Reviews research on "critical periods" as an argument justifying initiatives to expand early childhood programs, and asserts that a critical periods argument is neither warranted nor necessary, since other justifiable arguments for early childhood initiatives exist. Points out the importance in a match between a child's experiences,…

Examined relations among phonological awareness, music perception skills, and early reading skills in 100 preschoolers. Found that music skills correlated significantly with both phonological awareness and reading development. Music perception skills contributed unique variance in predicting reading ability, even when variance due to phonological…

Sought responses of teachers of 4- and 5-year-olds to the Foundation Stage of the English national curriculum. Found that teachers welcomed the Curriculum Guidance because the document acknowledged the value of play for young children's educational needs and endorsed their return to what they believed were sound educational practices. Found that…

Developmental changes in the expression of superordinates in children's word definitions were studied with 96 elementary school students. Superordination increased significantly and changed qualitatively with age, although across grades children produced more superordinates for nouns than for adjectives or verbs. (SLD)

A study compared the sandplay behavior and pictures of 26 children (ages 10-11) who had experienced sexual, physical, and/or emotional abuse and 26 typical children. The children who had experienced abuse had difficulty staying within the boundary of the sandbox, displayed more regressed play, and presented more disorganized pictures. (Author/CR)

Gives an overview of embryology and prenatal brain, sensory, and motor development. Includes discussion of maternal nutrition, chemical exposure, prenatal drug and alcohol hazards, cigarette smoking, and some causes of neural tube defects and premature birth. (Author/KB)

Examines the history of registration and notification statutes for sex offenders and concerns and legal challenges they have faced, noting psychology's limited knowledge about normal versus abnormal sexual development and research suggesting that recidivism rates for sexual offenses may be lower for juveniles than adults who have received…

Intercultural marriages have emerged as a central theme in discussion, not only among helping professionals but also the general public. This article focuses on trends in intercultural marriages and how these relationships influence dynamics among families and the development of children and adolescents. Stages of acceptance toward intermarriages…

This review examines empirical and theoretical work in three eras--infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood--and for each era, describes the structure of dyadic synchrony in interactions involving children and their caregivers, primarily mothers, as well as offers speculation about its developmental function for the child. Issues for future…

Research has shown that preschool education is a sound investment--academically, socially, and economically. Offers some options for integrating the existing patchwork of U.S. public and private programs into a uniform system that provides a high-quality early education to all young children. (Contains 13 references.) (MLF)

Discusses High/Scope's preschool key experiences (a set of 58 statements that describe young children's social, cognitive, and physical development). The key experiences are grouped into 10 major developmental areas (creative representation, language and literacy, social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, number, space, and…

Describes the evolution of a research project examining the impact of early schooling on children's language, cognitive, reading, math and, to a lesser extent, social development. Proposes that implementing an individualized instructional program, which tailors amounts and types of instruction to individual child characteristics or entering levels…

Discuss how teachers should respond to children and adolescents with unexpected chronic illnesses or mental disorders. (PKP)

A psychotherapist recounts her personal and professional development in concepts of self-esteem. The article considers core conditions for development of healthy self-esteem, the powerful effects wrought by teachers who create healthy emotional environments, emotional intelligence and emotional literacy, current initiatives to develop emotional…

Describes the Center for Early Education and Development at the University of Minnesota, which provides a model for creating links between the research resources of a university and professionals who work directly with young children and families. (EVL)