Language skill attrition refers to the loss of any language or portion of a language whether it be the declining use of mother tongue skills, the replacement of one language by another in language contact situations, the deterioration of language in the neurologically impaired or elderly, or the death of whole languages. In this paper, language…

This report provides abridged versions of participants' statements, panel discussions, and lectures given at the International Seminar on Childhood, Culture and Community held at Haifa, Israel, from June 17 to June 27, 1979. The interrelationship between childhood, culture, and community was the topic of the introductory lecture. Basic needs that…

TO DETERMINE WHETHER SEX IDENTIFICATION INFLUENCES TEACHERS' EVALUATIONS OF STUDENTS WHEN BEHAVIOR IS HELD CONSTANT, 128 WHITE FEMALE TEACHERS RATED STUDENTS FROM STORIES RELATING IN OBJECTIVE TERMS THE BEHAVIOR OF A HYPOTHETICAL NINE-YEAR OLD CHILD. THE STORIES WERE CONTROLLED SO THAT THE BEHAVIORS PRESENTED FOR BOTH SEXES WERE CLOSELY…

This guide is for the incorporation of human relations education in the elementary and secondary school curricula. The primary purpose of each teaching unit is to promote an understanding of and respect for individual differences. Classroom activities listed involve the use of discussion and inquiry and cover self awareness, value clarification,…

The nature of the cognitive style of field articulation and its relationship to differentiation of personality are discussed. A short historical summary of research on field dependence-independence is presented, and problems of measurement, stability, and evolution of the dimension of field articulation are discussed. The connections between field…

In an attempt to help college students who needed remedial work in English composition and reading, a combination of four courses (two in English and two in psychology) by means of team teaching and block scheduling was designed at Foothill College. During the spring of 1968, 30 selected students met during a 2-hour block of time five days a week.…

Information about infants from 1 to 3 months old is presented in a self-instructional format. This illustrated booklet is part of a related curriculum on parenting and child development for school-age mothers. Topics discussed are: (1) Infant care, (2) infant behavior (e.g., thumbsucking, crying), (3) the mother's relationships with the father of…

The multiple-choice science exercises used by the National Assessment of Educational Progress include an "I Don't Know" (IDK) alternative to estimate more accurately knowledge of groups of respondents. Group percentages of IDK responses were examined and compared with correct responses to see if the IDK introduces bias. Variance common…

Sex differences in cerebral organization and functioning, and the apparent superiority of males in spatial ability are examined in this paper. Attention is given to several kinds of cognitive and perceptual tasks in which sex differences in spatial ability have been shown to exist; among these are tasks involving: (1) recall and detection of…

This intensive longitudinal study of mother-infant interaction during the first year of life focuses on the development of attachment. Data on 26 middle-class families were collected by five methods: (1) naturalistic observation of each mother-infant pair during 4-hour home visits, which occurred at 3-week intervals from the infants' 3rd to 54th…

In this report, the nature of anxiety is considered in historical perspective, and the concepts of trait and state anxiety are discussed. Methods for measuring these constructs are also described. In addition, hypotheses about the effects of anxiety on learning, formulated in terms of Spence-Taylor Drive Theory and Spielberger's Trait-State…

Reading innovations incorporated into the Newton, Massachusetts, school system are discussed. The program emphasizes individual differences, the influence of the home environment in developing attitudes towards reading, and the importance of prereading experiences for kindergarten children. The basal reading program, the individualized reading…

This document articulates a philosophy of language arts that is based on the teacher's recognition of the need for an idividualized rate of growth for each child. Writing is presented as a personal and practical means of communication, and writing skills are listed that should be taught in the writing program. The goals for an effective creative…

A description is provided of a computer-based simulation of an instructional system which adapts the learning environment to the individual's unique attributes for processing information and for being motivated. The main purposes of the simulation are: 1) to introduce, as attributes for individualizing instruction, information processing variables…

The major results and conclusions of a program of research concerned primarily with the relationship of cognitive abilities to learning are summarized. The major purpose of this research was to develop theorems of instruction related to the interaction of task variables and individual difference variables and to develop them in a manner relevant…