Twenty-four trainable retarded children, in need of and searching for respect and acceptance as other children do, were inspired by their teachers' creative suggestions to develop themselves both as individuals and as creative persons. (Author/RK)

A study using the It Scale for Children to measure sex role preferences indicated the presence of powerful male teachers appeared to foster the development of masculinity among preschool boys; powerful female teachers appeared to impede it. Girls' femininity did not appear to be influenced by the teacher's sex. (EC)

This issue of "Focal Point" explores the concepts of resilience and recovery and what they mean in the context of mental health care for children and adolescents. From the articles, it emerges that the terminology associated with recovery and resilience (particularly the word, recovery, itself) can be confusing and even off-putting to…

More children than ever are in care centers, and child care experiences of infants and toddlers are believed to have a powerful and lasting impact on children's well-being. A team of researchers from the FPG Child Development Institute created a study to examine the effects that transitions have on children's behavior and observable stress when…

For over half a century, researchers have attempted to specify the effects of childrearing in socially depriving environments on child development, specifically studying the development of children from institutions found to provide few social and emotional interactions between caregivers and children and comparing findings to those for…

Student achievement tests consistently show that certain groups of children score far below children in other groups. The data document a strong association between poverty and students' academic success. The achievement gap begins early in children's lives as the result of physical, social, and emotional deprivations. California is attempting to…

Recognizing that past efforts to promote healthy child development and to support families with young children have not been linked with efforts to promote family economic security in low-income communities, this exploratory project examined how community development corporations (CDCs) promote the well-being of low-income families with young…

This paper explores a community project to develop "storysacks" within an area of identified economic and social need. (Storysacks are books sent home for preschool children in England to share with their parents on a regular basis; each sack contains a fiction book, a nonfiction book linked to the story, and a wide variety of props…

In the earliest studies of child language, attention was given to language production as utterances of sound. Association of language with meaning followed as language development and the relationship between language and thought gained serious recognition in the study of child development. The traditional societal view of "a child should be seen…

This science brief reports on a study that identified the effects of different experiences on critical periods of learning during early brain development. The study found that the presence of corticosterone in a part of the brain called the amygdala determined whether a normally painful experience was learned as an attractive or fearful event.…

This report summarizes findings from a longitudinal study of 1,215 mothers and children from 10 locations around the United States, focusing on the links between maternal depression and child outcomes. Families were followed from 1 month to 36 months after the birth of their child. Data collection methods included observations of mother-child play…

The Foundation for Child Development (FCD) is the oldest philanthropy in the nation focused on improving the life prospects of children. This booklet, produced for FCD's centennial, describes the organization's origins and changes during the past 100 years. The booklet's sections, which include photographs, quotes, and a timeline, are: (1)…

This paper provides a framework for estimating the economic benefits of early child development (ECD) programs and applies the framework to preliminary data from the Bolivian ECD program (known as the PIDI Project). The evaluation quantifies the benefits of increased lifetime productivity as a result of ECD enrollment. The evaluation also takes…

The Work Sampling System is a performance assessment that provides an alternative to group-administered, norm-referenced achievement tests for preschool through fifth grade. This volume presents a compilation of the Work Sampling System Developmental Guidelines for preschool through third grade. The guidelines are grouped into these categories:…

This publication presents translated messages from children in Afghanistan presented at a special session of the United Nations in September 2001. Compiled and funded by The Save the Children Alliance members working for Afghanistan, the booklet begins with the text of Articles 12 and 13 relating to participation of The Convention on the Rights of…