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This study examined the longer‐term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on theory of mind (ToM) skills of children who were between the ages of 5 and 7 years at the time of injury. Fifty‐two children with orthopaedic injury, 30 children with moderate TBI, and 12 children with severe TBI were evaluated approximately 1 year post‐injury (mean age=6.98 years, SD=0.59, range=6.02–8.26). Children with severe TBI did not engage in representation of first‐ and second‐order mental states at a developmental level comparable to their peers, suggesting stagnation or lack of development, as well as regression of putatively existing ToM skills. Age, task‐specific cognitive demands, and verbal abilities were strong predictors of ToM performance. However, even after taking those factors into account, children with severe TBI had poorer ToM performance than children with orthopaedic injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subject of this article is the structure and evolution of skills developed by pupils at primary level. Starting from an analysis of the panel data provided by the French Ministry of Education, the main object of this paper is an original measurement of skills using structural models. The findings of this research raise two complementary issues. The first issue concerns the cross-curricular nature of skills suggesting a logic of disciplinary interdependence. The acquisition of a skill may be strongly correlated to the acquisition of other skills belonging to the same subject area or to other subject areas. The notion of a set of skills is used to account for the connections between the different aspects of acquired skills. The second issue concerns the evolution of skills over time. Here the aim will be to identify the kinds of skills that are the most predictive of subsequent educational success. This issue is highly relevant for educational policy-making. It is hoped that the results presented in this paper will improve one's understanding of the ways in which schools might provide pupils with the best chances of success in the earliest stages of their educational career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences is the property of Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A videogame is a cultural device with its own socializing functions, as stated by most of the media. The high levels of pleasure and enjoyment it gives players make it essential to analyse its potential as an educational tool, more so if there is an awareness of its value as a vehicle for personality development among young people. This paper tries to provide current examples of the wide range of videogames and their ability to develop certain skills related to the dynamic representation of space, within Jerome Bruner's learning model. There is analysis of how adventure, strategy, simulation and role-playing games improve the development of skills such as reflection, strategic and tactical reasoning, or mental agility and economic challenges. Furthermore, data is provided on the present rating systems for game choice e.g.. ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) valid in the U.S.A, and PEGI, from the European Federation for Interactive Software. Both are accepted by aDeSe (Asociation for Distributors and Editors of Entertainment Software) and both try to help parents and teachers recognise its content and suitability for the different range of ages and profiles. To sum up, the essay attempts to show the importance of videogames in the teaching-learning process by providing up-to-date examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Sciences de l'Education pour l'ere Nouvelle is the property of Universite de Caen and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study aimed to specify the deficit in intellectual ability in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), by studying the mediating role of impairments in central executive function (EF)-related components (working memory, inhibition, sustained attention) and non-EFs (short-term memory and processing speed). Two hundred and thirty children aged 8–11 years from a population-based sample were assigned to either the ADHD group, the clinical comparison group, or the normal comparison group. The results showed that children with ADHD had poorer fluid and crystallized intelligence, relative to both comparison groups. Further, regarding fluid intelligence, these deficits were not fully mediated by, but rather went beyond, poorer functioning on the studied EF-related components and non-EFs. We tentatively interpret these fluid deficits in children with ADHD as representing deficiencies in a general intellectual resource reflecting executive attentional processes. Concerning crystallized ability, in contrast, the deficit signified impairment in the studied cognitive functions, as indicated by the significant full mediation effect. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Journal of Turkish Educational Sciences is the property of Journal of Turkish Educational Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The characteristic of visual perception (VP) were analyzed in five- to seven-year-old children according to a modified method of Frostig, which estimates the following VP components: visuospatial perception, figure-ground differentiation, and visuomotor integration. Age dependence of the development of VP components indicating the variation of the rates of their development was found. All VP components rapidly developed between five and six years of age; considerable changes in visuomotor integration and visuospatial perception were observed between six and seven years of age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When do young children become able to make an adequate choice between two alternatives based on spatial information? Children of 20, 30, and 40 months of age were either presented with two objects with different cross-sections and one aperture, or one object and two different apertures. In each trial there was one object - aperture match and the task was to find that match and insert the object. All the children understood the task and tried to solve the problems but the 20-month-olds performed randomly and not even the 40-month-olds chose all the correct correspondences consistently. The results also showed that it is easier to choose between apertures than objects. This contrasts with the ability to solve the insertion problem once the choice was made. When choosing the correct object or aperture, the 40-month-olds inserted the triangle successfully in 85% of the cases. The boys and girls were equally good at solving the task, but the boys did it faster. The results show that making a choice adds significantly to the difficulty of solving spatial problems. It requires systematic examination of the objects and apertures involved, a working memory that can handle at least three items at a time, and an ability to inhibit an incorrect choice. Such executive functions are typically found in older preschool children but the present task shows that with an appropriate setup their development can be traced from a much earlier age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses current research on reasoning in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It explores the concept of reasoning. It discusses an analysis of empirical studies by Willcutt and colleagues examining complex executive function (EF) deficits in ADHD. Also cited is a study by Pallolunghi and colleagues examining mathematical ability in children with ADHD.

