Numerous neurological, psychological, and transfer studies confirmed the role of learning music in cognitive development and education. However, exploring the long-term impacts of early musical abilities on academic achievement has gained relatively little attention thus far. In a seven-year longitudinal study, we examined the predictive role of…

This study examined the psychological well-being of gifted primary school children. From a screening sample of 233 children in Grades 1 and 2 across five schools in the Netherlands, 35 children achieving high scores on two out of three selection criteria (teacher nomination, creativity, and nonverbal reasoning ability) and 34 typically developing…

Transactional relations between children's positive social interaction skills, school engagement, and academic achievement were examined using a longitudinal panel model across the transition from preschool to first grade. Participants were Head Start children (N = 241; 49% girls, M age = 53 months, range 45-60); 78% were Mexican/Mexican-American;…

A substantial literature documents the benefits of early childhood education and formal preschool experiences on children's school readiness, with low-income and otherwise disadvantaged children benefitting the most from these programs. However, these academic benefits often fade out as children age, and most disappear by the end of kindergarten…

This article presents results from two studies that included ethnically and socioeconomically diverse samples totaling 4,462 children in kindergarten through third grade. Each study examined the psychometric properties of a web-based, self-administered battery of assessments of socialemotional comprehension called "SELweb." Assessment…

Background: Methods for teaching thinking may be described as out-of-context or infusion. Both approaches have potential to raise students' general cognitive processing ability and so raise academic achievement, but each has disadvantages. Aims: To describe and evaluate a theory-based learn to think (LTT) curriculum for primary school students,…

Based on a sample of 480 academically at-risk first graders, we used a cluster analysis involving multimethod assessment (i.e., teacher-report, peer-evaluation, and self-report) of behavioral and psychological engagement to identify subtypes of academic engagement. Four theoretically and practically meaningful clusters were identified and labeled…

Purpose of the study was to provide an adequate test of the original Rosenthal and Jacobson teacher expectancy hypothesis by using: (a) equivalent control and experimental groups based on pretest data, and (b) a more suitable test of intelligence. (Authors/CB)

Thirty normal first-grade students with a mean age of 7.0 years were administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities, and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability. Pearson intercorrelations among the summary indices of these cognitive measures were uniformly high, ranging from…

To test the validity of brief measures of intelligence and explore how well these instruments relate to academic performance, the WPPSI-R, the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Scale, Draw-A-Person: Quantitative Scoring System, and the K-ABC Achievement Scale were administered to 50 kindergarten and first-grade children. Results indicated all measures…

A research project introduced changes into the kindergarten and 1st grade instructional programs of a developmental school. The purposes were to implement an adaptive instructional system which would teach children the basic psychological processes relevant to 1st grade reading and math achievement and which would accommodate individual…

Obtained intelligence scale scores to predict academic achievement scores on a comprehensive testing program given at the end of grades one, two, and three. Results show that correlations between achievement and verbal IQ are significant at all three grade levels. Findings indicate that verbal abilities are more predictive of academic achievement…

A STUDY WAS CONDUCTED TO FIND OUT WHETHER OR NOT A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN PUPILS' ACADEMIC POTENTIAL (AS MEASURED BY A STANDARDIZED GROUP TEST OF INTELLIGENCE) COULD BE MADE AS A RESULT OF APPROPRIATE MODIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHING-LEARNING ENVIRONMENT TO MEET THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF DISADVANTAGED PUPILS. DEPRIVED NEGRO PUPILS AND THEIR TEACHERS IN…

The first section of this report describes certain educational characteristics of the children in grades 1 to 3 who participated in the Educational Improvement Program (EIP). Specifically discussed are the children's intelligence and reading achievement and the program's educational setting, instructional materials, and staff. Data are given to…