Examines the relationship between mothers' and adolescents' (N=42) perceptions of one another's behavior and their actual communication behavior during a problem-solving task. Results indicate that adolescents' negative beliefs about their mothers predicted adolescents' negative communication. Suggests that treatment of parent-adolescent conflict…

Provides content and process information for helping fourth- and fifth-grade students cope with stressors: content includes a survey of stressors and coping behaviors, and process includes ways to gather such information. Suggests that when teaching coping strategies, to remember that many students have developed their own coping mechanisms. (RJM)

Presents three studies that demonstrate the efficiency of the kinesthetic conflict in promoting the understanding of three scientific concepts among children aged 5-12. Results support Piaget's theory which determines the origins of scientific thinking. Contains 26 references. (DDR)

Presents the basics of intellectual development that are needed to comprehend college students' ethical development. Discusses character development, tolerance for diversity, and intellectual development. Profiles a model of morality. Explores interpretative systems for determining the moral ideal, and provides case studies that illustrate the…

Evaluation of Israeli students, 392 in grades 7-9 and 381 in grades 10-12, in the domain of literature supported the construct validity of the 4 X 4 Structure of Giftedness Model, in which giftedness is conceptualized in 4 categories of general and specific intellectual ability and original thinking and 4 ordered ability levels embedded in a…

Reports the results of a non-randomized study of 45 history Ph.D. students in England and discusses the results in terms of the theory of knowledge structure and the modification of knowledge structure due to information. Topics include information as process; a model of stages of the information process; and grounded theory. (Author/LRW)

This longitudinal study investigated the relation between mothers' descriptions of mental states portrayed in pictures and 2- to 4-year-old children's theory of mind. Mothers described pictures to children at 3 different times during the year. Findings indicated that mothers' use of mental state utterances at early time points correlated with…

Two experiments investigated kindergarten through fourth-graders' and adults' ability to evaluate the certainty of deductive inferences, inductive inferences, and guesses, and explain the origins of inferential knowledge. Findings indicated that children rated their own deductions as more certain than guesses, but when judging another person's…

Tested path models of academic interest and performance that were derived from social-cognitive theory. Results supported a model in which ability helps determine self-efficacy. Findings suggest that social-cognitive theory helps explain the academic behavior of high school students that can be key to their later career options. (RJM)

The second of two linked articles develops two more mapping typologies: first, an approach to the what, why, and how of leaders, leading, and leadership; and second, the presentation of possible positions that knowledge workers can take when they use and produce knowledge about leadership practice. (Contains 10 notes and 73 references.) (MLF)

Informs teachers about using concept maps as a learning tool and alternative assessment tools in education. Presents research results of how students might use concept maps to communicate their cognitive structure. (Author/KHR)

This study examined the classroom knowledge of experienced teachers and ways in which this knowledge was articulated to preservice teachers. Results indicate that differences in knowledge structures and reflective capabilities of cooperating teachers have potentially powerful consequences for the quality of student teachers' experiences. (SM)

Described is the relative complexity of commonly used diagrams in science instruction. Student interpretations of diagrams, implications for science instruction and the prevention of science misconceptions is discussed. (CW)

Presents a descriptive study of the influence of the learner's cultural schemata on instruction. Finds that students interpret new information in the light of cultural knowledge already possessed. Implications are that instructional designs that ignore the influence of background knowledge take a naive approach to the development of a…

Investigated are the alternative conceptions of the concept "animal" held by African youngsters. Three forms of thinking among the pupils are identified. An attempt is made to explain the possible origin of anthropocentric thinking among pupils. Urban and rural groups are compared. (CW)