In 2005, the Children's Aid Society launched The African American Male Initiative to respond to the growing concern for the status of African American males and to bring about change. The initiative aims to: (1) more fully understand the issues facing our Black male clients and (2) create new program strategies that will better address the needs…

Secondary vocational-technical education programs in Mississippi are faced with many challenges resulting from sweeping educational reforms at the national and state levels. Schools and teachers are increasingly being held accountable for providing true learning activities to every student in the classroom. This accountability is measured through…

In developed countries, obesity tends to be associated with worse labor market outcomes. One possible reason is that obesity leads to less human capital formation early in life. This paper investigates the association between obesity and the developmental functioning of children at younger ages (2-4 years) than ever previously examined. Data from…

Background: There is uncertainty about the extent to which mildly sub-optimal perinatal characteristics among individuals born near-term (greater than 33 weeks of gestation) are associated with various subsequent childhood problems, including antisocial behavior. There is even more uncertainty about whether the pathway to antisocial behavior…

Tantrums, or emotional reactions that are out of proportion to a situation, appear to be a common childhood phenomenon--yet have drawn little research attention. This pilot study describes tantrum precipitants; their frequency, intensity, and duration; and parental responses in a small community sample (N = 33) of 3- to 5-year-olds. Tantrum…

Care and education for young children is often understood primarily as a commodity to be provided in the marketplace, or as a kind of factory to produce human capital. But institutions for children and young people can also serve a very different role. They can be understood as forums for democratic political practice. This is a choice that we, as…

Objective: To explore parent perspectives regarding the early experiences of their children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD). Methods: A phenomenological approach was used to explore the meaning of developmental experiences for children with DCD and their families. Parents of 13 children with DCD, aged 6-14, were recruited through…

Each year, exposure to violent trauma takes its toll on the development of millions of children. When their trauma goes unaddressed, children are at greater risk for school failure; anxiety and depression and other post-traumatic disorders; alcohol and drug abuse, and, later in life, engaging in violence similar to that to which they were…

Humanity delights in spinning conceptual models of the world. These models, in turn, mirror their respective root metaphors. Three root metaphors--spiritual, organic, and mechanical--have dominated western thought. The spiritual metaphor runs from Plato, through Hegel, and connects with Montessori. The organic metaphor extends from Aristotle,…

Children's first-language perception base takes shape gradually from birth onwards. Empirical research has confirmed that children may continue to fall short of age-based expectations in their speech perception. The purpose of this study was to assess the contribution of various perception processes in both reading and learning disabled children.…

This article explores the issue of developmental and behavioral health supervision in primary care, and suggests ways in which pediatricians can provide a greater focus on early social-emotional development during health care visits. Specifically, the author addresses some of the obstacles to addressing social and emotional development in the…

Pediatric primary care provides an enormous window of opportunity to offer families information and support on their child's social-emotional well-being and on their growth as a family in a nonstigmatizing environment. With new technology, such as the Internet, and advances in the scientific study of early childhood development, parents face an…

A total of 467 mothers of firstborn 20-month-old children from 7 countries (103 Argentine, 61 Belgian, 39 Israeli, 78 Italian, 57 Japanese, 69 Korean, and 60 US American) completed the "Jackson Personality Inventory" (JPI), measures of parenting cognitions (self-perceptions and knowledge), and a social desirability scale. Our first…

Previous research has indicated that pubertal development and the transition from middle or elementary school to junior high may present problems for some preadolescents. The effects of these transitions on achievement, psychological well-being, and social relations were examined using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and…

Activity Based Intervention (ABI) is an approach used in many early childhood programs serving the special needs of young children and their families. The purpose of this article is to present theoretical underpinnings of ABI, and discusses theory-based ABI practices. ABI draws upon multiple and varied theories which in turn inform practice. At…