THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION OF HIGHLY ABLE YOUNG CHILDREN

Because the very early development of abilities is vitally affected by personal relationships, research emphasis has shifted away from the quasi‐experimental situation to the more natural home context. This has resulted in the rejection of some limiting ideas of very early potential, and particulary appropriate for the highly able, concern with young children's own awareness of what they do. The educational conclusions are that infants who develop and learn with speed and ease need a wide variety of activities, with parents who are aware and responsive, especially in play and verbal interaction. They also need both the appropriate material provision and facilities for practice to develop specific skills.     

TEACHING INDUCTIVE THINKING TO HIGHLY ABLE CHILDREN

Two criteria were used to identify highly able kindergarten children: assessment by teachers and an IQ ≥ 115 on Raven's Progressive Matrices. In this way, 16 highly able children were found, matched pairwise according to age and IQ, and then randomly allotted to two treatment conditions. In one condition the children were trained using a program for fostering inductive thinking, whereas the children in the other condition continued their normal kindergarten activities. Based upon a new theory of inductive reasoning, the training was expected to have a positive effect on intelligence test performance. Results showed that all of the trained children outperformed their matched counterparts. It was concluded that, even with highly able children, the level of cognitive functioning can be improved, and that training of inductive thinking is an effective means to this end.     

DEVELOPING TALENTED CHILDREN: PROBLEMS AND EXPERIENCES

A project in the 7th and 8th grades aimed at providing the best possible school conditions to promote development of the abilities of children aged 13–14. The children's activity was founded on two main psychological and pedagogical principles: adequate motivation, and individual differentiation. The children's development was monitored by means of intelligence and personality tests. The main results were as follows: there was a pronounced improvement in the performance tasks, but no significant development in verbal tasks; the role of inner motives had greatly increased but the pupils had become more tense and impatient by the end of the school year. Necessary alterations in the project are outlined.     

TYPES OF HIGH ABILITY: HIGHLY ABLE CHILDREN WITH AN UNBALANCED INTELLIGENCE STRUCTURE

The present study focused on children (N=55) with a 12 point or greater difference between verbal IQ (VIQ) and performance IQ (PIQ) on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), with either value being higher than 120. There was a particular focus on those with 24 points or more difference. The control group included children with IQ over 110, but with less than 9 points difference between VIQ and PIQ (N=33). Relatively low VIQs were found in the group with very large discrepancies, and their school performance was in accordance with this result. The problem with the VIQ of this group seemed to be one of maturity. The findings also showed that the subscales are important in diagnosis; the Object Assembly subscale of the WAIS, for instance, has a particular function in the characterisation of hemispheric connections. It was concluded that the group of gifted children displayed right hemispheric dominance, and that differences in the direction of intelligence might influence cognitive style, field of interest and choice of profession. Caution is needed when using VIQ‐PIQ differences for diagnostic purposes, particularly in the case of children with high intelligence.

     

PROBLEMS OF THE AUTONOMY AND FINANCING OF THE ALBANIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Although founded in 1972, the Albanian Academy of Sciences was subjected to strong political and ideological control until after 1990. Its academic freedom and autonomy were recognized by law in 1994. The Academy has been very much concerned with rehabilitating the fields of the social sciences, particularly Albanian history and Albanian studies in general.     

THE DISTRIBUTION OF HIGHLY ABLE STUDENTS ACROSS SCIENTIFIC FIELDS

In this paper psychometric data are presented which show that the distribution of highly able Israeli students across the various fields in the sciences is uneven. Most highly able students are attracted to the natural sciences, engineering and computer sciences. Only few are attracted to the social sciences, humanities, arts and education. Assuming that future scientific leaders will emerge from this elite group, the implications that the uneven distribution may have for predicted progress in the sciences are discussed.     

PREFERENCES AND ASSESSMENT OF MATHEMATICALLY HIGHLY ABLE YOUNG STUDENTS

Giftedness is commonly regarded as potential for extraordinary performance within a given area, e.g. academic, artistic, or manual, that develops in a field of interacting internal and external factors and unfolds in individual stages. Gender related and culturally dependent influences affect the dynamic processes through which a child acquires and expands its competence. Admittedly, a particular talent for a special intellectual activity, e.g. mathematics and sciences, is essential, but such a talent alone is not necessarily sufficient to explain why young students devote themselves to particular subject matter, thereby acquiring a high level of ability.

     

高校内部教育供给中存在的主要问题及对策研究

部分专业师资紧缺,专业老化,层次偏低,管理效益差,观念落后是当前高校内部教育供给中存在的主要问题.为此,需要加强教师队伍建设,正确定位专业、学科的类型和层次,更新办学观念,提高管理效益.     

蒙汉幼儿美术审美偏爱心理特点研究

笔者运用实验法和谈话法,对内蒙古呼和浩特市133名蒙古族和汉族幼儿的美术审美偏爱心理特点进行研究。结果表明,蒙汉幼儿对不同风格、色彩、题材和形式的美术作品的审美偏爱是非艺术鉴赏水平的,既表现出共同的特点,又在色彩偏爱方面显示出一定的差异性。     

THE HETEROGENEITY OF THE EUROPEAN UNIVERSITIES ‐ COMMON PROBLEMS AND DIFFERENCES

We present below an abbreviated version of the speech delivered on 15 November 1977 during Dies Academicus of the University of Lausanne by Professor Dominique Rivier, Rector of the University of Lausanne, which analyses the overall present picture of higher education in Europe. On the one hand, this analysis presents a framework for international cooperation in the field of higher education and on the other hand, identifies a number of common problems the solution of which could require international co‐operation.     

当代我国心理问题的社会心理根源剖析与对策

随着社会的快速发展 ,心理问题已逐渐成为全社会普遍关注的问题。心理问题的产生与蔓延 ,并非偶然 ,有一定的社会与心理基础。笔者着重探讨了当代我国心理问题的社会心理根源 ,并在此基础上论述了我们应采取的对策     

西部开发中的基础设施建设及几个相关问题

笔者对有关基础设施建设的经济学原理作了简要介绍；在此基础上，提出西部地区在具体进行基础设施建设中应把握的两条基本原则。同时，对几个既关系到西部开发战略又关系到经济体制改革的重点和前沿问题作了初步分析。最后试给出具有一定理论意义的“广义西部开发”的提法。