Relationships between old and young have been problematic throughout much of the history of Western civilization. Although intergenerational conflict has accelerated in the twentieth century, pre-industrial and industrial periods in Western societies saw numerous family, economic, and property tensions between generations. Contemporary conditions…

Using age norms in the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability-Revised assessments of reading ability can distort the diagnosis of reading difficulty, as evidenced in the assessment practices of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education. Grade-normative data (year-level norms) and abandoning the reporting of precise reading scores are…

S. Matthey shows that errors may be inherent in the misuse of age-normative data in assessing reading ability. However, Matthey ignores the policies and procedures of the New South Wales (Australia) Department of Education to guard against such misuse. (SLD)

Uses a hierarchical linear model to test the effect of birthdate on science ability in British schoolchildren, ages 11, 13, and 15. Reports that summer-born children scored lower than autumn-born children on science survey tests. Urges teachers to consider these artificial performance differences when grouping pupils according to ability for…

Studies second, fifth, eighth grade, and college undergraduate students' changes in the ability to draw inferences. Examines the generation process of the inferences. Finds that the ability to draw inferences increases with age; backward inferences are most likely to be drawn when the text is encoded; whereas forward inferences are most likely to…

Reviews the correlates of parents' child care arrangements. Considers parents' values and child-rearing beliefs, knowledge of child care quality, and satisfaction with child care choice, as well as family factors. Offers recommendations for honoring parents' child care ideas through better child care quality information and higher professional…

Areas of the West with natural amenities enjoyed growing populations and income levels in the 1990s, mostly from inmigration of people with self-employment or investment income. These were usually young, well-educated professionals in service industries. Rural communities with policies that enhance quality of life (better schools, environmental…

Notes the increasingly popular pedagogy of service learning. Describes an intergenerational service learning project that brought together preschoolers, elderly, and at-risk elementary school students, included both direct service and indirect service, and made valuable contributions to young children's developing literacy, social-emotional,…

Positive psychology has recently developed a classification of human strengths (Peterson & Seligman, in press). We aimed to evaluate these strengths by investigating the strengths and life satisfaction in three adult samples recruited from the community (young adult, middle-aged, and older adult), as well as in the surviving men of the Grant study…

The social changes that have taken place in the past fifteen years have had a powerful effect on the life trajectories and social expectations of people in different age groups in Russia. For the most part there are two terms that are used to identify these groups: age cohort (or age group) and generation. But the use of these terms in…

This study is an investigation into Chinese EFL teachers' knowledge and understanding of teaching English as a foreign language within the context of a time of tremendous social change in China. In a medium-sized city, biographical narrative interviews and observation were used to three Chinese secondary EFL teachers, of three successive…

In recognition of the close relationship between motor skill and cognitive development in the first 2 years of life, this guide presents 78 developmentally appropriate activities that parents and teachers can use to enhance infant and toddler motor development. Activities are categorized by age group as follows: (1) 16 activities for newborn to…

This report was based on information from New York State's Basic Educational Data System (BEDS) and teacher certification files. Data are based on information submitted by all public elementary and secondary schools in the state (excluding New York City and Buffalo). The report is comprised of a series of tables. Tables 1-6 deal with positions of…

A study was conducted to test the hypothesis that metaphorical thought develops according to the principles governing other categorizing processes. Of particular interest were the questions of whether preschool children possess the categorical flexibility to comprehend metaphorical statements and, if they do, whether this flexibility manifests…

Impacts of the "Baby Boom" generation, the 75 million persons born between 1947 and 1962 in the United States, are analyzed. Factors influencing this unprecedented increase in birth rates included "catching up" by men who had been at war, a higher proportion of women in childbearing years, a decrease in the average marriage…