Social studies preservice teachers received background information on Kohlberg's theory of moral development and were trained to use one of the rater guides in his new "issue stage scoring system." They were directed to score sample moral thought statements, some on an intuitive basis and some with the rater guides. No overall differences between…

Research on the psychological processes involved in historical thinking indicates that formal operational thinking skills required to understand history develop relatively late. Although studies have indicated teachers can do little to accelerate historical cognitive development, most scholars believe students at all levels can learn historical…

Summarizes research on how children think about economic ideas and values and the development of such thinking. Explores the influence of instruction on children's thinking about economics and points out implications for curriculum and instruction. (RH)

Investigation of the perception and production of English voiceless fricatives in normally developing monolingual 3- to 5-year-olds (N=12) partially supported the hypothesis that certain sound substitutions by older children are perceptually based substitutions, typified by poor discrimination, while others are phonetic substitutions--phonemic…

Describes William G. Perry, Jr.'s stages of student development (dualism, multiplicity, relativism, and commitment within relativism), examining their possible applications to undergraduate music education majors and implications for research. Concludes that the model provides a "philosophical map" of student changes and encourages…

A study examined social and personal factors affecting the decision process of Australian secondary school students choosing university study and the effects of student background factors in higher education participation generally. The complex patterns of factors operating differentially in the high school years are interpreted through…

This article considers how student teacher supervisors think about their teaching and about how they communicate their knowledge to student teachers. The study is based on interviews with and journals of six student teacher supervisors and the journals of their 20 student teachers. Results are reported. (JL)

Three case histories elucidate a discussion of the developmental nature of the behaviors of juvenile male sexual offenders. The sexual assault cycle is defined in the stages of negative self-image, predicting rejection, isolation, fantasies, planning the offense, and committing the offense. Tools for treating the offender are outlined. (Author/JDD)

Examined smoking patterns in 27,335 junior and senior high school students. Found smoking was more prevalent among girls than boys, and among whites more than members of minority groups. Marijuana use was the best single predictor of whether a student smoked or not. Heavy drinking was the best predictor of quantity smoked among smokers. (Author/KS)

Findings from relevant research applying Piaget's theory to mental retardation, psychosis, and autism are reviewed. Many autistic individuals show an arrest in operative functions at the sensorimotor functions. The early arrest interferes with subsequent development of higher-level conceptual, symbolic, and social skills. (Author)

To improve children's chances of early success, Chesterfield County, Virginia, piloted a junior kindergarten program for children of legal school age who are not developmentally ready for kindergarten. Designed to prevent early failure syndrome, this three-year program emphasizes accurate student placement, high teacher-student ratios, and…

Investigates children's difficulty in understanding (numerical) place value. A counting and estimating task, based on Piaget's number theory, was devised to determine if children in grades one through five evidenced this construction. (Author/BB)

Summarizes author's expert witness testimony in West Virginia court case (1985) involving prayer in public schools. Covers the constitutional issue of separation of church and state, the specific issue of school prayer, the particular law under legal challenge, and the perceptions of a Catholic boy and a Jewish girl directly affected. (NH)

Reports seven studies of the acquisition of knowledge about the appearance-reality distinction and suggests some conclusions about the course of conceptual development in this area from early childhood (3 years) to adulthood. (Author/NH)

Investigates the development of awareness of conversational principles in preschool, first-, and third-grade children by presenting them with short stories ending with a verbal statement by a story character. Results suggest that children's understanding of conversational principles improves considerably between preschool and first grade.…