Research by Nathan Fox and other scientists shows how changes in environmental conditions can help temper the negative effects of a child's predisposition toward fearfulness and anxiety. If certain negative triggers are eliminated or modified, a child's genetic tendency toward inappropriate fearfulness and anxiety may be overcome--or not expressed…

By bringing together neurologists, developmental psychologists, pediatricians, and economists, the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child offers a unique knowledge base from which early childhood policy and practice can be informed. By communicating how and why early experiences have a lasting impact on brain architecture--and what…

This booklet provides information about the values and skills that make up character and good citizenship and what parents can do to help their children develop strong character. It suggests activities that parents and school-aged children can do to put those values to work in their daily lives and tips for working with teachers and schools to…

What is needed to strengthen youth policy in the states? In this Research and Policy Report, co-authored by the Forum for Youth Investment and the National Conference of State Legislatures, learn concrete ways that states are addressing key challenges to creating better aligned and more effective youth policy. (Contains 26 notes and 2 figures.)

To a greater extent than any other species, human beings create the environments that, in turn, shape their own development. This book endeavors to demonstrate that human beings can also develop those environments to optimize their most constructive genetic potentials. What makes human beings human, therefore, is both the potential to shape their…

The paper is focused on recent researches in neuroscience and developmental psychology regarding mathematical abilities of infants. A model that tries to explain these findings is developed. The model underlies the mental operations that could be systematically trained to generate efficient school learning. The model is built from a cognitive…

Twenty-four Piagetian-based written items representing different forms (stages) of thought and different logical operations were solved by 553 participants from required introductory logic classes in a state university in a medium-sized midwestern city and from a suburban school district of that city. Responses to each item were scored by quality…

This paper argues that an individualist view of teaching and learning, based on a Cartesian world-view leads to the abdication of responsibility as educators of the emotions. A sociogenic perspective is proposed that urges that schools teach learners how to feel as well as how to learn. The classroom is a setting rich in opportunities for…

This document consists of the two issues of this newsletter published during 1994. Issues contain articles and employment notices of interest to Montessori teachers and school administrators. Feature articles include: (1) "Meaningful In-Service Comes from Within Our Own School" (Anne Blickenstaff and Nancy Hildick), which discusses one…

Developmental assessment is the process of monitoring a student's progress through an area of learning so that decisions can be made about the best way to facilitate further learning. The unique feature of developmental assessment is its use of a progress map. The progress map, or continuum, describes the development in an area of learning and so…

Previous research on childhood temperament has produced complex and largely unexplored heuristic models with which to understand the etiology of childhood psychopathology. Such research may help in the diagnosis of regulatory disorders in infancy and childhood, which is the focus of this paper. The recent formulation of regulatory disorders by the…

This paper describes a classroom exercise for college human development or developmental psychology classes that allows students to observe developmental differences in several children simultaneously and to teach others about the application of developmental concepts. In the exercises, the class is divided into subgroups, representing different…

Interviews with professionals, a literature search, and a parent survey indicated that parents of toddlers had a need for knowledge about child development. This lack of knowledge was believed to be one factor in the reported use of non-effective discipline techniques, with the linking factor identified as unrealistic expectations. For this…

A study examined features of camps and camp staff that might affect the personal and social benefits of organized camping for children. Questionnaires were completed by 29 camp directors and 270 campers aged 8-14 from 33 residential camps across the United States. Results indicate that higher personal and social outcomes were associated with…

This monograph reports on a national mail survey to validate a set of general growth outcomes for children, including those with disabilities, between birth and age 8. The survey was part of a 5-year project to create a comprehensive measurement system to track the developmental progress of individual children with disabilities in this age range…