Educational psychologists in most parts of the world report that they take ecological approaches to their work. But what does working ecologically mean? How do we recognise ecological practice? This article discusses some salient aspects of the practice of psychologists who say they work ecologically. The first section of the paper presents a…

Background: The relationship between the age of reaching infant developmental milestones and later intellectual function within the normal population remains unresolved. We hypothesised that the age of learning to stand in infancy would be associated with adult executive function and that the association would be apparent throughout the range of…

Background: Research has shown that the cochlear implant may improve deaf children's speech and communication skills. However, little is known about its effect on children's ability to socialize with hearing peers. Methods: Using a standardized psychological measure completed by parents and a longitudinal design, this study examined the…

Maternal depression is associated with adverse child development, but little is known about the effects of paternal depression. This pilot study estimated the prevalence of paternal depression and mood state, and assessed the relationship between paternal mood and infant temperament. The participants in the study were 98 fathers of newborn babies.…

Experimental research suggests the differentiation of "nice" and "nasty" theory of mind (ToM). Over 5000 parents from the Twins Early Development Study reported on nice (e.g., being considerate) and nasty (e.g., blaming others) behaviours following their twins' second, third, and fourth birthdays. Factor analyses yielded four factors and it was…

Data from the Children in the Community Study, a community-based longitudinal study, were used to investigate associations between maternal psychiatric disorders and child-rearing behaviors. Maternal psychiatric symptoms and behavior in the home were assessed in 782 families during the childhood and adolescence of the offspring. Maternal anxiety,…

School is the major vehicle for humanism, which is, in essence, respect on human nature. Human Rights Education is important for the existence of human society in the modern globalising era. Education can function as a unifying factor and produce informed and active citizens of an interdependent world. It can provide the tools for advocacy and…

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder occurring almost exclusively in females. Regression is a defining feature of RTT. During the regression stage, RTT girls display many autistic features, such as loss of communication and social skills, poor eye contact, and lack of interest, and initially may be given the diagnosis of autism.…

In this article, we consider the theoretical debates and frameworks that have shaped research on language development and intervention in persons with mental retardation over the past four decades. Our starting point is the nativist theory, which has been espoused most forcefully by Chomsky. We also consider more recent alternatives to the…

Nutritional needs for peak athletic performance include sufficient calorie intake, adequate hydration, and attention to timing of meals. Student athletes and their advisors often are misinformed or have misconceptions about sports nutrition. This paper identifies nutritional needs of young athletes, reviews common misconceptions, and examines the…

This study examined differences in two residential care giving models (houseparent vs. child care worker) in providing continuity of care for youth in residential placement, and the effect that a care giving model had on selected program outcomes. Data for this research were collected in a residential facility that used both models. Youth with…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a combined museum and classroom intervention project on science learning in low-income children. The focus of the program was on children's content knowledge and concept complexity. Thirty children were in the experimental group. A control group of 18 children visited literacy and social studies…

The first objective of this study was to establish to what extent metacognitive skill development is associated with intelligence. As a second objective, the generality vs. domain-specificity of maturing metacognitive skills was investigated. Both issues have major implications for the training and transferability of metacognitive skills.…

South Korean mothers' reactions to preschoolers' aggression and social withdrawal were examined within a cultural framework. With recent social, political, and cultural changes in South Korea, there appears to be a conflict between traditional values and the Confucian heritage on one hand, and Western influence on the other. Mothers (N=81) of…

This paper explores the relationship between "process" quality characteristics in English pre-school centres and the developmental progress made by children between the ages of 3-5 years. A nationally representative sample of 141 English pre-schools participated in this study with longitudinal pre- and post-test measures taken from 2857…