Montessori's writing, and particularly her underlying principles, requires study and discussion. It is hard work to understand the depth of carefully sequenced lessons and experiences that she designed to create a genuine experience for the child. This work avoids simple answers. It evades black-and-white opinions. It frowns on bullet points.…

How learning relates to development in children of school age is the most central and fundamental question. Without an answer to this, problems of pedagogical psychology and analysis of the pedagogical process can neither be properly resolved nor even stated. Nevertheless, this question remains the most obscure and unexplained of all the basic…

This paper discusses links among the process of creativity, symbolization, and learning. The importance of symbolization in thinking, in school learning, in child development, and in the behavior of creative learners is stressed. (DB)

Traces the relationship between human development and education through various philosophies. Explores differences in early forms of understanding, the goals of education, and the kinds of knowledge that specific fields require. Encourages a form of apprenticeship to provide students with a model for bridging the gap between scholastic and…

Developing curriculum from a constructivist perspective helps students at all grade levels learn more effectively. The developmental abilities of children are stressed, and students are taught new information by connecting it with concepts they already know. The thoughtful mediation of the teacher is a critical component of constructivism. (MD)

This first part of a two-part paper discusses how the conception of giftedness has been changing, the influences of home and school, characteristics of very able learners, and the understanding and support needed from parents and teachers. (DB)

This program deals with the child-school "fit" as seen in the context of child development, childhood stress, and children's emotional well-being. It reviews psychological principles and shows their implications for how schools might be optimally structured and managed to help all children cope more effectively. The text begins with the importance…

Reflects on areas influencing child formation most: home-based activities, school, and the children's social world and their interaction within the community. Explains how parents can establish and teach the primary values that coincide with each of these areas of child development. (VWC)

The author notes that teachers who continually require students to sit still and stop talking apparently prefer to teach a grove of trees rather than a classroom full of students. School environments should be designed to enhance the development of student brains -- and student brains are about movement, not motionless stagnation. 21st century…

The total development of the child can be enhanced and enriched through various activities in physical education, youth sport, and leisure pursuits. Children between the ages of 5 and 12 are eager, enthusiastic, highly motivated, and interested in physical activity, and they comprise the population served by the school physical education program…

This paper discusses how today's children must be prepared to meet the challenge of the information age, stressing the importance of cultivating the whole child and noting the teacher's role in this endeavor. The first section describes basic education in China, focusing on required schooling, the curriculum, textbooks, examinations, and moral…

Comparison of the fields of gifted education and middle school education indicates some major differences in such areas as organizing for instruction, how students learn, mainstreaming, delivery of instruction, affective needs, and the concept of giftedness. (Author/DB)

This review of research on motivation and self-perception in gifted students looks at the interaction of motivation with self-perception; effective practices in classrooms and homes for developing children's potential, motivation, and self-esteem; and implications for teachers and parents of gifted and talented children. (DB)

Four predictive models offering an ecocultural perspective on the educational and personal-social development of children at risk for learning disabilities and other learning problems are proposed: main effect, additive, multiplicative, and compensatory. Preliminary results favor the compensatory and additive models. Both risk and protective…

The extent to which the middle school becomes a true educational alternative is directly related to the ability of middle school educators and researchers to identify and investigate the developmental needs and learning capacities of students. Three important developmental characteristics of early adolescents are a high need for peer friendships,…