A new test of young children's computer aptitude and knowledge about computer technologies was given to kindergarten children and third-grade students. Results are reported. Implications of the research for basic and applied developmental psychology are discussed. (RH)

Discusses costume play as a means for children to safely become other beings, cultivate their own style, experience culture, experiment with new materials, and escape their anxieties. Notes characters from children's literature who used or wanted costumes, and provides a creative activities sampler. (AEF)

Adults from the pre- and posttelevision eras were surveyed to determine whether the superhero that today's preschoolers dramatize in their play is qualitatively different from those of past childhoods. Results revealed significant changes in early childhood in heroes or play themes since the advent of television, but no significant change in…

A study was designed to determine psychological complexity and reinforcement characteristics of popular arcade video games, including sex differences in game content, clientele social structure, human-to-human interaction contingencies, and value content. Results suggest a need for public control of children's access to the games and the video…

Examined the effect of observation of gender-related information in the peer group on preschoolers' attention to toys that were not clearly delineated as appropriate for one sex or the other. Contemporaneous peer involvement was significantly associated with children's toy adoption, but cumulative peer involvement was not. (Author/BB)

Discusses how to integrate young children's interests into classroom learning activities. Emphasizes the need for early childhood educators to be creative and open-minded when encountering unexpected interests and classroom situations. (KB)

The aim of this paper is to induce doubt about the ethical rightness of compulsory education laws and inspire educators to imagine and begin to make a world in which there are many different forms of gifted education. The paper does this in three ways. It paints a polemical picture of gifted education as a minor variation on public schooling and…

In industrialised Western nations generally, and European Union (EU) nations particularly, immigration is an issue of considerable concern and debate. In the EU, however, discussion of immigration has tended to centre on a number of policy issues, from reliance on welfare provision, to labour force participation, to healthcare provision, to…

The "computers are social actors" paradigm asserts that human-to-computer interactions are fundamentally social responses. Earlier research has shown that effective management of the social presence in user interface design can improve user engagement and motivation. Much of this research has focused on adult subjects. This study…

Helping parents, teachers, and librarians choose the best non-violent, non-sexist videos for children, this book presents brief descriptions of more than 800 videos (for children up to 12 years old) that were selected (out of more than 2500 screened) for their life-affirming content, cultural diversity, and lack of violence and sexism. Each film…

Based on Louise Rosenblatt's transactional theory of reader response, the studies collected in this book present findings and recommendations that contribute to the understanding of how children create meaning from stories, how they acquire literacy skills to express that meaning, and what role educators play in these literary processes. The book…

A study was conducted to determine whether the expressed reading interests of third grade students corresponded with the topics in their basal readers. Students indicated on an interest survey the kinds of stories they liked to read. Two fourth grade basal readers were analyzed--"Time to Wonder" by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, and "Clearing Paths"…

West German research on children's interests is described, with emphasis on a 3-year longitudinal study of 12 children, aged 3 to 7. Two main lines of interest research are identified: (1) research activities rooted in the tradition of differential psychology emphasizing vocational interests, traits, and attitudes; and (2) research based on a new…

There has been a remarkable amount of production and publication of children's poetry since the 1960s. One of the early, popular anthologies of children's poetry was "Miracles" (Simon & Shuster, 1966), with poems from English-speaking countries revealing how imaginative children could be and their use of metaphors. "The Me Nobody Knows: Children's…

Focusing on the cooperative role of parents and public libraries in stimulating reading interests in children of all ages, this booklet addresses the following issues: (1) getting children interested in reading (reading aloud to children; encouraging children to read to you; starting a home library; showing children that you enjoy reading;…