Erik Eriksen is a remarkable individual. He has no college degrees yet is Professor of Human Development at Harvard University. He came to psychology via art, which explains why the reader will find him painting contexts and backgrounds rather than stating dull facts and concepts. He has been a training psychoanalyst for many years as well as a perceptive observer of cultural and social settings and their effect on growing up. This is not just a book on childhood. It is a panorama of our society. Anxiety in young children, apathy in American Indians, confusion in veterans of war, and arrogance in young Nazis are scrutinized under the psychoanalytic magnifying glass. The material is well written and devoid of technical jargon. The theme of the volume is that it is human to have a long childhood which will leave a lifelong residue of emotional immaturity in man. Primitive groups and

Childhood and Society.

On behalf of Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, it is my great pleasure to welcome you all to this international scientific conference. Drylands are often considered fragile ecosystems, yet they have a remarkable resilience to stress. They are home to unique and well-adapted plant and animal species that we need to conserve. Some of the world’s greatest cultures and belief systems have originated in drylands. On the other hand, desertification and land degradation in drylands often result in poverty and cause environmental refugees to abandon their homes. These problems can only be addressed in a holistic manner, based on sound scientific research and findings. Solutions to the problems of dryland degradation need to be communicated as widely as possible through education at all levels. These are many reasons why UNESCO – within its mandate of science, education, culture and communication – took the intiative to organize this conference. And we are glad that so many partners have responded to our call. UNESCO considers this conference as its main contribution to the observance of the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006. We have deliberately chosen the title ‘The Future of Drylands’ as we feel it is time to redefine our priorities for science, education and governance in the drylands based on 50 years of scientific research in arid and semi-arid zones. In fact UNESCO has one of the longest traditions, within the UN system, of addressing dryland problems from an interdisciplinary, scientific point of view. In 1955, the ‘International Arid Land Meetings’ were held in Socorro, New Mexico (USA). They were organized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), sponsored by UNESCO and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation. One important output of the International Arid Land Meetings was a book entitled The Future of Drylands, edited by Gilbert F. White and published in

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

Challenging games help students learn

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Action, Criticism and Theory for Music Education

Music Matters: A New Philosophy of Music Education:

(2002). Seeking Challenge, Finding Skill: Flow Experience and Music Education. Arts Education Policy Review: Vol. 103, No. 3, pp. 3-9.

Seeking Challenge, Finding Skill: Flow Experience and Music Education

Flow experience is an optimal state determined by an individual's perception of high skill and high challenge for a given task. In this study, young children's flow experience is examined in four naturally occurring music learning environments: infants and two-year-olds in childcare settings, and school-age children in Suzuki violin and Dalcroze classes. Descriptive observations of challenge-seeking, challenge-monitoring, and social context indicators previously used in flow analyses in four- to five-year-old children provided evidence that these indicators also function beyond that age group with varying degrees of intensity and frequency. Key findings included an age-related increase in observed self-assignment, which was observed to decline in children of school age. Additional findings include the accessibility and responses to musical structure for infants and toddlers, the role of gesture in helping children focus, the salience of adult awareness and the changing roles of peers across development.

Observable indicators of flow experience: a developmental perspective on musical engagement in young children from infancy to school age

Using a regionally focused national survey of parents with 4–6-month-olds (N = 2, 250), we addressed associations between musical experience and the frequency and content of playing music and singing for infants. The possible mediation of a classical CD distribution to new parents in hospitals was also investigated. Five variables of experience were considered: (1) respondents' recollections of their mother or (2) father singing to them, (3) playing an instrument, (4) singing in a choir, and (5) taking music lessons. Chi-square analyses indicated that musical experience was highly associated with increased frequency of playing and singing. The content of what was played and sung was less uniformly linked, and revealed individual profiles for each mode of formal experience. Differences were found between those who did and those who did not receive the CD. Results support a systems view of the child in the context of families and society, and have implications about indirect effects of music education.

Passing the Cultural Torch: Musical Experience and Musical Parenting of Infants

Musical lives: A collective portrait of American parents and their young children

This article addresses types and functions of singing practices in 10 families with 3-year-old children living in New York City, with illustrative cases of three families. Initial interviews were h...

Lori A. Custodero

Papers

Seeking Challenge, Finding Skill: Flow Experience and Music Education

Observable indicators of flow experience: a developmental perspective on musical engagement in young children from infancy to school age

Passing the Cultural Torch: Musical Experience and Musical Parenting of Infants

Musical lives: A collective portrait of American parents and their young children

Singing Practices in 10 Families with Young Children