Before 1970, no mixed-age groups existed in Swedish nursery schools. By 1991, 43 percent of children enrolled in nursery school were in mixed-age groups of ages 1 to 6 years, and 37 percent were in groups of children ages 3 to 6 years. Mixed-age groups are assumed to have advantages, including positive influences on learning and social…

The paper presents key features of Jean Piaget's theory of moral development, compares Piaget's theory with Lawrence Kohlberg's theory of moral development and Sidney Simon's theory of values clarification, and evaluates the values clarification movement in light of Piaget's theoretical and practical conclusions. The focus is twofold: first, on…

Many theorists have proposed formulations to explain the development of concepts in children. One of the most seminal theories for explaining concept development as it pertains to school achievement has come from the work of Piaget. Piaget posits three stages of development. The sensorimotor stage exists from birth to about two years. In this…

In response to requests for information on a city day-care program, a demonstration project for infants and toddlers, the Demonstration Nursery Center at the University of North Carolina, is reported. Physical makeup of the facilities is described, along with daily procedures and staff activities. To study the effects of day care on babies, a…

Summarizes the NAEYC position statement on developmentally appropriate practice in the primary grades serving students aged 5 through 8 years. Uses a comparative format of appropriate and inappropriate practice related to curriculum goals, teaching strategies, integrated curriculum, guidance of social and emotional development, motivation, and…

This study examined children's perceptions of child-rearing norms and values of the culture where the child is raised and provides a cross-cultural comparison of child development in India, Kenya, and Sweden. Children ages 8 through 13 in Kenya were asked questions regarding good and bad behavior and parents' sanctions, the results of which were…

This annual report presents several articles related to the work of the Clinical Center for Child Development at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan. The articles are: (1) "Intrinsic Musicality: Rhythm and Prosody in Infant-Directed Voices" (Niki Powers); (2) "Movable Cognitive Studies with a Portable, Telemetric Near-Infrared…

Field observation studies involving 121 American and 200 Chinese third- through fifth-grade students, aged 8 to 11 years, examined developmental and cultural patterns in academic risk-taking. Variables assessed included developmental stage, situational factors, curricular emphasis, optimum risk level, cultural background, gender, and industrial…

This research examined 2 strategies for encouraging children's narratives. Twenty-five European American and 31 African American children from low-income backgrounds (M age = 4.76) participated. Children were assigned randomly to either high or low elaborative narrative style conditions and to either a draw-and-tell or tell-only reporting…

It has long been recognized that from the first months of life auditory perception plays a crucial role in speech and language development. Only in recent years, however, is the precise mechanism of auditory development and its interaction with the acquisition of speech and language beginning to be systematically revealed. This paper presents the…

The article presents the results of a data analysis intended to examine the relationship between children's personality, maternal beliefs and childrearing behaviour and various disabilities on the one hand (mildly, moderate or severe mental handicap, sensorial handicap, developmental disabilities) and mothers' educational level on the other. Data…

The Preprimary Project is a comprehensive comparative study of early childhood services in nations on four continents. This report describes the project, the instrument devised to measure the project's effectiveness, and some preliminary findings. The project is sponsored by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational…

A study was conducted involving 213 children who were either in junior kindergarten in 1978 and first grade in 1980 (69 children) or in senior kindergarten in 1978 and second grade in 1980 (144 children). Of these, 76 children had been identified by their kindergarten teachers as "thriving," 80 as "making average progress," and…

This study, part of a naturalistic longitudinal study of infants being reared in a variety of family life styles, attempted to establish the extent to which differing parenting patterns affected early developmental outcomes. Subjects were 200 infants: 50 of single mothers who headed their family units, 50 of mothers in communal living groups, and…

This paper reviews major research dealing with the effects of infant/toddler day care on the behavior and development of infants, with special emphasis on useful research implications for those concerned with providing high quality group care for infants outside the home. A brief examination of major analytic issues dealing with the problem of…