Abstract: Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of listening ability on speaking, writing and reading skills of children who was suspected of auditory processing difficulty (APD). Method: This research was conducted with 67 children in 1st or 2nd grade of primary school. The first group (Group I—control) was comprised of 41 children without APD. The second group (Group II—study group) was comprised of 26 children with APD. Listening, speaking, reading and writing skills were evaluated by Observational Rating Scale (ORS) and analyzed in both groups. Results: Listening value of ORS in APD group was significantly lower; and, speaking, reading and writing values of ORS in APD group were significantly higher than control group (p =0.000). It was also found that, the main effect of listening skills was on speaking in normal childs, and on writing ability in children with APD. Conclusion: It was concluded that, for school-aged children, APD can lead to or is associated with difficulties in written language. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the present study, the nature of Dutch children''s phonological awareness was examined throughout the elementary school grades. Phonological awareness was assessed using five different sets of items that measured rhyming, phoneme identification, phoneme blending, phoneme segmentation, and phoneme deletion. A sample of 1405 children from kindergarten through fourth grade participated. Results of modified parallel analysis and analyses within the context of item response theory (IRT) showed phonological awareness to be unidimensional across different tasks and grades. Despite the evidence for a single underlying ability, the cognitive task requirements for the various tasks were found to differ. In addition to some overlap between the item sets, those for rhyming, phoneme identification, and phoneme blending were easier than those for phoneme segmentation and phoneme deletion. The results lend support to the assumption that phonological awareness is a continuum of availability for phonological representations which can range from partial availability (i.e., access) to full availability (i.e., access). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The education of creativity constitutes a major desideratum of education in general, and of school education, in particular. Starting from the pre-school age, or even earlier, we can discuss about that admirable creative potential that a person can have, the creativity, which turns creation into a psychic activity, but its completion depends upon the experimental action obtained in the child's early ages. In this context we consider the information report and the sensibility of all those working directly with children as well as the collaboration in order to achieve some studies meant to elaborate and implement optimum modalities of creativity training and development as being up-to-date and useful. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents, carers and educators of young children show a deep interest in the drawings that children produce. In the past, this interest was often directed toward emergent representational schema that young children were seen to utilise to process ideas and understandings of their world. The attention paid to these specific drawings was particularly prompted by the influence and broad application of stage development theories (Kellog, 1967; Lowenfeld & Brittain, 1964; Piaget, 1975) on early childhood teaching and learning. More recently, connections between young children and learning have been enhanced, to implement more socially inclusive teaching and learning strategies (MacNaughton, 2005; Dahlberg & Moss, 2005) and recognise diversity and plurality in early childhood contexts. With this in mind, there is a subsequent need to reconsider the ways adults engage with children as they draw, to rethink how such drawings are 'viewed' and 'read'. This article examines how the drawings produced by young children might be informed. It explores, through Deleuzian and Guattarian (1972/1983) concepts of dreaming and becoming, a transforming, bodiless engagement, and the Foucauldian (1986) concept of heterotopic space, how a child might search for and access referents during the drawing process. Applying such concepts facilitate expansion on the analysis of drawing that has been, historically, firmly situated within stage development theories. Deleuzian and Guattarian, and Foucauldian readings also assist in beginning to theorise on developing more socially inclusive experiences in early childhood contexts. The theories presented in this article inform an inter-generational collaborative approach to drawing (Knight, 2008) that opens up lines of communication between adult and child that challenge dominant beliefs and discourses of early childhood teaching and learning. Two specific accounts form fieldwork undertaken in a pre-school and a long day-care centre during 2008 serve to provide samples and discussion points. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to examine young children's drawing development through three main discussion areas. The first area describes historical perspectives, looking at a time-line of research into children's drawing and the changing attitudes towards the child as artist. Secondly, stage theories of drawing and artistic development are described and discussed. Finally, consideration is given to debates around stage theory, moving into current philosophical trends. The article draws an evolutionary journey from these three perspectives, offering opportunities for further debate and study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pragmatic language skill is regarded as an area of universal deficit in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), but little is known about factors related to its development and how it in turn might contribute to skills needed to