This study examined correlations between temperament and demanding behavior in toddlers. Subjects were eight mothers and their children from 18 to 27 months of age. Mothers were interviewed in their homes and completed the Toddler Temperament Scale and the Parenting Stress Index. Mother-child interactions were videotaped for the duration of the…

This working paper examines the meaning of leadership within the context of early childhood education, including the nuances of meaning clinging to the concept from other contexts. The paper begins with a discussion of the denotation of leadership as indicated in the "American Heritage Dictionary": (1) the position or office of a leader; (2)…

This fact sheet on autism is offered in both English and Spanish, and is the same in both languages although numbered differently. It provides a definition, information on incidence, typical characteristics, and educational implications. It notes that autism is listed as a separate category under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.…

In Senate Joint Resolution No. 117, Virginia's General Assembly endorsed the process for restructuring education in the middle school grades and requested that the Board of Education determine the appropriateness of designating the middle school as a separate level in the educational structure. The study summarized in this report first considered…

This fact sheet providing general information about learning disabilities is presented in both English and Spanish versions. It begins with the federal definition of learning disabilities and a discussion of its implications followed by estimates of incidence. Typical characteristics of students with learning disabilities are then summarized as…

This paper describes the organization and characteristics of Tache Papahagi's "Dictionarul dialectului aroman, general si etimologic" (DAA), a bilingual Aromanian (Vlach)-Romanian dictionary published in 1974. It also describes an ongoing project to produce an English-Aromanian dictionary based on the DAA, which should serve as a…

This digest reports on findings from recent literacy surveys and interprets these findings in light of theoretical and definitional issues involved in estimating literacy; examines approaches commonly use to measure literacy and enumerates concerns about the limitations of these approaches in linguistically diverse contexts; and concludes with a…

This hermeneutic, or interpretive, inquiry questions the historical cultural roots of the assumption that giftedness is defined in terms of essential properties that identify a select few children. It proposes, instead, a gifted way of life that is constituted by possibilities and is open to all persons. The hermeneutic paradigm of textual…

Arguments are presented for conceptualizing validity within a postmodern approach. Validity, reliability, and generalizability have been a holy trinity of social science research, and standard definitions of validity have been taken from criteria developed for psychometric tests. From a postmodern point of view, validity is sometimes discarded as…

Metacognition has received recent attention by researchers and teachers alike because of the possibilities for successful instruction and intervention for readers at all levels. This paper explores the area of metacognition as it relates specifically to reading comprehension. The paper addresses six areas: (1) the definitions of metacognition,…

Noting that electronic technology is becoming more advanced and more available, this paper argues that current conceptions of literacy as the ability to read and write should be expanded to include electronic reading and writing. The paper discusses: (1) four ways in which electronic texts are different from printed texts; (2) how students can be…

This fact sheet offers definitions of the three types of spina bifida, outlines their incidence, describes characteristics of individuals with spina bifida, and reviews educational implications. The fact sheet emphasizes that school programs should be flexible to accommodate these students' special needs and frequent absences, that children with…

This policy paper defines apprenticeship in terms of eight essential components, explains what apprenticeship is not, and recommends how the term should be used. As defined by the eight components, apprenticeship is: (1) a training strategy that combines supervised, structured, on-the-job training with related instruction and that is sponsored by…

In addition to a literature review emphasizing definitions, statistics, and legislation concerning learning disabilities, this paper presents the results of a 1987 survey of academic libraries regarding their services for postsecondary learning disabled students. Responses (n=525) to the questionnaire indicated that, as a group, academic…

The paper traces the origins of the definitions of autism, notes controversies over its etiology, and discusses the wide variety of intervention approaches used. Psychoeducational approaches, such as play therapy and B. Bettelheim's psychoanalytic approach, are described and criticized in terms of premises and the anecdotal nature of evaluation…