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The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual basis for advocacy of an inquiry-based instructional model. Focusing on the teacher as inquirer, the paper discusses the nature of inquiry, presents its conceptual framework and describes in detail the use of question strategies in the preschool program. The definition of inquiry analyzes structure and function of the question, particularly manifest and latent message levels. Discussion of the conceptual basis examines concepts of distancing (from the immediate behavioral environment), tension and discrepancy, relating resolution of discrepancy to cognitive growth. Types of distancing behaviors are described, with specific examples given of basic questioning strategies for the preschool classroom. Tentative conclusions point to the consistency of the concepts and rules presented with certain current theories of cognitive growth. (BF)

The Early Childhood Education Project (ECEP) is an experiment in the effects of educational intervention of two-year-old first-born children from impoverished black families. Twenty ECEP children were compared to a control group on the basis of a battery of pre- and post-tests after six months of intervention training. Teachers attempted to develop social-emotional adjustment and cognitive behavior. Training occurred in both group and tutorial sessions. Narrative observations, rating scales and observation of test-related behaviors were measures of social-emotional development and a battery of tests measured cognitive skill. Preliminary findings indicate that the intervention program was effective in the development of cognitive skills, especially in language, pantomime, seriation and train building. Only sex differences are compared for social-emotional development. Boys were more cooperative, defended their possessions and were more aggressive to people and objects than girls. Girls were more compliant to demands and initiated more interactions with teachers. (DG)

This document presents some of the major challenges facing Developmental Psychologists. Research revealed that middle class children tended to respond in classification tasks to objects and pictures as equivalents, whereas low class black children tended not to do so. The reason for this was investigated. This investigation of the course of development of representational thinking is of import for theoretical and practical reasons: (1) to enhance understanding of a crucial cognitive phenomena, and (2) to provide diagnostic and remediational procedures to insure continued growth and mastery of symoblic activities. Examination of the literature and of parent child data suggested that the children from impoverished environments had less experience in utilizing those processes that are inherent in representational thought, i.e., anticipation, planning, articulation of events in linguistic terms, etc. The basic hypothesis emerged that exposing children to distancing behavior should enhance the development of representational skills. The decision was made to work with two-year-olds in a nursery-school-type setting to give them a chance to engage in representational thought. It became clear very early in the program that the children could and did engage in group-type behaviors and were increasingly involved in a small group setting. (CK)

This paper is concerned with issues related to reasons why some early childhood intervention programs may not have lived up to expectations. By intervention is meant the introduction of planned programing deliberately timed and arranged in order to alter the anticipated or projected course of development. Although an intervention program should be a hypothesis testing program (one that requires that the dependent as well as the independent variable be clearly articulated) until the data is in, this is not the usual case. Matters recommended for discussion in establishing an intervention program include: (1) the variety of subsystems comprising the human organism, (2) the relationship between systems longitudinally, (3) the when of intervention, i.e., identification of the significant epochs wherein particular interventions would have more relevance in getting the child on an appropriate "course" of growth, (4) the degree to which the child can assimilate and accomodate to the program, (5) the degree to which certain competencies or structures are susceptible to modification, (6) the relationship between the child and the broader environmental context, and (7) the interaction between the child and his parents. It is concluded that an airing of these matters will not only make intervention experience of value to the target children (minority group members), but will also facilitate the child's subsequent learning. (CK)

An experimental preschool was set up to study the effect of mixing children differing in SES and race on racial awareness and interaction. It was hypothesized that racial self-selection could be explained in terms of SES level and that interracial contact when different SES children were included would serve to counteract racial stereotypes and self-selection. Ss were 30 children in two classrooms. The classrooms were comprised of 13 Black (B) and 17 White (W) children, 17 Middle Income (M) and 13 Lower Income (L) children, and 15 each males and females. The children were given a Picture-Sociometric Test and RAFT test early in the school year and at the end of the year. Results show that the M children seemed to have been chosen as playmates significantly more than their L counterparts. There were no differences in the frequency with which B or W children are chosen as playmates. M children are chosen with the greatest frequency with a slightly greater tendency for the MW children to be chosen according to sociometric results. (Author/CK)