function in everyday contexts or to the expression of ASD-related symptoms. This study investigated these relationships in 37 high-functioning children with ASD. Multiple regression analyses revealed that structural language skills significantly predicted pragmatic language performance, but also that a significant portion of variance in pragmatic scores could not be accounted for by structural language or nonverbal cognition. Pragmatic language scores, in turn, accounted for significant variance in ADOS Communication and Socialization performance, but did not uniquely predict level of communicative or social adaptive functioning on the Vineland. These findings support the notion of pragmatic language impairment as integral to ASD but also highlight the need to measure pragmatic skills in everyday situations, to target adaptive skills in intervention and to intervene in functional, community-based contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lower participation by girls in mathematics and science related courses and professions is a worldwide concern, in a manner similar to that on their lower performance than boys in mathematics and school science subjects. However, the concern about girls' lower level of performance may be because they must also make the requisite grades in order to be admitted into the science related courses as a means into the professions. This paper focuses on the performance of girls in national science examinations in Kenya that has consistently been lower than boys' performance, and draws from a study that attempted to address the question: Is there a girl-friendly approach to the teaching of science? The data were collected using a self-response questionnaire administered to participants in an 'examination situation'. The sample (n = 100) consisted of equal numbers of male and female students who, by choice and ability, had opted for pure science subjects, including physics. The outcome of the data analysis suggests no exclusively girl-friendly approach; however, it provides an outline of participant students' general expectations of effective physics teaching practice. In the absence of an exclusively girl-friendly approach to teaching science, and in the current situation where attainments in science have remained generally low, it is argued that singling out the 'poorer' female students' outcomes in national examinations, is constructing a negative image of the girl students' ability in school science. The paper concludes by considering areas of research focus for a more effective science education in Kenya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Children with intellectual disabilities often have difficulties in daily tasks, requiring training to increase functional independence. This study measured the effectiveness of community skills training in a telephone task and a shopping task, and examined if community-based training was more effective than classroom-based training. Material and methods: A randomized control trial with 40 children aged 9-11years was completed. Intervention groups attended an eight-week training programme; the control group received no treatment. One intervention group practised skills in local shops. All participants were assessed before and after treatment in a shopping task and telephone task, using task analysis methodology. Results: Data showed a highly statistically significant difference between intervention and control groups in the shopping task (p=0.007); however, there was no significant difference between classroom and classroom supplemented by community-based learning in the shopping task. There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in the telephone task. Conclusion: Results suggested that skills training was effective in one of the skill areas with this client group. Further research is required to determine if community-based training is more effective than classroom-based learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do prodigies have extraordinary innate talent or do they just start very early and get much practice? Why do relatively few become eminent as adults? Is it because early and later success often need somewhat different abilities and gatekeepers rule? International chess is a good test domain for both issues because it has objective longitudinal data, unvarying task requirements, and no glass ceiling. Eight prodigies were studied. Some did not start chess particularly young but quickly reached high performance levels. Five already are very eminent, one becoming the youngest-ever world champion at age 18. Chess prodigies probably do have great natural talent. Prodigies in domains with certain characteristics may tend to become eminent if they persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anuario de Psicologia is the property of Anuario de Psicologia de La Universidad de Barcelona and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Extensive research over the past decade has indicated that there are more boys than girls who are struggling readers, but the degree to which there are more boys remains a point of contention. The focus of this article is to review the various definitions of reading disability, to examine how these different definitions translate into different methods of identifying reading disability and to determine the effects on observed gender ratios for reading disability. The most frequently used methods of identifying reading disability are discrepancy formulae, Response-To-Intervention (RTI) and low achievement methods. Gender ratios clearly fluctuate among, and even within, these methods. Inconsistencies in reported gender ratios of reading disability are a result of inconsistencies in the definition and measurement of reading disability, sampling issues and the overall distributions of reading scores for boys and girls. Future research might consider reporting gender ratios for reading disability based