In typical development, gestures precede and predict language development. This study examines the developmental sequence of expressive communication and relations between specific gestural and language milestones in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who demonstrate marked difficulty with gesture production and language. Communication…

The purpose of this study was to design and validate a complex gait test (CGT) in preschool children and to examine the relationship between CGT performance and age, sex, and cognitive functioning. A total of 1,040 preschool children, aged 3 to 6 years, participated in this study. In all children, standardized dynamic balance test, and several…

This study analyzes the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test-Learning Potential (WCST-LP) in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) versus children with typical development (TD). Its main aim was to assess: the test's construct validity; the effect of IQ on its pretest and LP scores; and whether the WCST-LP held any relationship to cognitive/EF and…

The production of a well-constructed narrative is the culmination of several years of language acquisition and is an important milestone in children's development. There is no current description of narrative development for Catalan speaking children. This study collected elicited narratives in Catalan from 118 children aged 4;0-10;11. Narratives…

Institutions make new forms of acting possible: Signing executive orders, scoring goals, and officiating weddings are only possible because of the U.S. government, the rules of soccer, and the institution of marriage. Thus, when an individual occupies a particular social role (president, soccer player, and officiator), they acquire new ways of…

Standards and competencies are critical structural supports for any professional workforce, including early childhood professionals. Workforce capacity building, career progression, and career longevity can be supported by the foundation of consistent competency expectations. Defining and embedding consistent, evidence-based competencies is a…

Mental health researchers emphasize the importance of practitioner understanding of biology-environment interplay. Accordingly, our goal of the study described in this article was to understand students' preconceptions and misconceptions about biological and environmental influences on development through investigating their conceptions of…

This study was conducted in a survey model in order to compare the drawing development of gifted and children of normal development in the Scheme Period (7-9 years). A simple random sampling method has been included in the study of 122 gifted children with 135 children of normal development. In the study, the data were collected via the drawings…

Minor neurological dysfunction (MND) has been associated with learning, cognitive, and motor problems in preterm children. This study aims to study the prevalence of MND in preterm children without cerebral palsy in the preschool period and to investigate its association with school readiness. Forty-four children born at less than 37 weeks of…

When first studying children's artistic development, many preservice teachers feel amazed as they learn students' artistic capabilities and see how students can thrive under the guidance of effective art educators. Teaching a standards-based art curriculum skillfully and with care requires art educators to be familiar with developmentally…

We develop a unified empirical framework for child development which nests the key features of two previously parallel research programs, the Child Development literature and the Education Production Function literature. Our framework allows for mis-measured cognitive and non-cognitive skills, classroom effects, parental influences, and…

Observed genetic associations with educational attainment may be due to direct or indirect genetic influences. Recent work highlights "genetic nurture," the potential effect of parents' genetics on their child's educational outcomes via rearing environments. To date, few mediating childhood environments have been tested. We used a large…

In an article adapted from his latest work, "Play: A Basic Pathway to the Self,"published by The Strong in 2020, the author offers a wide-ranging review of play studies--and the thinkers, philosophers, and scholars who led to the creation of the discipline. He also reviews and seeks to explain for both specialists and more general…

Research of the opportunity and achievement gap shows: "College completion rates vary, with Black and Hispanic students earning credentials at a lower rate than white and Asian students" (Tate, 2017, pg.1). The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between grade-point average (GPA) (indicator of academic…

Although more is known about how general parenting practices predict social-emotional strengths in children, less research has looked at parent involvement in education and children's social-emotional strengths. This study examined the extent to which parent involvement, specifically home-based involvement, parent-teacher trust, and home-school…