Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

I. New Definitions of Competence.- 1. Categories and Causality.- Causality as a Developmental Primitive.- Causality as a Central Component to Categories.- The Developmental Picture.- Conclusions..- References.- 2. The Cognitive Basis of Dyslexia.- Definitional Issues.- Basic Cognitive Processes in Reading.- Phonological Processing.- Syntactic Awareness.- Working Memory.- Other Processes.- Summary.- References.- 3. Project Spectrum: A Theory-Based Approach to Early Education.- Theoretical Foundations.- Spectrum's Assessment System.- Implications for Curriculum Development.- Future Directions.- Conclusions.- References.- II. Advances in Competence.- 4. "I Watch, Therefore I Can Do": The Development of Meta-Imitation During the Preschool Years and the Advantage of Optimism About One's Imitative Skills.- Young Children's Estimation of Their Cognitive Abilities.- Study 1: A Diary Study of Preschool Children's Meta-Imitation.- Study 2: Meta-Imitation in a Preschool Environment.- Study 3: An Experimental Assessment of the Development of Meta-Imitation.- The Development of Meta-Imitation and the Adaptive Nature of Cognitive Immaturity.- Conclusions.- References.- 5. Parental Influences on Children's Cognition.- Theoretical Background.- Relationships and Social Interaction.- Paradigms to Investigate Parental Influences on Cognitive.- Development.- A Model of Parental Influences on Children's Cognition.- Research on Parental Style and Performance.- Conclusions and Suggestions for Further Research.- References.- 6. Memory Strategies: Natural Development and Use Following Instruction.- There Isn't an Agreed Upon Definition of Strategy, Is There?.- Don't Strategies Develop Naturally During the Elementary School Years?.- Are Failures to Use Strategies Production Deficiencies?.- Improved Strategic Competence or Increases in Accessible Knowledge?.- What About the Durability of Strategy Instruction Effects?.- Isn't a Lot of It Motivation?.- Summing Up: What We Now Believe About Natural Development of Memory Strategies and Development of Strategic Competence via Instruction.- References.- 7. Applying Cognitive Developmental Principals in Classrooms.- Historical Links Between Scientific Psychology and Education.- Models Driving Current Educational Practice.- Targeting Cognitive Processes for Instruction.- The Process of Instruction.- Concluding Comments.- References.- 8. Organizing Principles of the High/Scope Curriculum.- History of the High/Scope Curriculum.- The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study.- Preschool Curriculum Approaches.- The High/Scope Preschool Curriculum Study.- High/Scope Curriculum Framework.- Why the High/Scope Curriculum Works.- Summary.- References.- III. Afterword.- 9. New Approaches to the Development of Cognitive Competence.- Definitions of Cognitive Competence.- Advances in Cognitive Competence.- Emerging Trends.- References.- Author Index.