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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Early childhood is a time of remarkable physical, cognitive, social and emotional

development. Infants enter the world with a limited range of skills and abilities. Watching

a child develop new motor, cognitive, language and social skills is a source of wonder for parents and caregivers.

Child development refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur

in human beings between conception and the end of adolescence, as the individual

progresses from dependency to increasing autonomy. Developmental change may

occur as a result of genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result

of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction

between the two. The optimal development of children is considered vital to society so itis important to understand the social, cognitive, emotional, and educational

development of children. Increased research and interest in this field has resulted in

new theories and strategies, with specific regard to practice that promotes development

within the school system. In addition there are also some theories that seek to describe

a sequence of states that comprise child development.

Research relating to human development is always on the physical, cognitive,

social, and emotional and the moral aspects. Woofolk and Margetts (2007) define

physical development as changes in human relationship and the emotional

development as changes in understanding, expression and how to manage emotion.

The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have

personal experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand

exactly how and why people grow, learn and change. Developmental psychology seeks

to understand and explain how people grow and change through the entire lifespan.

Researchers study the enormous range of influences including how genetics shape a

child's development as well as how experiences play a role.



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2.0 Konsep dan prinsip perkembangan kanak-kanak

3.0 CONCEPT AND PRINCIPLE OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Perubahan berlaku semasa perkembangan manusia. Kebanyakan orang

menyangka bahawa perkembangan dan pertumbuhan adalah suatu perkara yangsama. Namun perkembangan dan pertumbuhan adalah berbeza antara satu dan lain

namun amat berkait rapat antara keduanya.

Pertamanya, perkembangan berlaku secara berperingkat. Contohnya, seorang

kanak-kanak boleh duduk tanpa bantuan sesiapa, seterusnya dia mampu berdiri dan

seterusnya berjalan. Pada permulaan perkembangan juga, kanak-kanak hanya mampu

bercakap hanya beberapa patah perkataan. Perkembangan juga berlaku daripada

sesuatu yang konkrit kepada sesuatu yang abstrak. Maka, hal ini akan dapat dilihatdengan jelas dalam perkembangan kognitif dan bahasa,

Kedua, perkembangan dan pertumbuhan juga berlaku dari suatu proses yang

asas kepada suatu proses yang komplex. Contohnya permulaan bagi seorang kanak-

kanak adalah memegang sesuatu benda dengan tangannya sebelum ia boleh

memegang dengan jari-jemarinya. Oleh itu, semasa permulaan proses pembelajaran

kanak-kanak, mereka akan mempelajari sesuatu yang asas dahulu sehingga berjaya.

Setelah itu, mereka akan berubah dari satu peringkat kepada satu peringkat yang lebih

tinggi.

Selain daripada itu, pertumbuhan dan perkembangan adalah suatu proses yang

berterusan. Semasa proses perkembangan, perubahan dapat dilihat dari segi mahirnya

kank-kanak tersebut dalam melakukan sesuatu. Contohnya, seseorang kanak-kanak

mula mengenal sesuatu benda, memberinya nama dan mengaitkan nama tersebut

dengan benda tadi. Adakah nama yang diberi itu betul atau tidak. Maka proses ini

adalah suatu proses yang berperingkat-peringkat.

Disamping itu, pertumbuhan dan perkembangan berlaku pada kadar yang

berbeza. Setiap kanak-kanak membesar dengan kadar yang berbeza antara satu dan

lain. Sebahagian kanak-kanak mampu berjalan pada awal 10 bulan namun terdapat

juga kanak-kank lain yang mampu berjalan apabila berumur 18 bulan. Maka, hal ini



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mampu dilihat oleh guru semasa di dalam kelas. Perkembangan dan pertumbuhan

yang berlaku terhadap murid-muridnya boleh dilihat dari semasa ke semasa semenjak

dari awal kemasukan murid ke sekolah hingga tamatnya murid tersebut.

Yang terakhir, perkembangan bergantung kepada hasil interaksi antarakematangan dan pembelajaran. Kematangan datang dengan wujudnya potensi individu

contohnya permulaannya merangkak, kemudian duduk, berjalan dan akhirnya berlari.

Hal ini adalah dipengaruhi oleh genetic. Pembelajaran pula adalah suatu proses yang

dipelajari daripada latihan yang memerlukan daya usaha.proses pembelajaran

membolehkan individu untuk berkembang dan menggerakkan potensinya. Contohnya

seseorang akan boleh berenang sekiranya dia sentiasa berlatih berenang dan

menggunakan teknik yang betul.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE CHILD DEVELOPMENT

One of the factors is nature and nurture. Genetic refers to biological

characteristics. The genes are in the chromosomes and they control the development of

the human being and they are unique in every individual. Growth and development is

influenced by genetic for example, the size and shape of body, height, colour of the hair

and eyes of an individual.

