an invisible underpinning value framework has been provided by western individualism, in turn both…

Historically, cognitive-developmental and behavior-analytic approaches to the study of human behavior change and development have been presented as incompatible alternative theoretical and methodological perspectives. This presumed incompatibility has been understood as arising from divergent sets of metatheoretical assumptions that take the form…

The focus of this literature search is whether, and if so to what extent, arts participation can be shown to advance cognitive and personal/social outcomes for school pupils who participate, and the possible subsequent positive effects on the more academic aspects of school life such as achievement and attainment. The generally held belief that…

Searching for an adequate method to investigate human development (especially the development of theoretical thinking) Vygotsky and his collaborators developed the causal genetic method. The basic idea of this method consists in the investigation of psychic functions and structures by their formation under controlled conditions (for instance via a…

This paper presents a strategy for measuring cognitive gains in reading during the early school years. It is argued that accurate estimates of gain scores and their appropriate interpretation requires the use of adaptive tests with multiple criterion referenced points that mark learning milestones. It is further argued that two different measures…

In 1996, Paul Deering, now a National Middle School Association West Region Trustee and University of Hawaii professor, established the Masters Degree in Education with a Middle Level Emphasis Program (MLMED) at the University of Hawaii. The MLMED is a two-year program that focuses on five standards that encompass the research-based middle level…

Social competency deficits are a core feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). During the past several decades, a number of social skill interventions for students with ASD have emerged. However, over the past five years, three converging issues have brought increased attention to the need for social competence programming: (1) increased ASD…

This article identifies three uses of educational technology and evaluates their potential to change curricula and pedagogic strategies. The article is in four parts, with the first outlining a temporal model of change and discussing educators' expectations of continuities and discontinuities in practice. In order to distinguish minor…

Background: Recent research in the USA and UK indicates that person-centred planning (PCP) can lead to improvements in lifestyle-related outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). It is clear, however, that the introduction of PCP does not have an equal impact for all participants. The aim of the present paper was to identify factors…

The Child Development & Behavior (CDB) Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks to improve the health and well-being of individuals from infancy through early adulthood by supporting research into healthy growth and development, including all aspects of child development. The study of typical child…

The current study examines the social and behavioral development of school-age children with different histories of overweight onset. Eight thousand children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K) participated. Three groups of children were identified for analysis: (1) those who were persistently overweight from…