on consistent measures of reading performance in population samples, using consistent cut off points, over a significant period of time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides information on a measure that was developed to assess children's level of development at preschool and entry to school level, as well as their readiness for formal schooling. This measure - Who Am I? - is based on early copying and writing skills and is designed to identify the broad stages of development that underlie children's readiness for more formal learning in a school situation. Although originally developed in Australia, it has now been used in studies in a number of different countries, including Canada, and data from these studies provide some insight into the variations in development that are associated with different patterns of preschool provision and different ages of entry into an educational program. The results of these studies indicate that Who Am I? provides a valid measure of development across different language and cultural groups and can therefore be used as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of different forms of early childhood provision, as well as children's readiness for more formal learning in a school situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a description of the developing verb morphology of 13 children enrolled in the Cherokee Nation kindergarten immersion program as documented on the Cherokee Kindergarten Immersion Language Assessment. An obligatory occasion analysis of kindergartners’ production of third person singular and plural present continuous verbs indicates that although children were beginning to apply rules for verb morphology, they were limited in their ability to accurately convey everyday actions of others. The findings concur with research conducted in other immersion settings which suggests that language present in typical immersion classrooms is not always optimal for the attainment of high levels of proficiency, and points to the need for further professional development for teachers in form-focused instruction and a culturally based approach to understanding Cherokee linguistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals were: 1) to compare cognitive skills in the solution of interpersonal problems in children with disruptive behaviour and those victims of maltreatment, and 2) to assess the emotions identified in both groups within frames of conflictive social interaction. The sample consisted of 49 boys / girls aged 6 to 10 years old - 27 children showing disruptive behaviour and the other 22 at risk for maltreatment. All of them live in Mendoza, Argentina. In both groups, cognitive skills in the solution of interpersonal problems were evaluated. We conclude that there are differences between the two groups - always taking age into consideration - in the following skills: identifying problem solving, generation of solution alternatives and anticipation of consequences. Moreover, those children victims of maltreatment clearly showed "fear" in a higher proportion than those with disruptive behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are currently increased efforts to make proof central to school mathematics throughout the grades. Yet, realizing this goal is challenging because it requires that students master several abilities. In this article we focus on one such ability, namely, the ability for deductive reasoning, and we review psychological research to enhance what is currently known in mathematics education research about this ability in the context of proof and to identify important directions for future research. We first offer a conceptualization of proof, which we use to delineate our focus on deductive reasoning. We then review psychological research on the development of students' ability for deductive reasoning to see what can be said about the ages at which students become able to engage in certain forms of deductive reasoning. Finally, we review two psychological theories of deductive reasoning to offer insights into cognitively guided ways to enhance students' ability for deductive reasoning in the context of proof. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to examine effects of three practice models, blocked, variable, and combined, on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of new motor skills. 67 subjects (M age=9.5 yr., SD=.3) from the fourth year of primary school (31 boys and 26 girls) were assigned at random to three different practice groups (Blocked=22, Variable=23, Combined=22) to study acquisition of two skills, dribbling a soccer ball and kicking a soccer ball at a stationary target using the dominant foot. All participants received a pretest and posttest, a transfer test, and a retention test 2 wk. later. Analysis showed significant improvement after practice of kicking skills by the three groups but not in the dribbling skills, for which only the combined practice group showed any notable improvement. At the end of acquisition, the combined practice group had significantly better performance on the dribbling task than the other two groups. However, the only differences noted in performance of kicking the ball with the dominant foot were by combined practice and blocked groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical analyses of the development of numerical representations suggest that playing linear number board games should enhance young children’s numerical knowledge. Consistent with this prediction, playing such a game for roughly 1 hr increased low-income preschoolers’ (mean age = 5.4 years) proficiency on 4 diverse numerical tasks: numerical magnitude comparison, number line estimation, counting, and numeral identification. The gains remained 9 weeks later. Classmates who played an identical game, except for the squares varying in color rather than number, did not improve on any measure. Also as