This article reviews the literature on the development of literacy, showing literacy beginnings in the infant and young child within a literate family community, literacy development in a literate school community, and literacy specialization in a teacher education community. The literature is applied to preparation of teachers of students with…

Four articles in this special section discuss (1) ideas for making discipline a positive experience for child care staff and children (Karen Stephens); (2) scenarios illustrating the power of adult messages to children (Karen Stephens); (3) classroom environments that facilitate positive discipline (Marjorie K. Kostelnik); and (4) strategies for…

This article reviews the rationales and premises of the Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) approach and early childhood special education (ECSE), highlighting areas of overlap. DAP's insufficiencies for planning, implementing, and evaluating ECSE programs are noted. A selective literature review clarifies issues separating the two areas,…

Investigated conflict in parent-child relations from birth to age 25. Found less conflict in families with a child whose sex was consistent with parents' prenatal expectations, especially for father-daughter relations. Found that mothers' perceptions of children's problems and parents' play time with children were correlated to prenatal…

Calling for a systematic reappraisal of the way children are prepared for school, a Committee for Economic Development report recommends the combination of a wide range of public and private resources that will address all aspects of children's early development and simultaneously improve the nation's public schools. (BB)

Profiles the New Concept Development Center (NCDC) in Chicago (Illinois), an independent African-American institution established in 1972 that is a model for other private and public schools. The NCDC's history is traced. The NCDC educates and socializes African-American children to assume future roles as leaders in their communities. (SLD)

Discusses the idea of narrative being central to all human experience. Asserts that Piagetian theory and other developmental approaches limit the place of art in early childhood education. Recommends exposing young children to folk art and music that represent significant cultural traits. (CFR)

Asserts that the use of creative drama in early childhood education enhances artistic sensitivity, develops self-awareness, and integrates mental and physical activity. Maintains that creative drama is a learning continuum that extends from the beginnings of creative spontaneous play to the production of theater artists. (CFR)

Describes an undergraduate psychology course focusing on children's social development during the middle childhood years. Students select, view, and analyze a feature film using theory and research presented in the course. Includes a table listing 18 films used in the course. (CFR)

Examined relationship between pubertal status, quality of interactions with significant others, and self-esteem of 178 adolescent girls. Analysis revealed that girls who had begun menstruating 6 months before investigation obtained higher scores on self-esteem than girls who had been menstruating 13 months or more. Best predictor of self-esteem…

Discusses advances in psychotherapy research with children and adolescents, highlighting three central themes. Discusses scope of clinical dysfunctions, at-risk behaviors, and conditions to which children are exposed. Uses examples of research on negative affect, social behavior, and empathy to illustrate role of development in adjustment.…

Discusses concept books with regard to educational value, evaluative criteria, and relationship to child development. An annotated bibliography of 29 concept books appropriate for early childhood classrooms is included that lists books on colors, foods, occupations, money, senses, shapes, and time, and activities for integration in the content…

Five papers on research related to learning and instruction discuss the following: subjective competence and self-assessment; development of quantitative-relational abilities from childhood to adolescence; detecting functional relations in a computerized learning environment; developmental patterns and individual differences in word-search…

Reviews research about young childrens' focusing on the ability to transform a perceived scene into another representation. Reports on a study of 109 children and 18 college-age students on their ability to mold a lump of clay into a three-dimensional figure. Finds that cognitive maturity alone does not automatically lead to competence. (CFR)

Explains how the author's ideas about the development of the mind and forms through which its contents are revealed developed. Also, explores uncertainties the author has felt about educational philosophy and practice, and discusses implications for future educational research that does justice to the development of human intellectual capacities.…