This article outlines key issues in early childhood education related to (1) identification and characterization of the populations to be served, (2) definition of the goals of services, (3) preparation of early childhood specialists, and (4) optimal settings for delivery of service. (IAH)

Low- and moderate-exploratory children (mean age 6.9 years) with learning disabilities engaged in exploratory behavior independently and with an adult who communicated support in one of two nonintrusive ways. Consistent with a developmental motivation perspective, the children showed higher levels of exploration under both kinds of supportive…

Investigates 74 parents' bias towards optimism concerning the development of 10 personal qualities in their children. Results indicate that parents are optimists in judging their child's future behavior regardless of the child's sex. (RJC)

The clinical course of development of a 14-year-old girl with Rett Syndrome is outlined. Results indicated a general stagnation in gross and fine motor skills, self-help skills, communication, and cognition, beginning at approximately 15 months. No skills progressed beyond the 2-year level despite several years of intensive intervention.…

Describes the effects of growing up in shelters and welfare hotels. Discusses coping strategies that children have developed to adapt to the stresses of homelessness. (PCB)

Discusses the needs of children brought up without parents and the state's care of children in boarding institutions in the USSR. Highlights the establishment and accomplishments of the Soviet Children's Fund which was set up to assist these children. (RJC)

Investigated relationship between age and understanding of death among 20 Muslim girls aged 7 and 8 and 20 Muslim girls aged 9 and 10. Girls completed biographical inventory, classification and conservation tasks, and death understanding questionnaire. Found significant differences in children's understanding of life in hereafter and ideas…

Discusses art development in young children. Correlates findings from play research with theories about the development of the creative process in children. Discusses implications for curriculum and teaching methods. (RJC)

Discusses a sibling support group for 7-13-year-old siblings of developmentally delayed children. Describes group sessions and family responses to the program. (RJC)

Safety education messages aimed at young children should be simple and emphasize direct how-to-cross instructions. "Left-right-left" search messages appear to be effective in counteracting common pedestrian errors of children. Included is a list of 28 child pedestrian safety materials, evaluated and selected from 274 submissions, by the…

Mental test data cited by H. T. Epstein as supporting his theory that new concepts should be taught during periodic spurts in childhood intellectual development (at 3-10 months; and 2-4, 6-8, 10-12 or 13, and 14-16 or 17 years) are reanalyzed. It is found that the data do not substantiate Epstein's conclusions. (TJH)

Offers an interpretive frame for viewing children's growth as creators of imaginative worlds. Suggests that writing development depends not only on children's discovery of cognitive and linguistic strategies but on children's discovery that writing can help authors create coherence in their worlds beyond texts. (MS)

Head Start children (n=446), divided into intervention and comparison groups, received programing to enhance thinking skills. Intervention group children identified as gifted also received programing in their talent area. Intervention group children, whether or not identified as gifted, made significant gains over the comparison group in cognitive…

Two studies involving 108 infants of 6, 9, and 12 months showed that providing infants with multiple action-relevant properties elicits a rich action repertoire. (RJC)

Discusses the physical, psychological, and developmental consequences of physical abuse, nonorganic failure to thrive, and sexual abuse. (RJC)