Through an examination of story content, determines whether the conceptions of peer and parent-child relations of black children from lower income families are altered by the experience of parental maltreatment. (HOD)

Comparison of production and comprehension methods in teaching six 3-year-old language disordered children the relationship between semantic role and word order indicated the production method (the children produced sentences contrasting word order and meaning) was more effective than the comprehension method (the children responded to contrasting…

Examines the mental development scores for two groups of at-risk infants throughout their childhood--those classified as small for gestational age (SGA) and those twins falling below 1,750g birth weight--and determines that SGA twins showed only a modest deficit in IQ scores as compared to the full twin samples. (HOD)

Since early research had shown that a total score on 27 Piagetian tasks was very highly correlated with a Wechsler and achievement composite, a study investigated the possibility of shortening the Piagetian test by means of classical analysis methodology. (HOD)

Compared 12 right-handed adolescent females with a history of idiopathic precocious puberty to 12 closely pair-matched normal controls of similar maturational status to test the association of physical maturation with cognitive abilities and the mediation of this association by hemispheric specialization. (HOD)

Presents a developmental taxonomy which promotes sequencing activities to enhance the potential of matching these activities with learner needs and readiness, suggesting that the order commonly found in the classroom needs to be inverted. The proposed taxonomy (story, skill, and algorithm) involves problem-solving emphasis in the classroom. (JN)

Using a microcomputer "dart" game, this study of 61 primary school students investigated how children of different ages used counting to make numerical estimates. Results showed developmental differences in accuracy of estimation, fluency in counting and sophistication of self-reported strategy use. (BS)

The relationship between understanding of friendship and asociality was examined in 91 girls and 104 boys, ages 9 to 17 years. Understanding friendship was significantly related to age and sex. Difficulty in understanding components of friendship appears to be one correlate of boys' delinquent tendencies. (Author/BS)

Reports three experiments which examined preschool, first-grade, and third-grade children's understanding of metaphorical language. Subjects acted out short stories which ended in metaphorical sentences by using toys. Predictability of the story endings and the complexity of the metaphorical sentences are found to affect metaphor comprehension.…

Reports an 18-month longitudinal study of sign language acquisition in very young children of deaf parents. Results indicate that some revision of views on cognitive prerequisites for language is necessary. Implications for nonspeaking populations and for developmental theory are discussed. Reviews briefly sign language training programs for…

Describes television production techniques used to convey nonverbal messages to viewers (laugh tracks, flashbacks, zooms to close-ups, voice-overs, time continuity) and presents selections from interviews with five- to nine-year-old children to demonstrate that the understanding of these telegenic nonverbals is a learned phenomenon. Implications…

Introduces special series of articles on females and computers. Discusses women's involvement in early computer history and possible reasons for and consequences of sex differences in computer applications including the computer as object of study, recreational device, or general purpose tool. (SA)

The authors suggest a broad range of writing activities for students in subject area classes, which will foster content learning as well as writing proficiency; a network of teachers skilled in developing curriculum materials based on writing; and expectations for writing in content area classes, such as mathematics, science, and social studies.…

Specific modes of formal reasoning and measurements of principled moral reasoning ability were obtained from 99 10th-grade students. Hierarchical relationships were found amoung variables with combinatorial and correlational reasoning accounting for 22 percent of the variance in principled moral reasoning. Theoretical and educational implications…

Examined effects of presentation of a peer-in-need stimulus to preschool children in real versus hypothetical contexts, with results indicating a significantly higher incidence of helping behavior in real situations. Nature of helping response as a preoperational reaction to concrete contextual cues is verified. (Author/DST)