Authoritarian teaching practices in ballet inhibit the use of private speech. This paper highlights the critical importance of private speech in the cognitive development of young ballet students, within what is largely a non-verbal art form. It draws upon research by Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky and contemporary socioculturalists, to…

After distinguishing between neocortical abilities for executive control and subcortical sensory motor skills for proprioceptive and vestibular integration, we compare a sample of 116 normal preschoolers with a sample of 31 preschoolers receiving occupational therapeutical treatment. This is done in an experimental design controlled for age (mean:…

The longitudinal impact of a family-based intervention on grandchildren of parents with HIV (PWH) is evaluated. Because PWH and their daughters demonstrated gains over 6 years when randomized to a coping skills intervention compared with a control condition, the adjustment of the PWH's grandchildren was also compared across conditions.…

Although the need for social connection is critical for early social development as well as for psychological well-being throughout the lifespan, relatively little is known about the neural processes involved in maintaining social connections. The following review summarizes what is known regarding the neural correlates underlying feeling of…

Metacognition is an important construct for the understanding of mental retardation and the design of educational treatment for this population. However, assessment procedures used for the testing of metacognition do not seem appropriate for these subjects. This article presents an interactive assessment procedure that uses a game-like task.…

Power Teaching weaves four factors into a seamless whole: standards, teaching thinking, research based strategies, and critical inquiry. As a prototype in its first year of development with an urban fifth grade class, the power teaching model connects selected district standards, thinking routines from Harvard University Project Zero Research…

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether college athletes perceived that their exposure to racial diversity from within intercollegiate athletics was an important part of their education. Two NCAA Division I and one NCAA Division II institution in Michigan were surveyed, with 188 athletes participating. Athletes were asked to respond…

A longitudinal study was conducted on 34 children with autism to evaluate the usefulness of the Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication Handicapped Children (TEACCH) program for Chinese pre-school children in Hong Kong. Eighteen children received full-time center-based TEACCH program training. The control group included 16…

Down syndrome is the most prevalent cause of intellectual impairment associated with a genetic anomaly, in this case, trisomy of chromosome 21. It affects both physical and cognitive development and produces a characteristic phenotype, although affected individuals vary considerably with respect to severity of specific impairments. Studies…

Growing international interest in the early childhood years has been accompanied by an expansion of public programs in Australia targeting young children and their families. This article explores some of the influences and rhetoric that frame these initiatives. It encourages critical examination of the discourses that shape the nature of early…

Constructivist physical education emphasizes cognitive engagement. This study examined the impact of a constructivist curriculum on in-class physical activity. Caloric expenditure in metabolic equivalents (MET) and vector magnitude count (VM) data from a random sample of 41 constructivist lessons were compared with those from a random sample of 35…

The Executive Committee at "ZERO TO THREE" created a Task Force on Culture and Development to deepen our understanding of the role of culture in child development and to guide the organization through a self-assessment process to better understand how staff and board members address the issue of culture in their work. The task force's literature…

The purpose of this study was to explore students' technology use and its relationship with their psychosocial development. Previous research explored students' computer use in conjunction with their cognitive development. This study examined the effects of computer use and other technologies, such as instant messaging, handheld gaming devices,…

"Childhood Programs and Practices in the First Decade of Life" presents research findings on the effects of early childhood programs and practices in the first decade of life and their implications for policy development and reform. Leading scholars in the multidisciplinary field of human development and in early childhood learning…

Access to education is recognized as a basic human right and yet projections based on current trends show that more than 50 countries will not achieve universal primary education by 2015. This briefing paper looks at the role of malnutrition and diseases in the failure of countries to meet EFA targets. It is based on the CREATE Pathways to Access…