This seminar on the role of teachers in intervention programs consists of five papers. The first serves as an introduction and stresses the necessity of teachers' acceptance of change for program success. In the second paper, Sigel and Jackson expand on one of Sigel's introductory themes, the central role of the teacher in the process of change and her need to have the right attitudes. Next, Schalock presents a detailed model for teacher training programs. The basic assumption of this model is that prospective teachers should, before certification, demonstrate both the proper attitude and the ability to carry on the functions of a modern teacher, including participating in intervention projects. In the fourth paper, McDavid discusses the teacher as a socialization agent, helping the child to be able to live in his own society. Finally, Dr. Beller reports on an experimental study of authoritarian and democratic teachers that shows the significant effect the teacher has both on what the child learns, and on his approach to learning. (Document ED 034 088 has the full text of the proceedings of all six Head Start seminars in this series.) (MH)

This study analyzes the Object Categorization Test (OCT) and the Picture Categorization Test (PCT) to provide (1) psychometric analysis of the tests, (2) substantive analysis detailing variation in performance level as a function of age, race, class, and sex, and (3) normative data yielding frequencies of various score patterns. Data was taken from tests given to more than 500 black and white children from lower and middle class backgrounds. Item analysis revealed that the OCT and PCT were sensitive to sex, education, and test order, and provided a range of types of responses for 4- and 5-year-olds. There were greater differences between ages than within an age group. Test-retest reliability was moderately high. Test order (OCT before PCT, or vice versa) had an effect, interacting with sex and social class of the child. Middle class children tended to provide more consistent response patterns on the OCT and PCT than lower class children, especially lower class black children. Boys and girls showed differential response patterns dependent on test order. Dominant styles of responding to test items were identified for lower class blacks, indicating that styles varied with age, sex, and educational status. Recommendations are made regarding the use of the OCT and PCT. (DR)

The four purposes of this study were (1) to test the long-range effects of classification training (CT) on disadvantaged black children, (2) to evaluate the effects of reintroducing CT to those previously trained, (3) to compare CT at two age periods (5 and 6 years old), and (4) to compare CT with attention training (AT). Of the 69 children used in this study, 30 had received CT the year before, and 39 had received no training (NT). CT focuses on the many attributes of objects that may be used as a basis for grouping. AT teaches the child to focus on observable attributes and to discriminate among them. The children were pretested, and 59 of them were divided into six groups: (1) CT-CT (the symbols signifying that the group received CT the previous year and the current year), (2) NT-CT, (3) CT-AT, (4) NT-AT, (5) CT-NT, and (6) NT-NT. Pretraining scores on a battery of grouping tasks indicated that the previous year's training had had a lasting effect, at least in facilitating a more flexible approach to classification in the current year. CT-CT, NT-AT, and NT-CT children showed a significant increase in grouping responses on posttests. (WD)

This document is an annual report for the academic year 1966-67 dealing with research of the Merrill-Palmer Institute conducted in conjunction with the Head Start Evaluation and Research Center of Michigan State University. Section one of the report consists of five research studies on learning and cognition: (1) Modification of Classificatory Competence and Level of Representation Among Lower-Class Negro Kindergarten Children (see abstract number ED 021 608); (2) Developmental Studies in Egocentricism: I. Violation of Expectancies; (3) Bidimensional Attention in Lower- and Middle-Class Preschool Children: A Developmental Study; (4) A Training Study of Object Related Fluency; and (5) Exploratory Studies in Creativity. Section two reports the current status of four projects in family studies: (1) Family Aspirations and Expectation; (2) The Dynamics of the Husband-Wife Relationship; (3) Parent-Child Interactions, Attitudes and Focus of Control; and (4) Early Environmental Stimulation. An appendix sets out a comprehensive parent interview form used in the Head Start project. (WD)

