This handbook is a compendium of current research findings in early childhood education (ECE) and contains 33 essays, divided into 4 parts, by leading scholars in the field. After a brief introduction, part 1 addresses child development and early education in five chapters: "Cognitive Development and ECE"; "Motor Development and…

The purpose of education should not be to fill students with objective knowledge but to develop in students the ability to process information in ways that enhance understanding, according to the process model of curriculum development proposed by Lawrence Stenhouse. Defining education thus does not allow for the establishment of fixed educational…

Presented are examples of student differences in thought forms derived from interviews of students entering the natural science line and technology line of the integrated upper secondary schools in Sweden. Methods are outlined for the symbolic description, analysis and interpretation of "thought forms," and ways are described in which dialogue…

A comparison of regular preschools and their teachers with Montessori preschools and their teachers is made in order to assess the advisability of introducing Montessori teacher education in an Australian teacher education institution. The comparison involves a discussion of general educational objectives, curriculum, teacher education, the role…

Comparative analyses of educational methods have often been inconclusive; there are several possible explanations: (1) each method is optimally effective under specifically differing circumstances; (2) the studies tend to emphasize one input variable to the exclusion of the others; (3) the methods do not have widely accepted definitions; and (4)…

This report results from a symposium held to study aesthetic education in terms of concepts, related experience, methodology, and future research and implementation. An introductory survey of pertinent literature including a bibliography reflects current related thought. The conference first emphasized the determination of objectives and the…

Communication is urged between theorists of human development and practitioners in early childhood education. Major psychological theories on maturation, child development, child behavior, personality formation, and affective and intellectual development are summarized and their effects on nursery school practices from the 1920's to the present…

The article starts with a historical overview, discusses the arguments for and against ability grouping. It surveys the literature on different practices of grouping that exist in the American and British literature. The study mainly focuses on instructional grouping practices based on ability and on cooperation. It discusses arguments for and…

This discussion of ecological approaches to special education suggests that the relative neglect of the ecological approach is partially a result of the apparent incompatibility between ecological theory and conventional scientific approaches. It is suggested that ecological theory and positivism may be reconciled by broadening and developing…

The manual provides vocational and technical teachers with a review of the principles of learning which have application to their subject fields. Organized into three sections, the booklet offers: (1) a selected review of the literature related to how learning theory is applied to instruction; (2) principles of learning that have been identified…

The focus of this study is upon analyzing effective and ineffective teachers in terms of their behavior in the classroom, not in terms of their personalities or attitudes. It is suggested that 2 fundamental characteristics distinguish effective from ineffective teachers of American Indian and Eskimo students: (1) a high level of personal warmth,…

It is the view of this research paper that elementary social studies is "on the backburner" in school classrooms. Data were gathered by four means: (1) a statewide survey of 15 of the 19 Delaware public school districts to gather responses from social studies supervisors or their equivalents; (2) a statewide survey of elementary school…

This directory of specialists and institutions involved with Anthropology and Language Science in Educational Development (ALSED) aims primarily at providing the foundation for an international ALSED network of scholars, qroups, and agencies actively dealing with the socio-cultural and linguistic adaptation of the content and methodology of…

The purpose of this report is to describe the present education system in Spain as it relates to lifelong education. The report identifies criteria and methodological problems in educational planning aimed at transforming school systems along the lines of lifelong education. It then describes how these principles have been incorporated in the…

Emphasizes four points of entry that history provides for historical analysis: (1) doing of history as the capacity to explore origins and ideas; (2) history as a vehicle for social choices and alternative possibilities; (3) biography as a window to view social change; and (4) exploration of intersections between human aging and social structure.…