In this article particular attention is paid to research directly or indirectly relevant to child development programs and supplemental child care. Emphasis is given to the integration of findings, the identification of unaddressed questions, and methodological problems. (MS)

Richard Skemp, author of The Psychology of Learning Mathematics, briefly outlines his theory of schematic learning and comments on motivation, contributions by psychologists to the learning of mathematics, British Curriculum Projects, "Modern Mathematics," and provisions for slow learners and for gifted children. (DT)

Investigated were operative comprehension differences between 239 sixth and eighth grade pupils in activity oriented science programs and 249 students in a textbook oriented science program. Results indicated no differences among sixth graders, but activity oriented eighth graders scored higher than textbook oriented students. (SL)

Argues that "within the framework of certain cognitive approaches to achievement motivation, it seems possible to integrate the multiple contributions to achievement orientations of interest, cultural values, and social influence without appealing to widely divergent theoretical concepts or to complex and nonquantitative dependent measures."…

Offers an overview of the philosophies and influences that have underpinned research into the metacognitive abilities of young children during the last two decades. Discusses the implication of this research for current teaching practice, and offers concerns and suggestions for the future. (EV)

Examines current concerns of early childhood practitioners regarding the effects of popular toys such as Barbie dolls and Power Rangers on children's understanding of gender. Critiques traditional theories of sex role socialization and argues that feminist post-structuralist views of gender are useful in deciding if and how popular toys may be…

Used a Piagetian model to examine five 4-year-olds' perceptions of the reality of television characters. Found that children understand that television images are representations with varying degrees of relationship to reality and that children used a number of strategies for judging the extent to which characters were "real," such as…

Notes that research has demonstrated the importance of parent-child interactions in developing literacy. Claims that parent literacy programs are effective in the children's literacy development. Proposes that research on the value of extensive interventions can suggest ways to improve parents' interactions with their children during the literacy…

Examined the home literacy experiences of 15 families who participated in a parent program which used a workshop approach to help parents develop skills and understandings needed to create a supportive literacy environment in their home. Analyzed results and outlined activities according to the pattern of use of nonliteracy, literacy, library, and…

A portion of the Child Care Cost, Quality, and Outcomes study finds that quality of center-based care was positively related to preschool children's concurrent cognitive and socioemotional development. More advantaged children are not necessarily buffered from effects of poor quality care. In addition, stronger positive effects of child care…

Examined effect of negative affect of parents and peers on young children's affective responses, cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies. Found that compared to peer negative affect, children felt they could do little to help themselves when faced with paternal distress and frequently indicated they would use avoidant coping strategies to feel…

Discusses misconceptions about constructivism by identifying related myths such as students should always be actively and reflectively constructing, manipulatives make learners active, and cooperative learning is constructivist. One central goal of constructivism should be that students become autonomous and self-motivated in their learning.…