PIAGET HAS BEEN CONCERNED WITH THE ASSESSMENT OF THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF CONSERVATION AND RELATED PROCESSES, BUT HE HAS NOT FOCUSED EXPERIMENTALLY ON THE FACTORS WHICH CAN ACCOUNT FOR THE LEARNING OF CONSERVATION. TO INVESTIGATE SUCH FACTORS, RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED (1) TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TWO PARTICULAR GROUP TRAINING PROCEDURES DESIGNED TO INDUCE CONSERVATION AND (2) TO ASSESS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND THE LOGICAL OPERATIONS OF CLASSIFICATION, SERIATION, AND REVERSIBILITY. AFTER PRETESTING WITH CONSERVATION TASKS, 36 KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN WERE SELECTED AS SUBJECTS BECAUSE THEY WERE ABLE TO CORRECTLY USE THE COMPARATIVE TERMS "MORE,""SAME," AND "LESS" BUT UNABLE TO CONSERVE QUANTITY, NUMBER, AND AREA. ADDITIONAL PRETESTING WITH LOGICAL OPERATIONS TASKS WAS ADMINISTERED TO THE SUBJECTS WHO WERE THEN EQUALLY DISTRIBUTED AMONG SIX TRAINING GROUPS. FOUR GROUPS RECEIVED TRAINING IN LABELING AND CLASSIFICATION SKILLS. DISCRIMINATION-MEMORY TRAINING WAS PROVIDED FOR TWO GROUPS. EACH GROUP HAD NINE 20-MINUTE TRAINING SESSIONS, AND ALL SUBJECTS WERE SUBSEQUENTLY RETESTED WITH BOTH THE CONSERVATION AND THE LOGICAL OPERATIONS TASKS TO DETERMINE IF CONSERVATION LEARNING HAD TAKEN PLACE. BASED ON ANALYSIS OF THE DATA, IT IS CONCLUDED THAT (1) BOTH TRAINING METHODS WERE SUCCESSFUL IN INDUCING CONSERVATION, (2) NEITHER METHOD WAS SIGNIFICANTLY MORE EFFECTIVE, AND (3) ONLY LIMITED RELATIONSHIPS WERE FOUND BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND LOGICAL OPERATIONS. DETAILED RESULTS, SUBSIDIARY FINDINGS, EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ARE INCLUDED IN THE TEXT OF THE PROJECT REPORT. FIVE APPENDIXES CONTAIN (1) TEST FORMATS AND PROTOCOLS, (2) DESCRIPTIONS OF TRAINING PROCEDURES, AND (3) RAW STATISTICAL DATA. (JS)

The basic hypotheses were (1) children with detailed exposure to objects would increase in knowledge of the complexity of objects but would also exhibit a corresponding increase in object-picture discrepancy, (2) children exposed only to pictures would show minimal object-picture discrepancy but would exhibit a lower response repertoire, and (3) children using objects followed by pictures would show most increase in classification skills, exhibiting less object-picture discrepancy. The sample consisted of 117 children of lower socioeconomic class from kindergartens of representative inner-city, lower class schools. Tests administered were the Object-Picture Categorization Test, a Haptic Test, and the Motor Encoding Test. Results indicate that classification training does enhance the child's ability to employ grouping and scorable responses, as well as increase the variety of criteria by which to classify. Detailed results, tables, and appendixes are included. This paper was presented at the Sixth Work Conference on Curriculum and Teaching in Depressed Areas, Teachers College, Columbia University, June 1967. (EF)

The skills required by the television journalist--writing, editing, filming, broadcasting--are fully described and analyzed in this detailed guide and textbook. Among the topics treated are sources of news stories, interviewing techniques, filming of breaking news, newsfilm editing, clear and colorful writing, and graphics presentation. A description of the television news day, including an examination of news personnel, provides the background against which the techniques of the newsman can be seen. The sections on interviewing and writing stories would be useful for all journalists. The emphasis, though, is on news for television and the links between copy, photographs, and film. Several chapters describe the uses of camera and sound equipment. Special news situations such as election reporting, weather, sports, etc. are considered, and problems of good taste, objectivity, and broadcast standards are examined in some detail. (JK/MT)

Theoretical and empirical research derived from Piagetian theory is collected on the intellectual development of the elementary school child and his acquisition and utilization of conservation concepts. The articles present diversity of method and motive in the results of replication (validation studies of the description of cognitive growth) and efforts at modifying the course of growth as charted by Piaget. Research is included on quantity conservation concepts at different ages and with situational generality, the development of number concepts (including a scalogram analysis and a comparison of the logic of classes and cardinal numbers), the development of spatial and geometric concepts (also examined by nonverbal methods), and the growth of logical operations (including a scalogram study). Additional areas treated are the acquisition of conservation of substance and weight, quantity, number, learning and operational convergence in logical thought development, effects of verbal and perceptual training on water level representation, and Piagetian research and education. Conservation is discussed theoretically as a source of empirical research, by a stimulus-response analysis, by problems from perception to inference, and on methodological and definitional considerations. (SN)