This paper sets out to examine educational policy and practice in Scotland, showing how the "comprehensive and coherent programme to promote social inclusion"--inculcating "readiness to learn", ensuring that education equips the young for adult life, creating a demand for lifelong learning, above all through the presumption of…

While many contemporary developmental theorists have avoided taking a stand on the controversial relationship between learning and development, this paper is based on the belief that the notion of "bandwidth of competence," or L. S. Vygotsky's "zone of proximal development," provides a useful framework for considering this…

The problem of how to provide at least one year of preschool education for all Slovene children led to the development of the Slovene "Little School." Positive results, using a School Beginners Test with 118 "Little School" children proved that even short preschool programs were beneficial. (JH)

This study of a middle-class housing estate in Great Britain shows how the women of the community foster a collective culture conducive to the academic success of the children. This reinforcement of social stratification inhibits working-class advancement and calls into question the efficacy of school reform in achieving equity. (SK)

It is widely accepted that within certain biological limits, a child's development emerges out of a continuous and increasingly complex interaction with significant people in his or her environment. Mothers and other significant adults, as experienced members of the culture, may be viewed as mediators and tutors who transmit cultural knowledge and…

Directed at the inquiring practitioner, this paper defines the Outward Bound (OB) process; presents a summarial schema of that process; and provides examples of process application. The OB process definition encompasses the following: the learner must demonstrate motivational readiness (appropriate manifestations of willingness and ability to…