This book describes an ethnographic study of cultural routines involved in enculturating children into Kpelle society in West Africa. The study focused on: (1) playforms such as pretend play; and (2) adult-guided activities such as apprenticeship. Chapter 1 of the book, "Studying Child Development in Kpelle Society," introduces the…

This book addresses key issues that teachers raise about creating and sustaining constructivist classrooms, providing practical tips, techniques, and examples to allow step-by-step implementation of constructivism and ongoing evaluation of student progress. The book gives directions for use at any grade level and includes checklists to evaluate…

A study addressed educational and psychological issues raised by the phenomenal growth of Irish-medium pre-schools ("naionrai"). Data were gathered in surveys of almost 2,000 parents, over 170 teachers and advisors, and 225 children in 25 Irish-medium pre-schools in both "Gaeltacht" (Irish-speaking districts) and…

This notebook discusses issues and methods of developing adult literacy education (ALE) programs according to functional context education (FCE) principles. Chapters 1-3 in Part 1, The Power of ALE, focus on current ALE; address why ALE is of growing importance; show how investments can return benefits for adults and others; look at issues…

This second volume of the Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System (AEPS) Test and its associated curriculum, begins with an overview of the test and a discussion on the purpose and value of the assessment and evaluation of young children. Chapter 3 describes the target population for the AEPS Test and the use of the test with children with…

This report confirms the detrimental effects of low family income on children by examining the well-being of children across all incomes and race-ethnicity groups in a nationally representative sample of children attending kindergarten and participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99. The sample included…

This work explores the grand themes and practices in the history of moral education from the earliest days of Colonial America. Chapter 1, "Moral Education in Early America," traces the nature and scope of moral education practiced by early European settlers. Chapter 2, "The Nineteenth-Century Revolution in Moral Education,"…

The Saginaw Prekindergarten Program is designed to provide 4-year-olds with an environment that will enable them to develop skills needed for future success in school, and to prepare inner city children for entry into kindergarten. The objectives of the program include specific achievements in 16 cognitive skills, psychomotor skills, and parental…

This bulletin is one of a series on the place of subjects in the elementary school curriculum. The first of the series showed how subject matter is introduced into the program in a modern school. The other bulletins in the series discuss how various skills, such as reading, creating in art, and writing are developed in the modern school program.…

Describes journal writing as an element of multimodal teaching. Discusses how students utilize journal writing that includes pictures, numbers, symbols, and manipulatives to help understand mathematical concepts. Provides a form to evaluate students' portfolio writing and examples of students' evaluated work. (Contains 12 references.) (MDH)

Presents a study of 87 second graders to demonstrate that achievement tests in primary mathematics emphasize pupil's lower-order thinking by comparing answers to interview questions from constructivist and traditionally instructed groups. Results indicated that constructivist instructed students demonstrated superior higher-order thinking on tasks…

Examines how the terms "child development knowledge" and "teacher preparation" have come to be understood in ways that place limits on how we think about children and the preparation of teachers. Illustrates some of the differences between modernism and postmodernism, then considers why a universal practice premised on a universal theory of…

This article discusses development during the early adolescent years with a focus on recent research on the biological, cognitive, self-identity, and motivational changes that occur during this time period and the implications of this research for middle school counselors. Peer influences on early adolescents also are discussed, with the issue of…

Negative emotionality and poor attention may combine or interact as risk factors in development. Negative emotionality is considered a challenge for self-regulation, whereas good attention is a potential means of self-regulation. In the current study, composites of 1- and 2-year maternal ratings of negative emotionality and global ratings of…

Efforts to improve the educational achievement of children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are at the heart of current government policies in the United Kingdom. The Peers Early Education Partnership (PEEP) is an intervention that, since 1995, has worked directly with parents and caregivers of children from infancy to 5 years of…