Experiments (N=2) examined the effectiveness of a responsively planned death education unit for ninth-grade girls. Results of both experiments showed positive gains on cognitive and attitude scores for the experimental group, whereas the control group showed no improvement. (Author)

The authors conducted a developmental test of the discounting principle (that the role of a given cause in producing effects is reduced if other plausible causes are also present) by showing an animated film to kindergarten and second-grade children. Results conflicted with previous research findings. (Author/DB)

Addresses the difficulties in assessing the receptive capacity and learning style of a child and matching it to the instructional aspects of schooling. Describes a teacher sensitization course that has been developed to make such matching possible. (WD)

Reviews 27 studies relating age (or grade) and developmental level to science learning among students in grades 6-12. Includes results that measures of student ability are better predictors of cognitive achievement than developmental measures, and that age and grade level are weakly related to developmental level and cognitive achievement. (CS)

Socially disadvantaged children who were tutored on a one-to-one basis twice a week did not show any significant achievement gain over nontutored children, although data from tutors, parents, children, and teachers indicate that the tutoring should have had an impact. (CJ)

Addresses questions about infant perceptual ability and the possibility of its decline as a function of development in the absence of specific experience. Compares English-speaking adults, Hindi-speaking adults, and 7-month-old infants on their ability to discriminate two pairs of natural Hindi (non-English) speech contrasts. (Author/RH)

Preschool children were asked to choose the figure most resembling a real man from three figures drawn according to formulas used by children to depict humans. Results suggest development of drawing systems influences children's conceptions about objects or events. (Author/DB)

Reports a study of the correlation between intellectual development and students' understanding of scientific concepts and science processes. Results are reported concerning the reliability and validity of Piagetian or Piagetian-like tasks as measures of students' level of formal reasoning. (Author/SA)

Elaborates on cognitive/academic language proficiency and basic interpersonal communicative skills. Discusses assumptions regarding bilingual program exit and entry fallacies and implications for U.S. bilingual education. Argues that failure to adequately conceptualize the construes of language proficiency and its cross-language dimensions causes…

Reports the results of a study of five-year-olds, which indicate that social relationships are a facilitator of cognitive learning of reading readiness concepts and imaginativeness. Girls in the experimental treatments significantly outperformed the boys. (JD)

Education, not age per se, is related to conservation ability during the adult years. Age differences should not be interpreted as age changes without using the more appropriate designs which separate age and cohort effects. Results emphasize the relationship between education and cognitive abilities among the elderly. (Author)

Curriculum methods and materials need to address the values, individual traits, and learning styles of the handicapped child with racial or ethnic differences. (SBH)

A curriculum for counselor training was piloted with inservice counselors and teachers. Significant gains were achieved in counseling skills and moral reasoning, but shifts in ego and conceptual level failed to reach statistical significance. Implications for training are discussed. A case for a developmental perspective is made. (Author)

Changes in the mental development as assessed with the Griffiths Mental Development Scales, of 37 Down's syndrome infants (mean age 8.9 months at outset of study) over a 6-month period were correlated with scores obtained on the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) Inventory. (Author/PHR)