predicted, home experience playing number board games correlated positively with numerical knowledge. Thus, playing number board games with children from low-income backgrounds may increase their numerical knowledge at the outset of school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In offering a critical review of the problem we call 'ADHD' (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), this paper progresses in three stages. The first two parts feature the dominant voices emanating from the literature in medicine and psychology which, when juxtaposed, highlight an interdependency between these otherwise competing interest groups. In Part 3, the nature of the relationship between these groups and the institution of the school is considered, as is the role that the school may play in the psycho-pathologisation of fidgety, distractible, active children who prove hard to teach. In so doing, the author provides an insight as to why the problem we call 'ADHD' has achieved celebrity status in Australia and what the effects of that may be for children who come to be described in these ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was carried out on a young girl with Williams syndrome, whose syntactical ability was tested longitudinally over a period of 22 months, from age 9 years and 3 months to 11 years and 1 month. The assumption was that the girl with Williams syndrome would have poorer syntactical ability than children with regular development, but similar to children with specific language impairment (SLI) and that in all tasks she would achieve better results in the final testing. Syntax was analyzed on the basis of the fundamental variable of repeating sentences, which consisted of five subvariables: literal repetition of sentences, sentences repeated with omissions, ungrammatical repetition of sentences, sentences with altered content, sentences not repeated. A statistical difference was found between the syntactical ability of the girl with Williams' syndrome and children with normal development in all tested sub-variables, and her results were the same as in children with specific language impairment. Moreover, in the final testing the girl achieved better results than in the initial test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We discuss a 44-month longitudinal study of the stability of the two-factor Norwegian Book Suggestibility Scale for Children (BSSC; Melinder, Scullin, Gunnerød, & Nyborg, 2005) in a sample of 7-year-old children (MTime 2 age=94 months). Several measures of suggestibility were assessed: yielding to suggestive questions (Yield), shifting answers in response to negative feedback (Shift), the sum of Yield and Shift (Total Suggestibility), and suggestibility in response to open-ended and misleading direct and tag questions about an event experienced 44 months earlier. Results showed a moderate correlation for Total Suggestibility scores over time in spite of marked declines in Yield and Shift. Both Yield and Total Suggestibility were related to children's tendency to respond affirmatively to misleading tag questions about the past event. The two-factor model of suggestibility showed some weakening over time with a positive correlation developing between Yield and Shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The negative reputation of women in mathematics and its consequences on their self-perceptions have been extensively demonstrated. However, in France and other countries, the younger the students, the less pronounced these gender differences are. The focus of this study was to explore whether children of two age groups (fourth graders and seventh graders) are aware of a math-ability gender stereotype favorable to boys, and to determine their personal beliefs on mathematics ability. The link between this gender stereotype and self-perceptions was also examined. As expected, there was not a clear-cut awareness of a math-ability gender stereotype favorable to boys. More surprising, girls in both age groups and seventh-grade boys believed that girls do better than boys. Moreover, when their gender identity was made salient, the boys who believed in girl superiority perceived their own performance in mathematics as lower. The girls, on the other hand, regardless of their age and stereotype awareness or personal beliefs, perceived their performance in math as higher when their gender identity was made salient than when it was not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patterns of sensory abnormalities in children and adults with autism were examined using the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO). This interview elicits detailed information about responsiveness to a wide range of sensory stimuli. Study 1 showed that over 90% of children with autism had sensory abnormalities and had sensory symptoms in multiple sensory domains. Group differences between children with autism and clinical comparison children were found in the total number of symptoms and in specific domains of smell/taste and vision. Study 2 confirmed that sensory abnormalities are pervasive and multimodal and persistent across age and ability in children and adults with autism. Age and IQ level affects some sensory symptoms however. Clinical and research implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the problems of motor skill developments, its critical curricular focus in physical education and its importance in the physical education programs. Motor skills take years to develop and require specific experiences and instructions that should remain a central focus of the physical education curricula. Motor skills change through an interactive process between the individual's biological constraints and the environment. It was believed that a strong motor skill foundation at a young age provides for new movement opportunities later in life as an individual continue their motor development journey.