Environment refers to all external experiences. This includes both prenatal and

postnatal stages. The prenatal stage is much influence by the food consumed, life style

and the state of health of the expecting mother, is she a smoker, an alcoholic, having

sickness or emotionally stable. The postnatal factor will be the food consumed by the

child, socioeconomic status of the family, family members level of education, peer

group, school, society, media and the environment. All these influence the developmentof an individual.

The genetic and environment factors have been debated for a long time. Some

say that genetic has stronger influence as compared to the environment while some say

not. Broffen Brenner Ecology Theory (1997, 1989) states that the child development is a



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product of a childs interaction with the environment. According to him, child

development is the effect of the environment on the child and also how the child

responds and reacts to the environment. According to him, the individual consist of five

systems, which are Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, Macrosystem and lastly

Chronosystem.

Another factor to consider in relation to development is the concept of individual

differences. Dobhansk once says that Each individual is different from the biological

and genetic aspect. Children develop at different rates. This, in turn creates variations

among individuals. These differences can be either qualitative or quantitative. For

children in any preschool classroom setting, the differences in temperament,

personality, intelligence, achievement, and physical factors such as height and weight,

are noteworthy and reflect a wide range of normal variation. Some children grow rapidly

and others grow more slowly.

There also are racial and gender developmental variations. During the fetal

stage, for example, females mature faster than males do. Further, at birth, the skeletal

development of females is about 4 weeks ahead of that of males, and African American

children show more rapid skeletal maturation than white children do (Puckett & Black,

2004; Russell et al., 2001; Tanner, 1990).

It is important to understand that the concept of individual differences is the basis

upon which one child is compared to another. Also, the existence of these differences

constitutes the fundamental premise underlying the development of standardized

educational and psychological tests. An understanding of individual differences provides

the foundation for recognizing normal variations as well as extreme differences among

children and, thus, for identifying those who may have special needs. In general,

understanding of the various developmental levels is enhanced by familiarity with the

concept of individual differences.



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4.0 COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT DURING CHILDHOOD

Cognitive skills are individuals ability to think, give opinion, comprehend, and

memorize events that occur in the surrounding. Childrens cognitive development gives

emphasis on developing childrens mind. It focuses on the changes in thinking thattakes place from a stage to another. For student s cognitive development, I choose

Piag ets Theory of Cognitive Development to discuss.

During the School Based Experience, I pick a student from year one for me to

learn about the cognitive development. The student is Wan Nurul Iman Binti Wan Syukri

with the age of seven years old. According t o Piagets Theory of Cognitive

Development, she is under the concrete operational stage which is in the age range of

seven years old to eleven years old. There are three operations that I want to analyzewithin Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development which are the abilities to handle

conservation, classification and lastly seriation.

For abilities to handle conservation, Piaget says that children in concrete

operational stage should be able to solve problems relating to conservation. They are



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able to think logically about concrete objects. Moreover, they should have understood

the process of transformation, reversibility and reasoning as well as mastering three

basic aspects of reasoning in conservation which are identity, compensation and

reversibility. Identity is when the children know that the objects remain the same when

nothing is added or taken away. Next, compensation is the children know that changes

in one direction can be compensated for by a change in another direction. Lastly,

reversibility means the children can mentally cancel out the change that has been

made.

For this skill, I carry out three tests to determine their cognitive development.

Firstly, I conduct coin experiment where I arrange five same sizes of coins in a row and

another five coins on the next row. Then I lengthen the space in between the coins that

creates longer row.

Next test is the water amount experiment. A and B glasses are filled with the

same amount of water. Then, water from B is poured into C which is taller and thinner.

Water level in C is increased compare to the water level in A although they have the

same amount.

Lastly, test of length of the rope. Rope A and B have the same exact length. In

front of the student, the ropes are put in two rows. First, the student answers that the

ropes have the same length. After that, rope B is curled and becomes shorter even

though it is not.

Tests of Conservation

CLASSIFICATION TEST RESULTS

Conservation of number

(Coin test)

Appreciate that the number of coins in acollection remains the same regardlessof whether the collection is lengthen or

bunched together.

The student says thatthe second row has

more coins.



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Conservation of length

(Rope test)

Appreciate that the comparative lengthof two object (rope) is unaffected by

their relative positions or straightness.

The student says thatboth of the ropes

have the samelength.

