This paper analyzes the determinants of literacy and earnings in Ghana. Introductory sections discuss developments in literacy in the United States and Great Britain, literacy rates in developing countries, worldwide increases in literacy, literature on the determinants of literacy, aspects of the Ghanaian economy and educational spending, and the…

Noting that gender may be an important issue when studying relations between attachment and social functioning, four studies explored whether the relationship between children's internal working models of attachment and their general functioning was gender specific. A total of 246 children, ages 5 to 10 years, were given the Separation Anxiety…

While research on prosocial behavior has dramatically increased during the last 20 years, there are few studies examining the role of self-evaluative emotions such as pride and guilt as consequences of and motivations for helping others. This study examined how children attribute pride and guilt for actions germane to the moral or competence…

This book considers the question of whether, or to what extent, a critical period limits the acquisition of a first language as well as a second language acquired postpubertally. The diversity of opinion on this question is represented in this volume. It is a question that has been approached by researchers working in linguistic theory, evolution…

This study examined variables related to problem-solving approaches of young children, using the theoretical framework provided by Zigler and collaborators in their work on outerdirectedness. Four aspects of outerdirectedness were examined: developmental trends, different types of reinforcement, task difficulty, and pride in accomplishment. (ST)

Results support the inference that symbolic mediation is a measurably time-consuming process and that temporal factors are involved in the ontogenetic transition from single-link to symbolically mediated behavior. (Author/CB)

Results indicated that children's comprehension of stories and commands tended to vary significantly as a function of age. (Editor)

Presents an Ohio experiment in which 30 kindergartners and 76 first graders, all English speakers, attempt to learn to produce three non-English phones. Bibliography. (MB)

A survey of the responses of 3,309 Louisiana students was used to determine students' meal and snacking habits at the elementary, junior high, and high school levels. Student responses concerned: (1) where and why food was consumed; (2) vitamin supplements; (3) reasons meals were omitted; and (4) reaction to school lunches. (PP)

Preservice teachers, asked to evaluate components of a social studies methods course, rated theory as the least important element, behind methods, field experience, and content. Younger, less experienced preservice teachers considered theory more valuable than others did. (PP)

In a research study, fourth-grade, fifth-grade, and college females performed the Bachman Free-Standing Ladder-Balance task after watching four, eight, and twelve, or no videotaped demonstrations of the task. The videotape modeling seemed to affect form (or strategy) of their performances more than their final scores. (PP)

A total of 20 children under 14 years of age who were admitted to a hospital following suicide attempts were compared with 50 psychiatrically ill, nonsuicidal inpatients of similar age. Suicidal behavior was associated with the male sex, personal experiences of significant loss, academic underachievement, marital disintegration among parents, and…