This study examines the development of children's ability to reason about proportions that involve either discrete entities or continuous amounts. Six-, 8- and 10-year olds were presented with a proportional reasoning task in the context of a game involving probability. Although all age groups failed when proportions involved discrete quantities, even the youngest age group showed some success when proportions involved continuous quantities. These findings indicate that quantity type strongly affects children's ability to make judgments of proportion. Children's greater success in judging proportions involving continuous quantities appears to be related to their use of different strategies in the presence of countable versus noncountable entities. In two discrete conditions, children—particularly 8- and 10-year-olds—adopted an erroneous counting strategy, considering the number of target elements but not the relation between target and nontarget elements, either in terms of number or amount. In contrast, in the continuous condition, when it was not possible to count, children may have relied on an early developing ability to code the relative amounts of target and nontarget regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on board, card and video games based on children's stories. It is explained that in addition to increasing motivation to read, games can provide opportunities to extend a student's experience with a book. Story-related games have been said to provide students with opportunities to demonstrate what they understand and recall. Games also involve several skills such as matching and memory skills. A table showing the commercially available games based on stories is presented.

Locus of control, self-control, and family income were investigated as possible predictors of 138 young children's mathematics and science scores. The children, 60 boys and 78 girls, ranging from 4 to 8 years of age (M=5.4, SD= 1.3) were administered the Stephens-Delys Reinforcement Contingency Interview Scale, the Self- control Rating Scale, the Comprehensive Mathematics Inventory, and a science test based on the work of D. K. Dickinson. Analysis showed mathematics scores were positively related to income, locus of control, and science scores. Mathematics and science scores were negatively related to lack of self-control. Also, science scores were positively related to locus of control. Multiple regression analysis with mathematics as the dependent variable indicated income had the greatest predictive value followed by self-control and locus of control. The multiple regression model of science was also significant, with locus of control having the greatest influence followed by self-control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been many research projects studying the use of peer intervention strategies to develop the social, communication and interaction skills of children with autism, yet few of these studies focus in detail on the impact of such strategies on the mainstream peers. In this article, Val Jones, an advisory teacher for autism spectrum conditions, explores the impact of peer tutoring children with autism on the peer tutors themselves. This enquiry focuses on ten to eleven-year-old mainstream pupils who were paired with twelve children with autism and associated learning difficulties for weekly peer tutoring sessions at a primary school with a specialist autism unit. At the end of a series of tutoring sessions, the perspectives of the peer tutors were gathered through questionnaires. All of the peer tutors reported that they had enjoyed the experience and most felt that the peer tutoring had brought them direct benefits by building confidence, teaching responsibility, encouraging caring attitudes and helping them to acknowledge diversity. Val Jones also gathered the views of parents and school staff who again reported largely positive outcomes from the peer tutoring process. While this small-scale study focuses on findings from one school, there are wider implications here for the development of inclusive policies and practices and this article will be of interest to professionals working across the range of specialist and mainstream settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem behaviour hampers learning and the normal development of skills and competencies. The children in focus in this article from Norway are six-year-olds with persistent problem behaviour. Early identification of these children is imperative for the implementation of structured educational interventions. Knowledge about their behaviour and skills is therefore important. The aim of the study reported here by Ann-Mari Knivsberg, professor of special education at the National Centre for Reading Education and Research at the University of Stavanger, Synnøve Iversen, physiotherapist and research fellow at the University of Bergen, Magne Nødland, speech therapist and special educator, and Karl-L Reichelt, senior consultant and researcher at the Paediatric Research Institute at the National Hospital in Oslo, was to assess the participants' behaviour and their cognitive, linguistic and motor skills and to correlate behaviour and skills. The participants were 31 children enrolled in a ‘high-risk’ programme for children with problem behaviour. Standardised test materials were used to obtain information on their behaviours and skills. Social problems, attention problems, anxiety and depressive traits were the most frequently reported behavioural problems. Linguistic delay, lower than normal cognitive scores and severe motor co-ordination difficulties were also detected. Correlations were found between various behavioural traits and between the behaviour and the skills. Attention problems were most frequently correlated to cognitive, linguistic and motor functioning. At the end of their article, the authors call for multi-disciplinary approaches to the design of future assessment and intervention strategies and to further research into the effectiveness of available screening instruments and intervention programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The development of instruments to measure child self-reported quality of life (QOL) is dependent on whether children can understand the concepts behind