Conservation of volume

( Water amount test)

Appreciate that changes in the shape of an object do not change its volume.

The student says thatglass C has more

water.

However, according to Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development, children at this

stage should correctly conclude that both of the rows have the same number of coins,

the amount of water in glasses A and C are the same and the length of both ropes are

the same. The student only manage to answer correctly the rope test because it is

easier for her to see clearly that the length of rope is unaffected by the straightness or

curliness of the rope.

The cognitive development shown by this student is likely to say as a little bit

slow because she should have mastered the aspect of reasoning. Nevertheless, from

these three tests, I still agre e with Piagets theory because I know that a child in the age

of seven years old has just entered the concrete operational stage so she is in the

beginning of mastering all the basic aspects of reasoning. Not only that, she is still in the

early months of the age of seven years old.

Second is the ability to handle classification. Classification depends on the

abilities of a student to focus on a single characteristic of objects in a set and group the

objects according to that particular characteristic. The more advanced classification

starts when children begin to realize that the objects in certain group can fit into another.

For this operation, I carry out a test on colour. There are 10 cards with differentcolours (red-4, yellow-2, blue-2, green-2), the student is asked to separate them into

groups but the specification on how to classify them is not reveal to the student.

Test of Classification



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CLASSIFICATION TEST RESULTS

Classification

( Coloured card test)

Abilities of a student to focus on asingle characteristic of objects in a

set and group the objectsaccording to that particular

characteristic.

The student correctlygroups the cards into

its own colours.

The student then classifies them into types of colours and she gets it all right.

This proves that the student has mastered the skill of classification as mentioned in

Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development for the concrete operational stage. In this

case, she answers it confidently as she has mastered the skill. Therefore, I agree with

Piagets theory that children at this age are able to handle classification independently.

Another important operation mastered in concrete operational stage is seriation.

Seriation is the process of arranging in series according to ascending or descending

order. This understanding permits children to do logical series. For example, they can

arrange A



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From this theory, Piaget has increased our understanding of children's thinking.

There are both strengths and weaknesses in Piaget's methods, though. They do reveal

a lot about the child's thought processes, but the questioning is quite unstructured. This

leads to the fact that even a slight variation in questioning would probably offer a

variation in the information obtained, and therefore the conclusions drawn may be

incorrect. However, it can be concluded that Piagets Theory of Cognitive Development

really help teachers and parents to know what the childrens development are. Through

numerous tests Piaget has shown that mistakes children make are not random and

unintelligible, but they are based on a consistent logic which is simply different to that of

adults.

5.0 SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT DURING CHILDHOOD

For socio- emotional development during childhood, I chose Erik Eriksons Theory

of Psychosocial Development. This theory emphasizes the importance of social

relationships with individuals in the children development.

According to Erikson, psychosocial development emphasizes the emergence of self, the search for identity, the individuals relationships with others and the role of

culture throughout ones life.

In this theory, Erikson introduced eight stages of psychosocial development

where these stages are interdependent. At each stage, Erikson suggests that the

individual faces a developmental crisis and each has its particular goals, concerns,

accomplishments and dangers. The way in which the individual resolves each crisis will

affect the persons self -image and views of the society.

One of the main elements of Eriksons psychosocial stage theory is the

development of ego identity. Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop

through social interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing

due to new experience and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others.


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In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence also

motivates behaviors and actions. Each stage in Eriksons theory is concerned with

becoming competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a

sense of mastery, which he sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality. If the

stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.

In each stage, Erikson believed people experience a conflict that serves as a

turning point in development. In Eriksons view, these conflicts are centered on either

developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. During these times,

the potential for personal growth is high, but so is the potential for failure.

During the School Based Experience (SBE), I have prepared a checklist on

childrens socio -emotional development. The checklist comprises three domains which

are attention span, curiosity and the interaction of the particular student with teachers. I

chose a student from year six, named Muhd Saiful Azri bin Mohd Rizal.

According to Eriksons theory, he is under stage four which is industry versus

inferiority. At this stage, children must deal in demands to learn new skills at school. If they fail to do this, the feeling of inferiority and worthlessness will develop. During the

industry versus inferiority stage, children become capable of performing increasingly

complex tasks. As a result, they strive to master new skills. Children who are

encouraged and commended by parents and teachers develop a feeling of competence

and belief in their skills. Those who receive little or no encouragement from parents,

teachers, or peers will doubt their ability to be successful.

