This article can help teachers and directors become eloquent and effective advocates of play-based early learning environments. It defines play and play policy and discusses distinct research areas that support play policy and practice for physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development within diverse early childhood settings. Also…

In this article, the author talks about the importance of competence and how to be competent. Feeling competent is pretty important to a person in the places where he lives and works. Competence is also important to kids. That sense of "I can do it" fuels the child's drive to explore and succeed well. However, competence is always a moving target…

Results of national studies suggest that for girls, the middle grades can be a time of significant decline in self-esteem and academic achievement. Reasons for this decline are not clearly indicated by research, but it is likely that multiple factors are involved. One factor is the preferential treatment boys receive in the classroom.…

The U.S. National Education Goals were enacted into federal law in 1994 as the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act." The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas at Austin is addressing the first of these goals, which states that by the year 2000 all children will enter school ready to learn. This paper…

This report describes a 2-year study of the effects of various lighting systems on elementary school students' dental health, attendance, growth and development, vision, and academic achievement. The four light types used were: (1) full spectrum fluorescent; (2) full spectrum fluorescent with ultraviolet light supplements; (3) cool white…

Information, guidelines, and activities for jumping rope are given. A short history of jumping rope explains how it evolved from a spring ritual for men to a play activity involving mostly young girls. Physical and cultural reasons are given as to why jumping rope has been more a sport for girls than for boys. Research studies are noted which show…

This volume encompasses 44 research studies that were conducted mainly by graduate students in the Department of Human Development and Family Studies, M.S. University of Baroda, India. The studies are organized in six broad categories: (1) child care in tribal, rural and urban poor, and institutional settings; (2) early childhood care and…

A compilation of 89 structural frameworks or classifications of outcomes of higher education is presented. Each classification system or model is discussed according to the time it entered the literature. The classifications are grouped into three areas: impacts on individuals, impacts on society, and impacts on individuals and society. Some of…

Written for families with adolescent children, this handbook provides information about adolescent development and about the new ways family members relate to each other when children become adolescents. The handbook discusses the physical, social, and intellectual changes that young people experience, describing how parents can respond to some of…

This paper provides an overview of a project (now in its formative stages) to develop Head Start measures of program effects on children 3 to 7 years of age. The program approach is distinctive in emphasizing evaluation of all aspects of children's development that may affect their overall competence in reflecting the concerns, views, and values…

AN EVALUATION AND OBJECTIVE COMPARISON WAS MADE BETWEEN THE PROGRESS OF YOUNG MENTAL RETARDATES IN REGULAR CLASSROOMS WITH THE PROGRESS OF PEERS IN SPECIAL CLASSES. THE BASIS OF COMPARISON OF THE TWO TEACHING METHODS INCLUDED MENTAL DEVELOPMENT, PROGRESS IN REGULAR SCHOOL SUBJECTS, ACHIEVEMENT TOWARD OTHER EDUCATIONAL GOALS, SOCIAL ADJUSTMENT…

A STUDY WAS MADE TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH SCORES REPRESENTING PUPILS' STATUS ON CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS CAN PREDICT THE ACHIEVEMENT IN READING, ARITHMETIC, AND THE MEDIAN OF THE BATTERY OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS. THE STUDY COVERED A PERIOD OF 4 YEARS DURING WHICH THE SAME GROUP OF PUPILS WAS STUDIED IN THE THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH…

THE EXTENT TO WHICH SCORES REPRESENTING PUPILS' STATUS ON CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTAL FACTORS PREDICTED THEIR ACHIEVEMENT IN READING, ARITHMETIC, AND THE MEDIAN OF A BATTERY OF ACHIEVEMENT TESTS WAS PRESENTED. THE STUDY COVERED A PERIOD OF 4 YEARS DURING WHICH THE SAME PUPILS WERE STUDIED IN THE THIRD, FOURTH, FIFTH, AND SIXTH GRADES. STUDIES OF THESE…

A questionnaire attempting to define adolescence from the adolescent's view was administered to 300 students, 50 males and 50 females in each of 3 grades (grades 6, 9, and 12). The questionnaire examined (1) ages perceived as dividing points between adolescence, childhood and adulthood; (2) tasks seen as most important in advancing from one period…

This guide has been prepared to assist teachers of grades nine through twelve students in the implementation of health education into the curriculum. The book contains student objectives, suggested activities, and pertinent questions which will provide the basic tools to meet program goals. The ten major areas of instruction are: 1) consumer…