The importance of quality care for infants, toddlers, and young children continues to be emphasized. The Frank Porter Graham Child Development Center provided data that support the importance of quality childcare. Their longitudinal study showed that infants who received quality care were more likely to score higher on IQ, reading, and math tests,…

This study focused on the effects of elementary students' participation in a mentored peer mediation program during a school year as it related to three variables, academic achievement, developmental disposition, and conflict orientation. "Phase I", academic achievement, focused on the relationship between participation in this…

In an effort to standardize training delivery and to individualize staff development based on observation and reflective practice, the Air Force implemented the Developmental Training Model (DTM) in its Child Development Programs. The goal of the Developmental Training Model is to enhance high quality programs through improvements in the training…

Children in the researcher's rural school district have limited opportunities for a high quality preschool programming that prepares them for school readiness. Quality preschool programming is defined as teachers with proper qualifications and training, small class size, stimulating curriculum, and parent involvement. The theoretical foundation…

A growing number of national and local governments view child development accounts (CDAs) as an innovative policy tool for social and economic development. This article reviews the global landscape of CDAs, presents three CDA policy cases from Asia, analyzes main themes and discusses potential implications for China. (Contains 1 table.)

The early childhood years (conception to age 8) are not only the most critical time for human growth but also for development and learning. Neurological and behavioral scientists document how inadequate stimulation and interactions can disrupt basic neural circuitry and cause long-term challenges for child's cognitive development. Yet, despite the…

The affluence in the United States in the recent past has made it tempting to indulge children in individual achievement within a culture of abundance. Parents and teachers worry over how to teach compassion in a culture of abundance and competition for personal success, where children's time is over-scheduled and they are geographically dispersed…

Research has shown that engaging families through youth development and after-school programs may benefit children. This paper extends knowledge in this arena, describing a set of strategies for implementing family-strengthening activities in youth development settings. The paper reports findings from a pilot evaluation of the Boys & Girls Clubs…

Early intervention has become a widely recognised practice because preschool years offer the best timing for preventing early onset conduct problems. Moreover, some factors have been consistently identified as putting children at risk for developing mental health problems, as well as school readiness problems. Such risk factors are poor…

Background: This study examines how and why children change in aggression and delinquency from age 6 to 15 years. Besides assessing the shape of the developmental trajectories of aggression and delinquency, we investigated whether child personality characteristics, parenting, and interactions between these two predict the development of…

The goal of this research is to seek information from the Cleveland (Ohio) and Buffalo (New York) area kindergarten teachers about their experience in development of caring dispositions in children. Two hundred questionnaires were sent, one hundred to each city. There was a low response rate of less than 10% from both cities. A qualitative method…

Johnson and Puplampu recently proposed the "ecological techno-subsystem", a refinement to Bronfenbrenner's theoretical organization of environmental influences on child development. The ecological techno-subsystem includes child interaction with both living (e.g., peers) and nonliving (e.g., hardware) elements of communication,…

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorders is believed to be higher than that of other conditions, such as Down syndrome or diabetes, yet few studies have explored the ideas lay people have about autism. Semi-structured interviews were used to explore how 10 lay people with no knowledge or experience of autism conceptualised autism.…

Aim: Very-low-birthweight (VLBW; birthweight less than 1500g and/or gestational age less than 32wks) children are at risk for speech problems. However, there are few studies on speech development in VLBW children at an early age. The aim of this study was to investigate phonological development in 2-year-old VLBW children. Method: Twenty VLBW…

As social creatures, humans relate to one another in environments that are created through interactions with one another. Because these environments are created through one's communication and interaction, they may be called verbal environments. With a renewed interest among educators in children's self-perceptions and the development of social…