Over the past decade, there has been a worldwide search for caretaking factors which protect children from poverty, poor health, and neglect. This search has shifted in focus from unchangeable risk factors to conditions and behaviors that can be taught to caregivers. These conditions seem to be: (1) based in species-wide needs; (2) specific to…

This paper presents data collected from rehabilitation centers serving individuals with developmental disabilities in Minnesota, called Developmental Achievement Centers (DACs). The data focus on finances, programs, and clients, and are compared with data from previous years. All 97 providers of adult services in Minnesota completed the survey,…

The cultural nature of the concept of the child in American early childhood education from 1880 to the present was examined. Chapters 1 through 10 consider the following concepts: (1) the child as a theoretical construction in a review of the literature; (2) the exaltation of childhood by Froebel and the American Froebelians; (3) the savage child…

The project guide for 4-H leaders and teenage club members in 4-H community development projects consists of two components, a set of leader materials and a Teen Notebook. The leader materials are presented in this document and provide one preparatory unit and four experiential units of instruction on aspects of working with young children in a…

The main purpose of this essay is to articulate a conceptual framework for early mental development. The content of the essay is based on a review of psychoanalytic literature and includes an attempt to integrate preverbal developmental data with the constructs of psychoanalytic theory. The view is taken that object constancy and the capacity to…

The third book in a 5-book manual on day camping discusses the campers themselves. Section I provides a case study of the pre-school camper and the counselor. Section II addresses the needs and characteristics of children from ages 6-12 and describes what children need from parents, teachers, playmates, and community. Section III discusses the…

This book offers ideas to help parents teach positive values to their children. The book suggests ways to teach children to have the courage to tell the truth; to understand the value of hard work and persistence; and to make positive contributions to their community, their country, and their world. It includes four sections on helping children…

Based on the papers presented at the 1996 Symposium of the Jean Piaget Society and highlighting the extent to which Piaget's ideas have served to scaffold contemporary thinking about every aspect of conceptual development, this volume examines the nature of conceptual development, its foundations, and the sources of its novelties. The chapters…

Proposes the dialectical perspective as offering fertile ground for the integration of child and family research and training. Defines the dialectical perspective and then discusses its applicability in a department of child and family studies. (Author)

This article attempts to stimulate school psychologists to determine whether their teachers have the competencies necessary to produce positive pupil growth and to train those teachers who lack these skills. A brief review of research on selected aspects of teacher behavior is presented. (Author)

Draws upon Maria Montessori's writings to examine work as a universal human tendency throughout life. Discusses the work of adaptation of the infant, work of "psycho-muscular organism" for the preschooler, work of the imagination for the elementary child, community work of the adolescent, and work of the adult. Asserts that…

Proposes a new theory of self, based on the principles defined by Lawrence Kohlberg in his theory of moral development. The model sets forth self complexity (schemata) and biography (themata) as dimensions of self. Describes normal and atypical development arising from interaction of these components and assesses implications for practice. (KO)

Argues the importance of context to the description, theory, and understanding of human behavior because it influences children's primary group relations with family members, teachers, and peers. The article explains that, to be useful for children, social policies must inform the public on how its projected changes will influence socialization…

Three experiments focused on the function relating children's response time to adults' response time in corresponding conditions. In all experiments, children's response times increased in a linear manner as a function of adults' response times. (BB)

This study assesses whether third graders verbalize gender differences in dominance in mixed- and same-sex interactions, using data from tape-recordings of 43 pairs of white children (14 female and 12 male same-sex dyads and 17 different-sex dyads) playing checkers in same- or mixed-sex conditions. Children develop gender-differentiated speech…