The aim of this study was to document the development of illness and health causality concepts in young hospitalized children (ages 4-10 years) whose stage of cognitive development may limit understanding of illness and treatment. It was hypothesized that distinct qualitative levels would characterize children's conceptions of illness and that…

This article (1) discusses the progression of children's thought from realism to objectivity, to reciprocity, and to realitivity; and (2) describes seventeen types of explanations children give to explain the causality of physical occurrences in the world. (SB)

The study compared the understanding of one-to-one, stable order, and cardinal principles of 15 children with Down syndrome and 15 preschoolers with similar language skills. No significant differences were found suggesting that developmental level rather than syndrome is associated with counting behavior. (Author/DB)

This article reports on a pilot study on the development of historical understanding of elementary school children. Historical fiction was shared with second, fourth, and sixth grade children who retold the story and answered questions. Results are evaluated and suggestions for history instruction at the elementary level are discussed. (Author/MT)

This review presents the educational implications of recent research and related theory indicating that morality and convention are understood within distinct conceptual systems with independent courses of development. People differentiate between moral actions affecting the rights or well-being of others and social conventional actions whose…

Discusses a longitudinal study of children's evolving concept of "word." Concludes that tacit awareness of word in spoken and written language precedes explicit awareness. Finds that children in different developmental stages perform differently on reading tasks. Suggests that development of the concept of word relates to experience with writing…

A cognitive training strategy was employed to investigate the nature of development in children's concepts of death. Subjects ranging in age from 3 to 11 years and attending Jewish-affiliated preschools participated in the study. Measures of verbal concept formation, abstract reasoning, general intelligence, and ability to conserve were…

The responses of 108 children, aged five through nine, to the question, "What is reading?" were analyzed to determine whether there were age-related trends toward more mature and structurally more complex definitions of reading and whether a relationship existed between reading skill and the ability to formulate a definition of reading. The…

This paper integrates a recent conceptual shift in middle childhood language acquisition research--the study of metalinguistic development--with a Piagetian perspective on cognitive development to propose a theoretical framework from which to consider language development during this period. The paper first defines metalinguistics and then uses a…

The study examined the rate and order of conservation in 24 deaf children, ages 8.2 to 12.9 years using standard Piagetian instructions and procedures in sign language. Even the older children failed to demonstrate control over the conservation concept suggesting the presence of a cognitive difference in deaf children. (DB)

Provides clarification of the Piagetian theory of the development of conservation and reviews the state of knowledge regarding the theory. It is concluded that reasonable evidence exists suggesting that conservation by identity precedes and induces the emergence of conservation by inversion and compensation. (Author/DB)

A data analysis procedure for testing the hypothesis that one task is a developmental prerequisite for another task is illustrated. The procedure was applied to new data on the acquisition of conservation concepts to test the hypothesis that synthesis, visual-scanning skills, and memory capacity are prerequisites of conservation mastery. (JMB)

A study examined children's conceptions about nutrients and the dimensions underlying their classifications of foods into groups. Children (5 to 11 years old) classified 71 foods into groups by whatever criteria they wished. These classifications were recorded, as were the children's answers to questions about nutrients and their responses in…

Explores cognitive shifts related to political thinking occurring during the period of concrete operational thought among 67 third, fourth, and fifth graders. Findings suggest that, while cognitive change related to political thinking characterizes the period between the grades, it does not always progress steadily. (RH)

Reviews the formation of space, time, and measurement concepts in children with respect to Piagetian developmental levels and presents some teaching methods to help promote these concepts. (SK)