Presents a Russian mother's thoughts on her child's entry into school. Argues that education must promote the development of a free person. Discusses the institutional barriers to freedom and individuality for student and teacher alike. Recommends a radical restructuring of adults' relations with children. Expresses the belief that perestroika…

A study in the United Kingdom assessed the lifestyles of 19 elderly people with developmental disabilities residing in two community-based homes after living for many years in large institutions. A questionnaire assessing daily life, community-based activities, domestic tasks, and areas of personal responsibility found a generally good quality of…

This paper offers a New Zealand perspective on disability and rehabilitation, as seen by an American resident. Three major themes are noted: the importance of the concept of accidents in New Zealand society, Maori ideas about interdependence, and the social systems and social change approach as compared with the clinical treatment approach to…

Sees risk/resilience research providing transition for professionals in field of emotional/behavioral problems, moving from management of existing problems to addressing risk factors before problems arise. Identifies recurring themes from studies of resilient children/adolescents, describes protective factors related to resilience, and offers…

This study found consistently reduced levels of problem behaviors with three students (ages 5-11) with severe autism and/or mental retardation when the students were given opportunities, during a session, to make choices among instructional tasks and reinforcers. Choice-making opportunities did not impact the rate of correct responding on…

Before working, adolescents who later worked more than 20 hours per week were less engaged in school and granted more autonomy by their parents than other adolescents. Working more than 20 hours per week further disengaged adolescents from school, increased delinquency and drug use, furthered autonomy, and diminished self-reliance. (BC)

Argues that the pedagogical is the personal, and considers the pedagogical ethics of the personal. Claims that, regardless of what the teacher's intentions are, a personal relationship between writer and teacher is inevitable, which makes teaching writing more difficult. (HB)

The cycle of social breakdown, self-perpetuating stages of negative adjustment among older persons, can be halted by empowering people through prevention and wellness and by changing attitudes of the culture, care providers, and decision makers toward aging. (SK)

Examined the validity of Helms's (1984) model of White racial identity development among 308 White college students testing the assumption that more advanced stages are associated with greater self-actualization. Results indicated that self-actualizing tendencies were negatively related to less developmentally advanced White racial identity…

Although academic seminars offered on homecoming weekend have always been popular at Colorado College, the centerpiece of the alumni continuing education program is a course on "Freedom and Authority." Registrants for the two-hour class receive reading materials through the mail, a faculty member leads small-group discussion of the…

The study investigated two levels of learning choice and control with 150 gifted South African students (grades 6-8) exposed to the Cognitive Research Trust (CORT) thinking skills program (prestructured) or the Integrated Education Model program (flexibly structured). Results suggested both programs affected locus of control and creativity but not…

Observes that the current discourse on the school-to-work transition pivots on career decision-making; two views of decision-making exist: one focusing on socially-structured pathways and one focusing on individual freedom to choose. Presents a new model that avoids the pitfalls of social determinism and views young people as completely free…

A study found a four-year-old boy with pervasive developmental disorder preferred a choice condition (in which he chose the reinforcement) over a no-choice condition, when these conditions produced equal rates of reinforcement, and even when lower rates of reinforcement were associated with the choice condition. (CR)

Discusses ways that educators can encourage the developing of decision-making skills in literacy learning by demonstrating how to select appropriate reading materials, providing time for reading immersion, reading aloud a wide variety of resources, and fostering the use of tape-recorded books. (Author/CR)

Describes the theoretical orientations that frame current understanding about the development of self and the social processes that may shape it. Components of the self are discussed, and current thinking about their development in infancy and toddlerhood is described. The role of temperament is also addressed. (Author/CR)