Discusses the value of tool-use activities to help toddlers develop emerging skills, experience creative expression, and understand means-end relationships. Provides examples of opportunities for using objects as tools, including language acquisition, self-help activities, dramatic play, sensory experiences, and object manipulation. (DST)

The social and interpersonal characteristics of early adolescents are described in relation to puberty and the physical and emotional changes that are experienced by the preteen. Learning characteristics for this age group include problem-solving strategies, self-directed learning, and emerging value systems. (JN)

Summarizes research studies published since 1960 which provide comparative data on Black and White adolescents. Topics covered include academic achievement, development, creativity, achievement motivation, locus of control, self-concept, personality, aspirations, attitudes and beliefs, and mass media use patterns. (GC)

The effects of instruction in the Piacceleration Program (PXL), a hands on mastery-based program of instruction in Piagetian skills, on the acquisition of skills of classification, seriation, and conservation were studied with 28 Head Start students of Hispanic origin and 28 comparisons. PXL students did perform better on these skills. (SLD)

A 1-year lag was found between the effect of an intervention intended to promote formal operational thinking in students initially 11 or 12 years of age and the appearance of substantial science achievement in the experimental groups. A one-year lag on cognitive development and an age/gender interaction were also reported. (Author/KR)

Attempts to integrate recent models of social systems based on age and cognitive personality research with research on adolescence. Presents a conceptual model of how adolescents set personal goals, construct cognitive strategies, and evaluate their success in an age-graded sociocultural context. Discusses future directions for research based on…

In response to extended-day child care schedules, this article offers suggestions for planning a variety of developmentally appropriate activities to maintain the preschool child's interest and energy. Suggestions are provided for scheduling, enlisting parent and volunteer participation, increasing awareness of current events, and for end-of-day…

Designed for use by parents to further the emotional, social, and intellectual development of their 2- to 6-year old children, this book describes the Montessori method of early childhood education and provides sample activities and games to develop children's skills in the home, the neighborhood, and the world. Following introductory sections…

The Brief Intervention Program (BIP) is a mental health day program in Melbourne (Australia) for adolescents with severe mental health problems who are at risk for suicide. The 10-week program serves closed groups of 6-8 adolescents aged 13-18 years and has 3 phases: engagement and orientation (week 1), treatment (weeks 2-9), and integration (week…

The 56 tests in this bibliography have been designated as culture fair by their publisher or have been mentioned in the literature as being culture fair. A culture fair or culture free test is defined as one that has freedom from verbal, content, or emotional loadings that differ among cultures. Some tests on this list, described as being culture…

The analysis presented here focuses on different problem situations extracted from everyday interactions in which individual developmental changes of the child interfere with well-established interaction patterns of the family. These problem situations require conjoint mastery of two objectives: (a) successful integration of the child into the…

Reports a series of studies conducted to investigate possible differences in the exploratory manipulation and play behavior of human infants 7-1/2- 11-1/2 months of age as a function of the attributes of the stimulus, the familiarity of the subject with the stimuli, the age and sex of the infants, and individual differences. (Author/CS)

It has generally been assumed that lower socioeconomic status teenage parents are atypical in their expectations about child development compared to other parental groups. However there is little information available concerning the expectations of middle class parents. Middle class nonparent teenagers (N=50) and two parental groups (participants…

Used as an integral part of the migrant student skills system operated by the Migrant Student Record Transfer System (MSRTS), the reading skills list contains a catalog of reading skills typical of the K-12 grade range. This catalog includes a sample of the MSRTS transmittal record which permits teachers to report the reading skills being worked…

A Self-Concept Scale for Adolescents based on Havighurst's Developmental Tasks for Youth was constructed to reflect the adolescents' perceptions of their ability to achieve these tasks in relation to personal abilities, the abilities of others, and the criteria for successful task completion. A validity and reliability study showed the scale to be…