This overview of Soviet developmental psychology and its influence on special education focuses on dialectical materialistic interpretations of behavior, socio-historical determinism, zones of proximal development, realization and enhancement of children's cognitive potential, influence of Jean Piaget's work, linking of mental retardation with…

Reaction to job loss can be considered as analogous to reaction to the death of a loved one. The stages that an individual needs to work through will be similar. Both cognitive and existential aspects of job loss are examined together with some thoughts on helping clients cope. (Author)

A study of 83 gay and bisexual male youths (17-23 years old) found that pubertal maturation was associated with self-reported age of first orgasm and homosexual activity and frequency of orgasms during junior high school. It concluded that gay and bisexual male youths share with heterosexual male youths a similar developmental trajectory in regard…

Reviews the evolution of research over the past 25 years on sexual orientation and its effects on human development, concluding that gay and lesbian interests and behavior appear to result from a complex interplay of genetic, prenatal, and environmental influences. Notes that gender identity develops early, especially for males, and is difficult…

Types of assessment for young children with special needs can include the following approaches: norm referenced, criterion referenced or curriculum based, adaptive to handicap, process oriented, and ecologically based evaluation. An explanation of each approach is given with a description of possible advantages and disadvantages of each in the…

Discusses the components of outdoor education and its potential as an ideal context in which experiential learning can take place. Touches heavily on spirituality, which is seen to be fundamentally concerned with relationships between ourselves and others, the earth, and God. Promotes outdoor education as a vehicle for discovering what life has to…

For men and women to be genuinely effective leaders, they need to challenge themselves to grow beyond the limiting boundaries set by gender role definitions. When leaders are aware that the integrated human being is the result of a balanced complement between feminine and masculine personality traits, they enable others to actualize the same…

Interpretive techniques for encouraging participants to experience a deeper level of environmental growth during outdoor activities include group discussions, creative writing, artistic expression, visualization, sensitization, group activities introducing participants to various aspects of the environment, reflective thinking, the use of…

A study of 479 doctoral students at an urban university examined the relationships between 4 educational strategies (divergent, assimilative, convergent, accommodative) of doctoral programs and subjects' perceptions of their gains in 4 domains of professional competence (thinking, decision making, valuing, and acting). Additional variables…

Three experiments found that after enacting everyday actions using toys or toy substitutes (a block or stick), preschoolers were more likely than kindergartners or second graders to claim they had played with a toy when a substitute had been used. However, preschoolers rarely claimed they had played with a substitute when a real toy was involved.…

Reviews theories of leadership development relevant to the design of outdoor adventure programs for corporate executives and managers. Summarizes likely objectives and methods of outdoor development programs and their theoretical basis. Presents a framework for program comparison that correlates leadership outcomes with learning methods at…

Outdoor education programs help students realize their "wild" nature by linking them concretely with their surroundings, providing stories that explain the natural world, encouraging feelings of wonder, and expanding identification with nature as parts of the world, previously perceived as "outside," become part of the self.…

Reliability and construct validity of observer ratings on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) were evaluated in a sample of 101 college students and the observations of 2 people who knew each student. Results document the strong internal consistency of each scale and a factor structure replicating previous findings. (SLD)

Paper argues that one of the most significant and best documented moments in John Dewey's private life, his love affair with Aniza Yezierska, sheds considerable light not only on his character but also on the strengths and weaknesses of his philosophical conception of the moral life. (Author/SM)

Interviews with six women from working class backgrounds, who had succeeded in higher education, identified common issues in growing up gifted and talented in the working class, the dearth of role models and mentors, the loss of connection with family and friends, and a sense of impostership. (DB)