Collected are four conference speeches which in various ways attack the developmental perspective that views genetics as a source of stability and environment as a source of change. Dr. Bonnie E. Litowitz's discussion of "Context and Continuity: Changing Perspectives on Children" explores differences among development, learning, and evolution to account for the importance of the concepts of interaction and context in contemporary research on children. Discussing the "Development of a Transactional Self," Dr. Jerome S. Bruner argues that the nature of the development of self is such that it becomes possible to maintain continuity in development while providing the basis for change. In "Children and Social Networks," Dr. J.P. Comer asserts that there is too little research on the life and development of children in their social networks beyond the family or on the skills and interactions needed to function adequately in those social networks in the complexity of contemporary, urban society. Particular attention is given to the success of the Yale Child Study Center team's intervention efforts in inner-city schools. In conclusion, Dr. Michael Cole's description of "A Socio-Cultural Approach to the Study of Re-mediation" argues that information processing theory and systems of remedial reading instruction fail to see reading as a process of interpreting the world. He describes research documenting the effectiveness of incorporating that view in remedial interventions. (RH)