Moreover, this stage is vital in the development of self-confidence. During school

and other social activities, children receive praise and attention for performing various

tasks such as reading, writing, drawing and solving problems. Children need to cope

with new social and academic demands. Success leads to a sense of competence,

while failure results in feelings of inferiority.
http://psychology.about.com/od/cindex/g/conflict.htmhttp://psychology.about.com/od/cindex/g/conflict.htm



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The student that I chose portrays a well-balanced behavior even though he is just

transferred from the A class to B class. He is transferred because he gets low grade

during examinations. However, all the teachers who teach him now say that he really

shows some changes where he become less playful and focus in the classroom. This is

related to Erikson theory where when there is a turning point, the child may success or

failed. In this case, lots of motivations and supports from the teachers help him to throw

away the feeling of failure that leads to inferiority and manipulate it to be success. The

socio-emotional development shown by him is very good that I cannot relate it with his

result when he was in A class. His previous examination result as in the appendices

shows not so good result but his attitude has changed a lot after being transferred to B

class.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL CHECKLIST: Muhammad Saiful Azri Mohamad Rizal, 12 years old

ITEMS DAY 1(MONDAY)

DAY 2(TUESDAY)

DAY 3(WEDNESDAY)

PENDIDIKANISLAM

BAHASA ARAB SCIENCE

ATTENTION SPAN

1. Can stay with a chosen activity for very longperiods, even returning the next day. / / /

2. Can remain with an age-appropriate taskuntil it is finished.

3. Needs encouragement to stay with task untilcomplete.

4. Rarely finishes task. Moves rapidly from oneto another.

CURIOSITY

1. Interested in new ideas-words andrelationships as well as things.

/

2. Actively explores any new things in theroom.

/ /

3. Can be intrigued by really exciting things, butusually uninterested.

4. Little or no interest in anything new.RELATIONSHIP WITH TEACHER



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1. Self-sufficient; may volunteer help orsupport to teacher.

/ /

2. Warm relationship, but asks for help orattention when appropriate.

/

3. Sometimes requires unusual amount of help

or physical contact; or seeks attentionthrough silly or wild actions; or isoccasionally aggressive toward teacher.

4. Continually seeks help, contact, or attention;or frequently behaves aggressively; orignores teacher entirely (but clings to avoidsome situations).

TOTAL 55/60 50/60 60/60

1- 20 marks

2- 15 marks

3- 10 marks4- 5 marks

The graph shows the socio-emotional development in Muhd Saiful Azri bin Mohd

Rizal. Because of examination, I cannot observe his interaction in the classroom so I

asked his subject teachers about his development. They are Miss Syafeena binti Mad

0

5

10

15

20

25

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3

Socio-emotional Development

Attention Span

Curiosity

Interaction



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Salleh, Miss Fadzilah binti Mad Idris and Mrs Norhusmanita binti Hussain. All these

teachers are teaching Pendidikan Islam, Bahasa Arab and Science respectively.

Therefore, I agree with Eriksons Theory of Psychosocial Development. This is

because this student shows a sense of competence develops in him when there isguidance given by the teachers. Children at this age are becoming more aware of

themselves as individuals. They work hard for being responsible, being good and doing

it right. They are now more reasonable to share and cooperate.

6.0 IMPLICATIONS OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT

Children's development based on the theory of cognitive development of children

gives a variety of implications for teaching and learning in schools.

Looking at the theory of cognitive development of children from Jean Piaget, the

syllabus should be arranged according to their cognitive developmental level so that

they can accept and understand what is conveyed by the instructors or teachers. The

content is said to be from concrete to abstract, close to the remote, rough to the more

specific view, the existing experience to new experience and based on individual

physical development. According to Piaget, learning is a form of behavioral change.

Learning new and complex things must use the accommodation to alter cognitive

structures so that they can adapt the learning needs of the situation they faced. As the

process of accommodation depending on individual motivation, teachers should

encourage them to participate actively in learning activities.

According to Bruner, the teacher can use the inductive approach to teach the

concepts, laws and principles in science and mathematics. This approach begins with

the teachers give specific examples and pupils will be taught to think, study, identify and



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interpret the information in these examples, and finally make generalizations or

conclusions.

In addition, in order to stimulate the minds of students, teachers should provide

reading books and writing that use large and clear letters and pictures to attractstudents attention . Therefore, teaching aids are required to disclose a concrete theory

to students. These teaching aids could indirectly attract attention and stimulate their

minds during the process of teaching and learning undertaken. Examples of teaching

aids are colourful books and markers, suitable videos and movies to convey messages,

LCD projector, reward stickers or stampers, cardboard and many more.

