Sports-related tool use abilities in children were investigated within a neo-Piagetian framework of development. The object was to establish whether development in the motor domain proceeds in a "stage-like" fashion. A model was developed which suggested how general and precise structural changes might manifest themselves in the sub-domain of tool…

This study investigated changes in organization and crystallization of self-concept that may occur during early school years. Three models from self-concept literature that address early childhood development of self-concept are briefly described. Hypotheses are predicted on the assumptions that: (1) changes should manifest themselves between…

One of the situations in which the child spends much time is informal, outdoor play settings. Much of this time is spent in spontaneous play in neighborhoods, around the dwelling unit, and on designated playgrounds. Unstructured and spontaneous play is an important part of a child's development. It is through unstructured, child-initiated play…

The manual is intended to help parents and professionals understand the motor development of Down's syndrome infants and young children. Following an overview of motor development, gross and fine motor landmarks are presented along with exercises and activities to promote their development in infancy, toddlerhood, and childhood. Each landmark is…

This study examined the relation of two aspects of parental efficacy (locus of control and interpersonal support) to the social competence of 62 children aged 2 to 5 years in a preschool setting. The following assessment instruments were used: Schaefer's (1979) Locus of Control Inventory to measure parental locus of control; Paul's Home Support…

Information is provided for parents of handicapped children, aged 0-2 years, on the uniqueness of each infant's learning processes and the valuable role that parents and others can play in helping their infants with special needs to make the most of their abilities. The digest examines parents' concerns during the infant's hospital stay and early…

The recent increase in emphasis on the impact of early childhood experience on subsequent human development constitutes a change in the conceptual framework of the study of early childhood development. Anyone who is interested in prevention and intervention needs to be aware of the particulars of the debate on the strengths and weaknesses of the…

Research showing psychodynamic child therapy to be less effective than other forms of child treatment have used outcome measures focusing on symptomatic and behavioral change rather than on psychodynamic processes. A child therapy assessment procedure than measures the psychological functioning of the child in a psychodynamically meaningful way is…

This presentation: (1) outlines three educational approaches to moral development; (2) explains Piaget's stages of moral judgment; (3) reviews Piaget's ideas about the development of children's concepts of justice; and (4) discusses comments by contemporary educators concerning moral education and its implications. Outlined in Part I are character…

The concern of this book is to examine written language and its relation to what is ordinarily understood by the term oral language, the process of its acquisition, and the place of written language in the process of mental development. The eight chapters (1) examine the relation of written language to oral language and trace the phonocentric…

GRADS (Graduation, Reality, and Dual Role Skills) is a vocational home economics in-school, secondary program for pregnant students and/or young parents. Curriculum for the program, designed to keep students in school until graduation, includes positive prenatal and postnatal care; child development and parenting education; and goal setting toward…

The basic character of literacy is the creation of objects to regulate interactions with the physical and social worlds. "Remediation" means a shift in the way that mediating devices regulate coordination with the environment. If research on reading is to make a difference, it will have to start with an understanding of how contemporary…

The effectiveness of the use of self-reported imagery strategies on children's subsequent memory performance was studied, and the coding redundancy hypothesis that memory is facilitated by using an encoding procedure in both words and images was tested. The two levels of reported memory strategy (imagize, verbalize) were crossed with "think…

This document presents an overview and progress report on the Family Research Project, started in 1974 to (1) study the relationship between family process and individual development of family members, especially children, (2) conceptualize and measure system level variables describing family structure and process, (3) develop microanalytic…

A study was conducted to identify characteristics of young children's written compositions that might be used to indicate growth patterns. Written compositions of 482 children of all ability levels, grades 1-3, were examined by two teams of teacher-researchers and placed on a continuum of sophistication. Four growth strands were identified: (1)…