items. Researchers need more information on how children are interpreting and answering items. This paper aims to investigate the strategies school-aged children use to answer QOL items. Methods A generic 30-item QOL measure (the TedQL) was administered to 266 healthy children (5–6, 7–9 years old). Children were asked to ‘think aloud’ while answering a selection of 10 TedQL items ( n = 4 ability, n = 4 social, n = 2 mood items), and their responses were recorded verbatim. Results The strategies children reported using when answering items were coded into five categories: (1) social comparisons; (2) stable character references; (3) concrete examples; (4) other reasons; or (5) no reason given. Concrete examples were used most frequently by children. Strategy type was dependent on age, with 7–9-year-olds reporting social comparisons and concrete examples more frequently than 5–6-year-olds. Five-to-six-year-olds gave no reasons for their response choices more frequently than 7–9-year-olds. Strategy type also differed by item type, with social comparisons used more frequently for ability items, and stable character references for social items. However, concrete examples were used consistently highly across ability and social items. Conclusions Children aged 5–9 years most commonly report using concrete examples of specific instances when answering QOL items. However, strategy use varies as a function of age and types of items. Our results highlight the importance of keeping in mind children’s developmental age when interpreting responses from child QOL instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aspects of 72 preschoolers' display rule knowledge -- the ability to distinguish apparent from real emotions and understand the motives underlying display rule use -- were examined. Children listened to stories describing situations designed to elicit an emotion in the protagonist and a prosocial or self-protective reason for concealing her/his real emotion from other story characters. Children were asked to predict what facial expressions the protagonists would display in response to the emotionally laden situations and to justify their predictions. Findings revealed that children's ability to distinguish between apparent and real emotions increased in the 4-6 years age span. Moreover, children justified prosocial and self-protective display rules with similar accuracy. The findings are discussed in terms of children's ability to make the appearance-reality distinction across domains (emotional, physical) and in the context of the socialization of emotional displays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to analyze the development of children's adaptive expertise in computing sums and differences up to 100.We defined the adaptive nature of children's strategy choices on the basis of problem (addition, subtraction), achievement, and strategy performance (accuracy, speed). Sixty-nine 2nd graders of high, above-average, or below-average mathematical achievement level solved 4 types of additions and subtractions before and after regular classroom instruction in the topic. In both assessments, children answered the problems in a choice condition, in which they could choose between the jump strategy (45 + 28 = __; 45 + 20 = 65, 65 + 8 = 73) and the split strategy (45 + 28 = __; 40 + 20 = 60, 5 + 8 = 13, 60 + 13 = 73) on each problem, and in two no-choice conditions, where they had to solve all problems with either the jump or the split strategy. Our results revealed differences in children's strategy choices on both assessments. The choices of high achievers indicated that they fit their strategies to problem and strategy performance characteristics. In contrast, above-average and below-average achievers' choices were unrelated to those characteristics. These results are interpreted in terms of the viability of different instructional approaches to enhance the acquisition of adaptive expertise, specifically, conceptual and investigative approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is about the contributions children make in clinical interviews. This issue is studied by re-analysing a selection of the empirical excerpts used by Piaget in his seminal book The Child's Conception of the World. The focus is on how children use language non-literally, and especially on how they use meta-communicative markers ('as if', 'like', etc.) when communicating with the interviewer. Considered in relation to Piaget's own analysis, this alternative view has important consequences for how one understands the children's answers, and, as a consequence, strikingly different pictures of the children's abilities and competences emerge. In Piaget's analysis, the children are understood as revealing their 'conceptions' and as making claims about reality, for instance, that a watch like a human being 'knows' something, or that thoughts are actually 'in front of you' as some kind of physical entities when you think. In the alternative interpretation, suggested in this article, the children's answers can be read as attempts to communicate and to make themselves understood in a relevant manner. One of the means they use for achieving shared understandings is through meta-communicative markers. Read in this way, the children appear communicatively competent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the research described in this article was the development of an instrument to measure social emotional characteristics and special educational and pedagogical needs of students in the last grade of primary education. Questionnaires were developed for teachers as well as for students. Exploratory factor analyses showed that the factors underlying the structure of the teacher questionnaire corresponded for the larger part with the negative poles of four factors of the Big Five, i.e., conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability. A stepwise regression analysis was conducted to examine which factors contribute to the prediction of type of secondary education. Intelligence was the most important predictor; lack of conscientiousness accounted for another nine percent of the variance in level of secondary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article puts forward the idea that one of