Philosophy of Education in a Poor Historical Moment: A Personal Account

Under the post-metaphysical sky “old” humanistic-oriented education is possible solely at the cost of its transformation into its negative, into a power that is determined to diminish human potentials for self-exaltation. Nothing less than total metamorphosis is needed to rescue the core of humanistic genesis: the quest for edifying Life and resistance to the call for “home-returning” into the total harmony that is promised to us within nothingness.     

A Prospective Study of Maternal Exposure to Smoking during Pregnancy and Behavioral Development in the Child

Prenatal smoke exposure (PSE) is a risk factor for adverse outcomes in the offspring, including those affecting psychological development. However, it is uncertain whether these associations are the direct result of PSE or other confounding factors. The aim of this study was to examine the possible relationship between PSE and behavioral development in children at 7.5 years of age, considering several prenatal, neonatal and postnatal covariates. A cohort of 266 mother-child pairs was followed from the first trimester of pregnancy until the children reached 7.5 years of age. PSE was assessed using a questionnaire from prenatal clinical records and corroborated by plasma cotinine determinations in the first and second trimesters and in the cord. Mother-child pairs were classified into one of four groups: unexposed, exposed to passive smoking, first trimester active smoking only and active smoking throughout pregnancy. Child behavior was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist for ages 6–18 and the Childhood Autism Spectrum Test. In multiple linear regression models, smoking during pregnancy was associated with higher scores in affective problems (β?=?0.298; p?=?0.004). No significant associations were found between smoking during pregnancy and externalizing problems. Findings indicate that PSE is negatively associated with behavioral development in childhood.

     

Parent/toddler education and guidance group

The Parent/Toddler Education and Guidance Group is designed for parents and their 18–36 month old children who are experiencing mild to moderate difficulties with the developmental issues of toddlerhood. The goal of the group is to help parents support their child's growing autonomy, and create a new level of communication between parent and child. The program is described in a general way and is then illustrated in examples of two cases.     

Enumeration in time is irresistibly event-based

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - One of the most fundamental questions that can be asked about any process concerns the underlying units over which it operates. And this is true not just for...     

Effects of naturally-occuring nontraumatic separations from mother

Thirty-three twelve-month-old infants were divided into three groups based on the frequency and length of naturally-occurring nontraumatic separations from mother during the first year. One group had experienced only brief separations when left with a babysitter for an evening. A second group had been left once or twice for an average of five days while parents vacationed. A third group had been left regularly and frequently during the daytime, usually because mother was working. These groups were compared on measures of reaction to separation and reunion, in the home and in the laboratory, at one year of age. No group differences were found on any of the dependent variables. It is suggested that the quality of substitute care is probably more important than separation per se in mediating the impact of employment or daycare on infant development.