Well-informed teachers of young children recognize the importance of children's social development. The development of social skills lays a critical foundation for later academic achievement as well as work-related skills. Social development is such a key issue with young children that a number of methods to address social skills have been…

This monograph presents extensive abstracts of 49 papers on developmental approaches to identifying exceptional ability. Sample topics include: the gifted population in prison; identification of gifted rural children; use of the Stanford-Binet for identification; student characteristics and placement into special programs for the highly gifted;…

This document presents "I'm Positive: Growing Up With Self-Esteem," an informal, personal study course designed to strengthen the reader's ability to nurture self-esteem in children from birth through adolescence. Special emphasis is given to four parenting skills: acceptance, encouragement, empowerment, and love. Weekly activities are provided…

Piaget's theory of the cognitive development of the child is related to the recently developed non-linear "chaos" model. The term "chaos" refers to the tendency of dynamical, non-linear systems toward irregular, sometimes unpredictable, deterministic behavior. Piaget identified this same pattern in his model of cognitive…

This document contains a collection of instructional strategies to help elementary school children: (1) develop an accurate concept of who they are; (2) practice skills for interacting with others; and (3) experience a sense of personal agency in formulating goals, making decisions, and shaping the course of their lives. The goal of the activities…

This book examines the history and purpose of outdoor play areas. Chapter 1 of the book discusses the importance of play in children's lives and the role of playgrounds in the play process. The historical development and evolution of playgrounds is recounted in chapter 2, while chapter 3 reviews research on playgrounds, including research…

This study examines the earliest jokes produced by three children and investigates how these jokes contribute to a model of humor development. Subjects were three male infants, and data was collected through a diary record procedure kept by the children's parents. Data was collected on one child at age 13 months; data collection for the other two…

Jean Piaget is credited with such topics as the synthesis of philosophy and the life sciences through a description of progressive stage by stage development, and a genetic epistemology founded on the principle of knowledge through processes of cognitive assimilation and accommodation. In actuality, these themes were originally postulated by James…

Need exists in the area of child psychology for improved understanding of the world of children. While the developmental theories of Jean Piaget and Margaret Mahler contain truth, they should not yet be taken as explanatory. Explanatory theory should be based on the rigorous and naturalistic exploration of lived experiences as well as on tests of…

At Edmonds Community College (Washington), the Campus Parent Child Care Center, which provides parent education and day care for children from 2-1/2 to 5 years of age, has extended the children's curriculum to include computer science instruction. First, the children are introduced to basic computer terminology, such as "keyboard,""monitor" and…

Examines five basic questions: How is obedience behavior learned? What are the differences between rational and irrational obedience? What has research taught about the dynamics of obedience behavior? How can rational obedience be encouraged? What are the implications for teachers and parents? (Author/IRT)

This article describes tests which examined at what ages children could correctly identify right and left sides of pictures of themselves, another person, or an object. (CD)

This article presents an argument, based on psychological research and inferences about human evolution, for the plausibility of an intrinsic altruistic motive. A theoretical model for the development of such a motive is outlined. (JMB)

A lot of learning that takes place outside the classroom occurs in the games children play. Author shows how one primary school made use of this traditional folk art. (Editor/RK)

Article outlined the contribution of the Parent Teacher Association toward creating closer harmony between schools and communities as well as helping to develop their children as good students. (RK)