Children in kindergarten grade were studied comparing pupils who had previously attended preschool with those who had not. Reading (or reading readiness) and mathematics achievement, academic potential, social and emotional maturity, conformity to successful pupil behaviors, and adjustment to academic and social setting in the classroom were…

Argues that to truly educate the whole child, teachers must address the needs of the mind and spirit in terms of the social/emotional, creative, and cognitive domains and the many ways in which movement promotes development in these areas. Provides sample activities and sources for information to that end. (Author/SD)

Describes a classroom-based research project that studied the development of social skills of eight heterogeneously grouped deaf students, ages 8 and 9. Activities that fostered empathy development are described, as well as ways students learned and applied an understanding of perspectives in communication exchanges, literacy development, and…

Examined longitudinal relations of observed parental warmth and positive expressivity and children's effortful control and ego control with children's high versus low emotional expressivity. Found that moderate child expressivity related to high effortful control. Children's ego overcontrol mediated relations between parental warmth/positive…

Describes a program developed to help parents become effective playmates. Suggests that interactive play between infants and adults has numerous benefits, although these benefits will not occur automatically; they require parents to develop the appropriate skills. Proposes methods to facilitate play and make an important contribution to the…

Discusses effects of violence on children, focusing on steps that educators and child development professionals can take to mitigate the effects of violence on the development of at-risk children. Suggests that educators and professionals need to foster a caring educational environment, promote self-discipline, provide children with outlets for…

Presents a model--consistent with formulations in developmental psychology and psychopathology--that extends attachment theory to late adolescence. Discusses attachment in the context of life-span development, stress, coping, and adjustment. Favors addressing methodological challenges in order to validate attachment-based developmental and…

Ten first grade teachers completed rating scales for 39 at-risk students. Analysis suggested that teacher recommendations for special needs placement were strongly related to student academic functioning, modestly related to student emotional development, and not significantly related to student social and behavioral competence. (Author/JDD)

These comments on EC 604 103, concerning child temperament effects on the special education process and outcomes, focus on how the author became interested in the topic, reasons for the paucity of research in this area, the relationship between child temperament and parental temperament, and ways in which teachers can apply the research. (JDD)

Advocates the implementation of the same developmentally appropriate principles and practices that govern good preschool programs in elementary school programs as well. These practices involve understanding children and their levels of development, working with the whole child, fostering integrated learning, and encouraging parent participation.…

Evaluation of 26 children (ages 24-55 months) with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) while interacting with either the mother, a familiar female teacher, and an unfamiliar male doctor. PDD subjects were most severely impaired during the mother episode. During the teacher episode, PDD subjects were twice as variable in interpersonal response…

In Hatfield, Massachusetts, long-unquestioned social contract (guaranteed tax support for children's free public education) is up for grabs. A battle over condoms underlies more serious generational differences over "frills" (mainstreaming, peer mediation, and affective education) and who should pay. Parents may have to contribute to…

A study found that students having problems in a graduate social-work program are more likely to be older, be male, have lower undergraduate grades, have more experience in social service-related work, and be rated lower in emotional maturity based on personal statements. Implications for provision of support for such students are discussed.…

Details cultural changes in 20th-century Scandinavia. Considers arguments related to beliefs about children's lives; stereotypes of children as fragile were used to attack the modern family; day care as threatening healthy child development; and the conception of the malfunctioning child in adversarial parent-child relationships. Concludes that…

A year-long qualitative study of 10 families of gifted children (grades 5 to 8) found 4 levels of parental reasoning concerning their child's social and emotional development: (1) no framework; (2) an intellectual framework only; (3) a full intellectual and partial social-emotional framework; and (4) a comprehensive framework recognizing both…