7.0 IMPLICATIONS OF SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Firstly, it helps pupils to evaluate their problems. Teachers should discuss openly

with the pupils about the pupils emotional problems. This can produce open attitude of

pupils that can express themselves and give their ideas or opinions to the teachers.

Interaction can be done in various ways such as telling stories, teachers as role models

and provide counselling. Through the counselling session, teachers will help the

students to overcome their personal problems so that they can participate in the

learning activities.

Secondly, teachers should guide the pupils to evaluate from another persons

perspective. In other words, teachers make the pupils put themselves in others shoes.

Teachers can ask the pupils to explain their feelings towards others when dealing with

certain issues or situations. For example, simulations and role play activities can be

conducted for pupils to play the role of the other pupil who contradicts their own

character. When students learn to think about others, it will inculcate their positive

values such as helping, tolerate, sympathy, empathy and so on.



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Moreover, it makes sure pupils listen to each other during the lesson. In group

activities or presentations, teachers must make sure that the pupils are paying attention

and listen to peers answers or ideas. Teacher can also give reinforcement to those who

listen well. If the students listen well, it means that they are focusing on the topic being

taught. It will somehow increase their understanding on the topic as well as promote

their discipline and respective values.

Last but not least, teachers must ensure the class exhibit awareness and support

moral and universal issues happen around them. For example, teachers can discuss

and take action toward current issues that involve moral values. Teacher should give

equal justice and attention to all pupils in the class and teach the pupils to differentiate

between laws that secure safety, protection and law that values moral and ethics.

8.0 CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS

8.1 Implications on the Understanding of Child Development Theory in

Teaching and Learning in Classroom

For cognitive development, when understand about child development, teacherscan emphasize the critical role that experiences or interactions with the surrounding

environment which is play in student learning. For example, discussion is an excellent

way to engage students in thinking and analyzing or in defending one side of an issue,

rather than listening to lecture. Students must also respond to one another, rather than

interacting intellectually only with the instructor.

Then, the teachers role is to facilitate learning by providing a variety of

experiences. "Discovery learning" provides opportunities for learners to explore and

experiment, thereby encouraging new understandings. Opportunities that allow students

of differing cognitive levels to work together often encourage less mature students to

advance to a more mature understanding. One further implication for instruction is the

use of concrete "hands on" experiences to help children learn.



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Moreover, with this understanding also, teachers can provide concrete props and

visual aids, such as models or time line to attract students attention on the lesson.

When they are attracted to the lesson, they will be focus and achieve deeper

understanding on the topic being taught.

Apart from that, in socio-emotional development, the main thing that teachers

need to know is their students emotions. They cannot be biased because it will create

tension and the students may refuse to interact with the teachers. Moreover, teachers

should not give too much praising and rewarding to any student publicly as hatred will

arise among the other students.

Lastly, teaching with a caring attitude makes the relationship between teachers

and students closer. If a student feels a personal connection to a teacher, the student islikely to become more trustful of that teacher, show more engagement in the academic

content presented, display better classroom behavior, and achieve at higher levels

academically.

8.2 Ways On How Teachers Can Address The Problem Of Individual

Differences In Classroom

Firstly, in order to solve the problems of mixed ability, teaching should appeal to

all senses, all learning styles and all intelligences. Moreover, it should be based on a

meaningful context for all learners. Therefore, teachers can make use of visuals to grab

students' attention to the lesson and to motivate them because even the most passive

learners are often interested in colourful things.

Secondly, do open-ended tasks or questions because these type of questions

have a variety of possible correct answers instead of a single answer and allow

students to perform their own level. Some of the students may be good atunderstanding but might be weak in expressing themselves orally or in written work

thus, open-ended tasks give them the chance to express themselves without trying to

find the one and the only correct answer.



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Other than that, students love games, competitions and dramatization, so these

are ways of ensuring their interest in the lesson. Regardless of the differences among

the students in terms of language level and learning styles, they are motivated to use

the target language while they are playing a game or participating in a completion or a

role-play.

Next, group and pair work activities are useful not only for the teacher to observe

students but also for the students to cooperate and to learn from each other. When a

strong student works with weaker students, the student can be a source of knowledge in

the group. The teacher, on the other hand, may form groups of weaker and stronger

students separated from each other and she can give different tasks to these groups.

Last but not least, extra homework always helps teachers of mixed abilityclasses. However, considering the level and the interests of the students, extra work

should be of something that the students would enjoy doing. Therefore, a good way of

dealing with mixed ability may be individual and team projects. In addition, students

would be more enthusiastic to work in such projects if they can choose their topic such

as preparing a poster on their favourite sports and so on.

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