Discusses similarities between Montessori method and optimal experience theory. Considers three conceptual similarities between these educational theories: the child as focal point of human society; the role of deep concentration in learning and the evolution of human nature; and the understanding that social contexts can be designed to promote…

Discusses the effects of violence on today's children and adolescents, focusing on: risk factors for violence (age, gender, and personal characteristics); family violence; violence beyond the family (in the media, in the community, and among peers); effects of exposure to violence related to school functioning, emotional stability, and orientation…

Study examined the cross-racial comparability of maternal quality of assistance and supportive presence coded from a video protocol using data from the Infant Health and Development Program for low birth weight, premature 30-month-olds and their mothers. Comparisons across groups indicated similar variances and correlation between child and…

When and in what ways do infants recognize humans as intentional actors? An important aspect of this larger question concerns when infants recognize specific human actions (e.g. a reach) as object-directed (i.e. as acting toward goal-objects). In two studies using a visual habituation technique, 12-month-old infants were tested to assess their…

In Dutch, vowel duration spelling is phonologically consistent but morphologically inconsistent (e.g., "paar--paren"). In German, it is phonologically inconsistent but morphologically consistent (e.g., "Paar--Paare"). Contrasting the two orthographies allowed us to examine the role of phonological and morphological consistency…

This article provides a summary of research in 4 areas that have direct and important implications for evidence-based assessment of children and adolescents with conduct problems (CP): (a) the heterogeneity in types and severity of CP, (b) common comorbid conditions, (c) multiple risk factors associated with CP, and (d) multiple developmental…

The purpose of this study is to increase the knowledge and understanding of play and its significance, to illuminate play and its significance to the individual and the social interplay, and also to compare the environment around play today with adult memories of environments in childhood. The purpose of the study is also that the result and the…

Delaying school entry for a year is most often viewed as an opportunity for children to mature and develop critical academic, social and emotional skills prior to entering kindergarten. Many teachers view delayed school entry as a kindness to younger, less mature students who need more preparation for the rigors of formal academics in 1st grade.…

The purpose of this study was to examine the implications of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) for the kindergarten general music classroom. Ethnographic procedures (classroom observations, interviews, and artifact collection) were used to collect data in three kindergarten music classrooms throughout an academic year. Data were coded…

During the last several years, researchers have been garnering evidence concerning the benefits of service-learning, and urging its inclusion in the curricular mainstream. This study presents evidence that college students manifest long-lasting, if modest, academic benefits from participating in service-learning. The academic records of 477…

When a program is approved for state/federal subsidy in the field of career and technical education, there is always a record on file with information about the program in the state education department. These records are for program approval, funding, status reports, or final reports. In the big picture of programs in the field of education,…

This study examined the extent to which continuities and discontinuities in cognitive performance between ages 5 and 10 predicted adult income, educational success, household worklessness, criminality, teen parenthood, smoking, and depression. Assessed were the degree of this change during middle childhood, the influence of socioeconomic status…

Young children often have a preference for auditory input, with auditory input often overshadowing visual input. The current research investigated the developmental trajectory and factors underlying these effects with 137 infants, 132 four-year-olds, and 89 adults. Auditory preference reverses with age: Infants demonstrated an auditory preference,…

This study examined the impact of differential-maternal parenting behavior, evaluated as a family-level experience, on children's emotional-behavioral problems. Data come from 3 child development studies: 2,128 four- to sixteen-year-olds (Ontario Child Health Study), 7,392 four- to eleven-year-olds (National Longitudinal Study of Children and…

This study relates parenting of 3-month-old children to children's self-recognition and self-regulation at 18 to 20 months. As hypothesized, observational data revealed differences in the sociocultural orientations of the 3 cultural samples' parenting styles and in toddlers' development of self-recognition and self-regulation. Children of…