A model of the social processes involved in the production of individual educational achievement is formulated and used to interpret data from Australia. Results are evaluated. The "needs press" paradigm and "social learning theory" are discussed as mechanisms of transference in the model. (SB)

Compared to a peer group of average abilities, gifted and talented junior high school students appeared more outgoing, participating, insightful, fast-learning, intellectually adaptable, conscientious, persistent, and moralistic, thus indicating significant between-group differences. (SB)

The use of clocks in instruction in the elementary school classroom is reviewed. The use of nonstandard units of measure and conceptualizing the idea of time duration are two of the areas investigated. (MP)

Four-year-olds attending traditional and Montessori preschools were compared on two memory tasks and on three social cognitive reasoning tasks. Although the Montessori students performed better on the recognition task, there were no other significant differences between the groups. Conclusions about the Montessori curriculum were made. (GDC)

Lev S. Vygotsky's concepts of social, egocentric, and inner speech are explained, and two of Vygotsky's basic arguments are reviewed: (1) that these forms of speech are dialogic; and (2) that cognitive functioning can be explained by its surrounding social foundations. (GDC)

The Plowden Report drew heavily on Piaget's theories of cognitive development, especially his concepts of activity and discovery learning and readiness. But Piaget's theory is not a pedagogical one and it has little to say about teaching content and methods. Recently, criticism of his theory has grown. (Author/SJL)

Three elements relating to reading in mathematics are discussed: language and mathematics, readability and mathematics materials, and suggestions for improvement of reading in mathematics. (MP)

Reported is a study involving six group administered tasks concerning proportional, probablistic, and correlational reasoning with 505 students aged 11.5 to 20.0 years. Investigated were the effectiveness of the tasks for assessing formal reasoning; categories of classification for students' responses and implications for teaching are suggested by…

The shaping of human motor development is demonstrated by the orderly sequence of events which occur throughout the individual's development process. Muscular strength and proficiency in gross motor skills improve with advancing chronological age throughout childhood and adolescence, with sex differences in performance tending to favor males. (JN)

A case study of a six-year-old reveals that unfounded assumptions about language growth and development may debilitate rather than facilitate the process of language literacy. Recommendations are made for open-entry language activities where constraints are allowed to evolve in a risk free language environment. (JN)

Both right-and left-handed normally developing 6-year-olds showed considerable evidence of bilateralization of hemispheric functions for spatial and verbal information processing; the slowly developing children (ages 5-9) exhibited unusual patterns of hemispheric specialization usually opposite those typically expected in children or adults.…

The need for students of engineering to acquire the rational, methodical approaches identified with the "mathematical way of thinking" is discussed. The skill areas in mathematics most critical to engineering majors are pointed out, with proper shaping of student attitudes seen as an important role secondary school mathematics must play.…

The results suggest that cognitive training specifically designed to promote generalization to classroom tasks can improve the classroom behavior and academic achievement of hyperactive children. (Author)

Five basic skill areas needing more attention in standard high school geometry are discussed. Levels of student mental development in geometry and a need for less emphasis on formal proofs are reviewed. (MP)

The development of formal operations in normal adolescents is briefly examined, and a discussion of the development of exceptional adolescents focuses on the following exceptionalities: retardation, blindness, deafness, and giftedness. Some directions for future research are considered. (DLS)