Examines the historical development of the term "child centered" in the discourse of early schooling in the United States. Beginning with Friedrich Froebel, who was the founder of the kindergarten and focuses on the development of the kindergarten until the 1930s. Explores how the underlying meanings of child-centerdness changed. (CMK)

Examined preschoolers' peer conflicts in the naturalistic classroom setting during free-play time. Found conflicts about play and ideas significantly increased with age while those stemming from physical harm were low overall. Findings support the proposal that conflicts are natural contexts in which children develop socially, morally, and…

Presents information for parents on children's language development prior to speaking the first word, focusing on infants' readiness to learn language. Describes ways parents can support the development of language as a social and intellectual skill, including talking early and often, using songs and poetry, describing experiences, using books,…

This article provides an overview of the benefits of using portfolio assessment for children with special needs followed by a discussion of the steps one might follow when implementing this strategy in an inclusive classroom. A sample letter to parents and a developmental domain descriptor sheet are provided. (Contains nine references.) (CR)

During the summer and on weekends, it is not unusual to see many children, the youngest holding their parents' hands, walking to classes amongst the beautiful landscaping and old buildings of Northwestern University on Lake Michigan's shores in Evanston, Illinois. The Center for Talent Development (CTD) has been offering services and programs to…

Objective: To summarize the past 10 years of published research concerning the 2% of American children younger than 18 years old who are adoptees. Method: Review recent literature on developmental influences, placement outcome, psychopathology, and treatment. Results: Adoption carries developmental opportunities and risks. Many adoptees have…

Through the process of distancing, children develop an understanding of the differences between themselves and others, themselves and objects, and objects and representations. Adults can support progressive distancing in children who are congenitally deaf-blind by applying strategies, such as the hand-under-hand exploration of objects, the…

This article argues that a child welfare system has a significant responsibility to detect and treat emotional and behavioral problems and disorders as a routine part of involvement with child protective services and out-of-home care. Given the very high risk of mental health needs in this population, preventing the development of these…

Data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care, a prospective, longitudinal study involving 933 children, were used to examine relations between cumulative participation in 5 types of out-of-school care (before- and after-school programs, extracurricular activities, sitters, fathers, and…

Fatherchild and motherchild engagements were examined longitudinally in relation to children's language and cognitive development at 24 and 36 months. The study involved a raciallyethnically diverse sample of low-income, resident fathers (and their partners) from the National Early Head Start evaluation study (n290). Fatherchild and motherchild…

Can going to an art museum make elementary school students better learners? It can if they are participating in Thinking Through Art, an innovative partnership uniting the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA), Boston Public Schools (BPS), and Visual Understanding in Education (VUE), a nonprofit educational research group committed to improving…

This study examines individual growth rates in phonological awareness and letter-word identification skills over an academic year for 150 Latino English-language learners. In October, February, and June of their kindergarten year, participants completed standardized measures of phonological awareness skills. Before the second and third…

The Family Development Research Program (FDRP) was begun as an omnibus effort to serve low-income, low-education families by providing education, nutrition, health, safety, and human service resources for the 108 families initially recruited. Very deprived families were recruited early in the last trimester of pregnancy. All the families had an…

Because more children under the age of 3 years are being diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), early interventionists face the challenge of identifying appropriate programs to meet the unique needs of very young children with ASD and their families. Project DATA (Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for Autism) for Toddlers is an…

"Informal Forum," grounded in constructivism has been developed to foster active learning and deep understanding. Learning is an interdependent process, and is most effective when students construct their own meaning of knowledge. If one believes in the value of constructivist learning, it is important to teach how we preach in higher education.…