IT IS PROPOSED THAT MENTAL RETARDATION IS NOT NECESSARILY CAUSED BY A GENETIC FACTOR OR BY BRAIN INJURY, BUT MAY BE CAUSED BY THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT IN WHICH CHILDREN ARE RAISED. WHEN CHILDREN ARE LEFT IN PSYCHOSOCIALLY DEPRIVED HOMES, THEIR RATE OF DEVELOPMENT WILL TEND TO DECLINE. IF, AT AN EARLY AGE, THEY ARE PLACED IN A SCHOOL FOR A FEW…

CHILD DEVELOPMENT TOPICS RELATING TO PRESERVICE AND INSERVICE TEACHER EDUCATION WERE DISCUSSED BY 38 COLLEGE TEACHER PARTICIPANTS AND CONSULTANTS DURING A SEMINAR HELD IN LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY, AUGUST 16-28, 1964. THE FOLLOWING PAPERS WERE PUBLISHED--(1) THE BACKGROUND OF PHYSICAL GROWTH--PRINCIPLES AND CONCEPTS, (2) THE CONTROVERSIAL ASPECTS OF…

This study examined the relationship between moral reasoning and altruistic behavior in 120 boys, 4- to 11-years old. Subjects were administered Damon's Positive- Justice Interview, and were presented helping and sharing tasks under five behavioral conditions corresponding to Damon's justice levels. Findings supported cognitive- developmental…

MANY STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THE PRESENCE OF A SLUMP OR INVERSION IN THE PROBLEM-SOLVING EFFICIENCY OF CHILDREN AT THE FOURTH GRADE LEVEL. IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT THIS MAY BE DUE TO THE INTERFERING EFFECT OF THE FORMATION OF COMPLEX HYPOTHESES BY THE CHILDREN. SINCE A TENDENCY TO RESPOND RAPIDLY WOULD PRESUMABLY INHIBIT THE FORMATION OF COMPLEX…

THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE INFLUENCE UPON A CHILD'S COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FATHER'S PRESENCE IN (FP) OR ABSENCE FROM (FA) THE FAMILY IN A ONE-, TWO-, OR THREE-CHILD FAMILY. THE EFFECT OF THE SEX AND ORDINAL POSITION OF A SIBLING UPON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT WAS ALSO CONSIDERED. DATA FOR THIS ANALYSIS WERE OBTAINED FROM…

Pioneering research has shown that infants are capable of perceptual discrimination and has provided some indication of the nature of the discrimination; that is, what stimuli are differentiable. Studies have demonstrated that significant effects exist, in stimulus-pair comparisons, for age of infant, speed of movement of stimulus during…

The concepts of front, back, and side may be easily understood in relation to an intrinsically fronted item, but with a nonfronted object they depend on situational or psychological cues. A study investigated a child's awareness of the front, back, and side of his own body and of fronted and nonfronted objects. Researchers hypothesized that a…

The role of the family in the education of a young child, particularly during the first three years of life, is the subject of this symposium address. Four topic areas are identified as the foundation of educational capacity: language development, curiosity, social development, and cognitive intelligence. Professional educators, working directly…

One of a series of books written by physicians for their patients, this publication discusses the parents' role in helping the young child learn before formal education begins. Detailed discussions center on such subjects as teaching a child when he's ready to learn; helping a child's curiosity grow; choosing toys which encourage exploration;…

The social-class, ethnic, and racial differences in performance on tests of intelligence and scholastic achievement are discussed. Significant deficiencies exist in the means of lower-class and certain racial groups for many measures of ability, motivation, and performance. Composite attempts to estimate the proportion of phenotypic variance in IQ…

Nine conference papers focus on the following topics related to the deaf-blind and their education: pitfalls in the coordination of assessment and treatment of handicapped children, promotion of adaptive patterns in the handicapped child, use of hearing in deaf-blind children, etiology of hearing loss, and the educator's assessment of visual…

The longitudinal study assessed the psychological and educational sequelae of premature birth through the early elementary school years, to determine whether children born prematurely constitute a high risk population in terms of regular school progress. Subjects included 78 children with birth weights of 2500 grams or less, 78 children of normal…

The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine whether there is a developmental sequence in the child's acquisition of certain metalinguistic abilities; and (2) to determine whether the child's acquisition of these metalinguistic abilities is related to Piagetian operations. The measure of metalinguistic ability on which this study focused was…

This article states that children in the first grade have usually not developed the thought processes which would enable them to understand the typical first-grade math curriculum. (CD)

In describing the basic philosophies of open education, this article discusses the close relationship between cognition and emotion in learning, the teacher's role in helping a child's thinking powers develop, and the role that environment plays in a child's emotional and intellectual development. (EB)