Examines the role of children's play as part of developmentally appropriate practices for young children. Suggests that schoolchildren's play is creative, and more complex than that of younger children. As work and play intertwine throughout the layers of the classroom, the combination helps them learn to manage time responsibly. (AA)

Examined the relationship between infants' early verbal imitation, when the ability to copy behaviors first emerges, and their lexical development during the second year of life. Twenty infants were examined longitudinally at ages 10, 13, 17, and 21 months. Suggests that infants' early imitation of words not in their repertoires predicts and may…

Using qualitative methods of participant observation and in-depth interviewing, this research explored kindergarten, first-, and second-grade children's perceptions of classroom activities. Young children perceived classroom activities in terms of what they considered to be work and what they considered to be play. A work-play continuum is…

Presents results of a study which interviewed sixth graders from three North Carolina schools to determine what they think of their school librarians. Results indicated that children's perceptions are affected by personalities and behavior of individual librarians. Sidebars focus on how the study was conducted and what students noticed most about…

Defines what a concept is, evaluates the educational quality of concept books, suggests books suitable for young children, and discusses how concept books are tools for supplementing and reinforcing direct hands-on learning experiences. Concept books on color, shapes, numbers, counting, texture, movement, sound, and the alphabet are evaluated.(JMV)

Reviews the research on cocaine use and its effect on newborns; examines the popular misconceptions, including the background of children who are exposed; and discusses interventions. The author concludes with a discussion about looking beyond prenatal drug exposure and focusing on the child. Studies looking at these children longitudinally are…

Investigated the manner in which the temporal order and variability of events influence three and seven year olds' event representation. Children participated in three events: a logical-invariant, a logical-variable, and an arbitrary-invariant event. Both the structure of the event and children's representational capabilities influenced children's…

This study, involving 67 children (ages 2 to 60 months) with motor delays, found that the Battelle Developmental Inventory (BDI) possessed moderate to high levels of concurrent validity with appropriate subtests from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. (Author/JDD)

This commentary on the study reported in this monograph focuses on three topics raised by the study: (1) social systems, or individuals in the context of institutions; (2) the study of development through the use of disabled populations as experiments in human growth; and (3) the ability of intervention programs to manipulate development. (BC)

Graded school concept, born of administrative practicality and puritanical traditions, has promulgated its lockstep curriculum, its simplistic child development assumptions, and its sexist, isolationist teaching methods since the mid-1800s. Most natural learning environment calls for heterogeneous multiage groupings, within which other groupings…

This study compared perceptions of parents of 19 children with Down's syndrome (DS) who had undergone plastic facial surgery with perceptions of parents of DS children who had not received surgery. The comparison found little evidence of positive impact of the surgery on parents' perceptions of their children's physical, personal, and social…

A study of the everyday pretending of children in nine middle-class families addressed fundamental issues about the social nature of early pretend play. Children were followed from 12 to 48 months of age. Children's pretending occurred predominantly in interaction with others. (GLR)

Study of the visual development of 38 infants, children, and youths who were neurologically impaired following perinatal hypoxia found that all children showed impairments of 1 or more visual functions, though visual development continued and visual improvements were demonstrated up to age 16. (Author/JDD)

Introduces the theme of this issue, which expands comparative education topics inward, toward the developmental perspective of the child, and outward, toward culture, historically situated. Discusses findings from the International Assessment of Educational Progress in terms of cultural differences in children's attitudes toward learning. (KS)

Investigated developmental change in symbolic representational ability by examining infants' imitation of vocalizations, words, visible motor actions, and nonvisible motor behaviors at ages 10, 13, 17, and 21 months. Results revealed a pattern of increasing imitation, supporting the view that a domain-independent representational capacity develops…