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Neil J. Salkind received his PhD in human development from the University of Maryland, and after teaching for 35 years at the University of Kansas, he was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology and Research in Education, where he collaborated with colleagues and work with students. His early interests were in the area of children’s cognitive development, and after research in the areas of cognitive style and (what was then known as) hyperactivity, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Bush Center for Child and Family Policy. His work then changed direction to focus on child and family policy, specifically the impact of alternative forms of public support on various child and family outcomes. He delivered more than 150 professional papers and presentations; written more than 100 trade and textbooks; and is the author of Statistics for People Who (Think They) Hate Statistics (SAGE), Theories of Human Development (SAGE), and Exploring Research (Prentice Hall). He has edited several encyclopedias, including the Encyclopedia of Human Development, the Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics, and the Encyclopedia of Research Design. He was editor of Child Development Abstracts and Bibliography for 13 years. He lived in Lawrence, Kansas, where he liked to read, swim with the River City Sharks, work as the proprietor and sole employee of big boy press, bake brownies (see www.statisticsforpeople.com for the recipe), and poke around old Volvos and old houses.
A wide and general audience will find much to praise in this work, beginning with the entries themselves. Here are approximately 600 signed entries that range in length from 400 to 5,000 words and cover the life span, from birth and infancy, early childhood development and education, and adolescence to aging and older development. Here, too, are entries, as outlined in the topical "Reader's Guide," on "Intelligence, Ability, and Aptitude," "Language and Communications," and "Mental Health, Mental Disorders, and Special Groups," among others. See references and lists (including Web sites) for further reading and reference are attached to reviews.
The encyclopedia is arranged in alphabetical order. The quotations that begin each letter section--a quote by Leonardo da Vinci on the subject of death serves as a header for the Ds, for example--are a nice touch. Particularly noteworthy is the fact that many of the entries are highly readable; indeed, readers might forget they are actually "in" an encyclopedia. The entry on Egocentrism begins with reflections on our everyday conception of the topic and then continues with a brief history of the concept--from Jean Piaget's pioneering work to information about more contemporary research within developmental psychology. Further along, the entry includes references to other important traditions in psychology that have also advanced our understanding of the topic. The writing is informative but not too scholarly or technical, accessible through and through. This entry, and many others, succeeds in capturing interest--readers will want to pursue references and suggestions for further reading.
The set has several shortcomings. Some issues throughout the life span--health, family, cognition, physical development, language, self and gender, and personality, for example--are not as well covered as they might have been. Coverage of new frontiers, such as the legal, political, and economic dimensions of development as a human right, the cultural nature of human development, or millennium development goals, could also have been stronger. Entries on relevant social policy are also lacking.
Stephen J. Farenga and Daniel Ness' Encyclopedia of Education and Human Development (Sharpe, 2005) provides some competition, although it focuses primarily on educational psychology. Overall, this set is recommended for academic and large public libraries, where students and general adult readers will find it to be an excellent "starting point." Scholars, practitioners, and researchers will need to turn to more focused and specialized works in their fields or areas of interest. Sarah Watstein
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