Language is a means by which different minds communicate ideas to one another. It is also a means our minds use to understand ourselves, other people, the world around us, and the relationships among them. In language acquisition, we are basically developing a code that we will use to understand, formulate and communicate ideas. The acquisition of…

This article revisits the debate between cultural and critical literacy through ethnography challenging popular academic views in education and literacy. Set in a preschool classroom at the inception of the "No Child Left Behind" initiative, this essay focuses on teaching assistant Marylou Anderson. Her experiences growing up in…

Survey data from 174 university students are presented, on a scale designed to measure preference for absolute knowledge and perspective in instruction, including online discussions. Results demonstrate a strong effect of class level such that students in lower grade levels reported a greater preference for instruction involving unambiguous…

This article describes psychodrama action techniques that were effectively implemented in a university-level race relations course. Essential elements of these techniques included acting out and critical self-examination of the individual's personal beliefs. In a semi-structured class format in which uncensored spontaneity was stressed, students…

Three pieces make up this publication. The first, titled "Absent without Leave: Solitude and the Scheme of Schooling" (Craig B. Howley), argues that education requires both a measure of solitude for students to form opinions and a healthy respect for the privacy of students' minds from educators. The second essay, "A World Came to…

The way in which professional counselors perceive or conceptualize clients and their presenting issues constitutes an outward expression of the counselors' philosophy, training and world view. These perceptions and conceptualizations directly or indirectly affect assessment, therapeutic methodology, and even client outcomes. This article presents…

The Exploring Together Outdoors Program is an Australian program that integrates family therapy interventions with adventure therapy, providing an opportunity for mother/child dyads that have conflictual relationships to develop more positive connections. This paper focuses on a group of four mothers and their four daughters who participated in 2…

This research paper was undertaken with three goals in mind: (1) to explore the perceptions of teachers regarding their principals' leadership styles; (2) to analyze the perceptions of principals themselves regarding their own leadership styles; and (3) to compare teachers' perceptions with those of the principals to discover discrepancies between…

"The Power of Maps" is an exhibition held at the Smithsonian Institution, October 6, 1992 to March 7, 1993, that presented more than 300 maps dating from 1500 B.C. to today. This exhibition handbook has been organized to help teachers integrate the study of maps with their school curricula. The 17 suggested activities related directly to…

Pretend play and language growth are related through representational thought. Fundamental to representational thought are five connectives, at the theoretical level, which link pretend play and language growth: motor actions, roles and role changes, creative expression, concentration, and decentration. At the research level, results of selected…

Intervention to enhance Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS) skills has been shown to significantly reduce observable negative, impulsive and inhibited behaviors and increase positive qualities in young, low socioeconomic status (SES) children. An ICPS model for older children was implemented with 202 low SES fifth graders to test…

A study was made of the effects of role perspective and gender on the moral judgments of children. Because they represent a transitional period in cognitive development from heteronomy to autonomy, a total of 25 male and 38 female third-grade students of approximately 9 years of age were selected for participation. The effect of perspective taking…

Developed by the Illinois Governor's Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, this guide is intended to help parents and other laypersons communicate more knowledgeably and effectively with professionals who work with handicapped persons, as well as with handicapped individuals themselves. Section I offers suggestions for interpersonal…

Social cognition of adults, unlike children's social understanding, has rarely been addressed from a developmental viewpoint. To extend the developmental perspective to the study of adults' social cognitive skills in relation to other mental and social skills, 52 college students were compared in role taking performance and nonsocial cognitive…

As yet there is no comprehensive, systematic, demonstrably effective program for maximizing empathetic communication behaviors. What is needed are theories, concepts, and methods that would provide for such learning. One avenue of approach is to search for models and metaphors that would allow for an encompassing comprehension of empathy and…