Notes that regardless of the language, children acquire language on the same general schedule and the same cognitive path. Explores the process of child language acquisition, from sounds, through word meanings, to syntax and grammar. (HTH)

Presents a chart detailing developmental milestones for infants through 3-year olds. Includes feeding, sleep, allergic response, immunization, and safety concerns. (HTH)

Notes that stage models of learning to spell have not been helpful to teachers in teaching spelling. Describes a three year project, based in three inner London primary schools. Shows that although there is a developmental dimension to learning to spell, children nevertheless draw on several sources of knowledge from the outset. (RS)

Used interview data from a community study to test whether early menarche partially accounts for increased depression, eating pathology, substance abuse, and comorbid psychopathology among adolescent girls. Found that menarche prior to 11.6 years related to elevated depression and substance abuse. Findings support assertion that early menarche is…

Two studies investigated factors affecting children's (n=48) choice of pronouns as referring expressions. Findings indicate the children (ages 2-3) did not use pronouns differentially when the adult model them or they witnessed a target event, but did use pronouns differently depending on the immediately preceding discourse of the experimenter.…

David Carr (2002) has argued against the use of developmental theories as a basis for curriculum development in moral education. Although we find common ground with some aspects of Carr's arguments, we disagree with several of his criticisms of the cognitive-developmental approach to moral education. He confuses romantic ideology (as espoused by…

Differentiation has a goal, which is to bring the ideas and concepts of the curriculum to the learner at the pace, and depth that is appropriate for the ability of each student. The group of students are divided into three groups according to their own pace and at their instructional level with the classroom teacher working with one group, the…

In this paper we propose that Interaction Analysis studies, which focus on the process-product relationship between types of teacher--student interactions and learning outcomes, present only part of the learning picture. Clearly, not all teacher?student interaction patterns are equally effective for students at different ages and stages of…

A major goal of phonological intervention is to help bring a child's speech development to within normal range for his or her developmental stage. Reaching that goal may take longer than anticipated for some children. This paper illustrates an in-depth retrospective evaluation of assessment data from one child with a phonological impairment, who…

Theories about reading have neglected basic differences in the developmental trajectories of skills related to reading. This essay proposes that some reading skills, such as learning the letters of the alphabet, are constrained to small sets of knowledge that are mastered in relatively brief periods of development. In contrast, other skills, such…

This article reports on the use of a repertory grid as a tool for studying conceptual systems in line with Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory. Using 7-point construct continua, students rated the positions of major developmental theorists on various bipolar constructs (e.g., nature-nurture, continuity-discontinuity) representing salient…

This literature review explores the issues of grief and the interruption of developmental stages often experienced by grandparents who raise their grandchildren and presents a case study to illustrate that structural family therapy can address and combat these issues. An evaluation of the use of structural family therapy in relation to grief and…

Student mentoring is a common and often encouraged practice within graduate psychology and counseling programs. Although both mentors and proteges typically report multiple benefits from the practice, the mentoring relationship is also subject to a variety of ethical issues. The author presents a brief overview of professional literature regarding…

A meta-analysis is presented of 57 studies of sex differences in general population samples on the Standard and Advanced Progressive Matrices (SPM and APM, respectively). Results showed that there is no difference among children aged 6-14 years, but that males obtain higher means from the age of 15 through to old age. Among adults, the male…

The speed of adult reaching movements is lawfully related to the distance of the reach and the size of the target. The authors had 7-, 9-, and 11-month-old infants reach for small and large targets to investigate a possible relation between the emergence of this speed-accuracy trade-off and the improvements in infants' ability to pick up tiny…