the factors that could explain children's deficiencies in literacy skills, measured through national and international tests, are the concepts that support teacher's literacy instruction. In comparison with the former, it emphasizes the need to conceive the act of reading and writing as a cultural practice, as acts of construction and communication of meaning, as an intelligent act; it ends by proposing an Integrated Program to Develop Literacy Skills, that aims to a balanced model for literacy instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children's sensitivity to context when making inferences about ability was investigated. In three studies, elementary school children (ages 5 to 10, total N = 332) were asked to reason about the relation between academic ability and the speed with which characters completed puzzle tasks. Participants were primed to interpret the characters’ task completion rates with reference to either (1) the character's perceptions of the difficulty of the task, or (2) the character's level of effort on the task. Children who were primed to consider the perceived difficulty of the task were more likely to view ability as a static quality, a pattern of reasoning that included a tendency to associate task completion rates with ability, and to agree that not all individuals are capable of achieving high levels of success. These results provide evidence that even early elementary school children are sensitive to subtle contextual cues when making inferences about ability, and are consistent with the possibility that children make use of implicit cues available to them in their social environment to derive meaning from achievement situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper it will be argued that teacher constructs of ability play a particularly significant role in teacher judgements of children's achievements and potential and consequently on children's learning experiences. In particular, consideration is given to the implicit (personal) theories of ability which individuals draw upon to inform their thinking, beliefs and attitudes within contrasting school contexts. Drawing on a broader study containing multiple perspectives in four case study schools, emphasis is placed on teacher constructs. Findings focus on the nature of teacher definitions and the expectations they have of pupils. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's views on the concepts and principles of leading activity in developmental psychology through early childhood and adolescence. During every stage of childhood, a person first learns to master tasks followed by the development of operational-technical abilities. The author comments on the close attention paid to psychologist Boris Daniilovich Elkonin's periodization of psychic development to analyze ontogenesis formed by the conscious development.

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between Mandarin Chinese-speaking children’s narrative skill in telling personally experienced stories in preschool and their later language and reading ability. Fourteen Mandarin-speaking children, 8 boys and 6 girls, were visited at home when they were 3;6, 7;5, and 10;1. The children were asked to tell personal narratives to the experimenter at 3;6 and 7;5 and to complete word definition, receptive vocabulary, and Chinese reading comprehension tests at 7;5 and 10;1. Two of the children’s stories with the greatest number of narrative clauses were selected and measured using adaptations of the narrative assessment profile developed by McCabe and Bliss (2003). A number of significant positive correlations were observed between the children’s narrative skills and their receptive vocabulary, definition, and reading comprehension abilities. These findings suggest that the children who had good narrative skill in preschool also performed better in reading comprehension and language tasks in primary school. This study shows that the continuous and interrelated relationship between early oral narrative and later language and literacy is evident not only in English-speaking children but also in Mandarin-speaking children. The educational implications for this study are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To measure the relationship between perceived child competence, parental self-efficacy, and children's glycaemic control. Methods: Cross-sectional outpatient based questionnaire survey of 78 parents of children aged 6-12 years with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus, diagnosed for at least one year. Parental perceptions of their child's competence were assessed, together with parental perceptions of their own self-efficacy in managing their child's diabetes. Glycaemic control was assessed by the average annual HbA1C level. Results: The response rate was 64.5% (51 parents); 82% were mothers and the socioeconomic class and ethnicity spread was representative of the general population. The mean age of the children was 10 years and duration of diabetes 4.4 years. Poorer glycaemic control was associated with higher perceived child competence, together with lower perceived age of responsibility, lower perceived seriousness, and less frequent blood tests. Higher parental self-efficacy and higher perceived child competence predicted a higher level of normalisation, as did lower perceived seriousness, a lower perceived parental responsibility for management, and a less protective style of parenting. Conclusion: Parents' perceptions of their children's diabetes are significantly related to glycaemic control; however, those who appear more competent at managing diabetes may overestimate their child's capabilities, leading to poorer glycaemic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the methodological and ethical difficulties in conducting research with children. The view that children are capable actors often collides with existing ethical guidelines in this research. Seeing children as capable human beings entails respect to their ability to make decisions. It may not be possible for children to participate in research against the will of their parents or caregivers. Moreover, local perceptions of childhood and contextual factors, like poverty can cause further ethical and methodological difficulties.