Delineates specific psychosocial developmental demands placed upon middle schoolers and links these demands to the self-concept disturbance they typically feel. Offers a number of general recommendations useful to educators who are interested in considering the relationship between educational experiences and self-concept disturbance among early…

The paper discusses problems with traditional definitions of dyslexia and reviews research that suggests a more comprehensive definition, viewing dyslexia as a developmental language disorder that involves a deficit in phonological processing. The disorder is seen as manifesting itself in various phonological difficulties as well as in a specific…

Examines the relationship between Chickering's vectors and the development of moral reasoning in college students. Results indicate that the developmental tasks of Academic Autonomy, Mature Interpersonal Relationships, and Purpose are closely related to the development of moral maturity, and that identity and moral development are parallel…

One of the major developmental tasks of adolescence is establishing a unified self-concept, or identity. Four identity statuses (conceptualized by J. E. Marcia as identity achievement, foreclosure, identity diffused and moratorium) are related to (1) the presence or absence of crisis, and (2) a resulting commitment to goals. To examine the…

Although the concept of learning readiness has been recognized for over a century, the term readiness did not appear until the 1920s. Readiness efforts must be considered in terms of their effect on the quality of life for young children, and continued evaluation of activities must take place in these terms. (JN)

A basic goal for individuals as they struggle to face normative developmental tasks across their life span is to determine how to make meaning of their experiences, real and vicarious. The authors describe a workshop that gave counselors and human service practitioners meaning-making strategies that they could use in their personal and…

In this paper, we review findings from Project Competence on the nature of personality development from middle childhood through the early adult years and place these findings in the context of current research on temperament and personality traits. In a series of studies using data drawn from the Project Competence longitudinal project, we have…

This report constitutes one of the first activities of the Forum on Adolescence, a cross-cutting activity of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies. Established under the auspices of the Board on Children, Youth, and Families, the forum's overarching mission is to synthesize, analyze, and evaluate…

The question of how to integrate developmental (Piagetian) and psychometric conceptions and assessments of intelligence is considered. A solution which incorporates the contributions of each position--intelligence as forms and as traits--is offered. Premises and objectives of each tradition are reviewed and compared. Overlaps make synthesis…

Adult children who return home are responding to unemployment and financial need, but factors such as dependence, protection needs, and parental happiness appear to be involved in long-term stays. This paper combines survey data to identify factors for successful living arrangements, and areas of conflict and dissatisfaction. (Author/NRB)

The instructional computer program LOGO enables children to construct their own programs. This article presents an evaluation of LOGO and use of computers in education. The author discusses reasons why computer science belongs in high school rather than elementary school. (DF)

The middle school originated out of an understanding for the need of a learning environment geared specifically to the needs of the early adolescent. The transition from concrete to formal operational thought and the affective and psychomotor developmental stages demonstrate the uniqueness of the early adolescent experience. (JN)

Discusses pregnancy from four perspectives: as a normative crisis period; as a developmental process including both the pregnant woman and the expectant father; as an experience affecting marital relationships, including the presence of family violence; and as a context for prevention and intervention. (RH)

Adult development theory can assist supervisors in understanding the needs of staff member sin various stages on their psychosocial and career development. A chart was created that identifies developmental tasks or challenges many student affairs professionals face during their working lives, and approaches supervisors may use to assist staff in…

Two experiments used a formal model of developmental discontinuity derived from catastrophe theory to test whether the transition from Rule I to Rule II on the balance scale task proceeds discontinuously from ages 6 to 10, focusing on five catastrophe flags. Found that bimodality, inaccessible region, hysteresis, and sudden jump were clearly…