DED 101EDUCATIONAL

PSYCHOLOGY, GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING

THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF ZANIZBAR17th June, 2011

OUTLINE

• Meaning of Child Development• Important Theorists of Child Development• Periods of Child Development• Domains of Child Development• Importance of studying Children

Definition of Development• (Oxford Concise Dictionary;2009) defines development as a

specified state of growth or advancement

• (Michelle;2000) defines development as the pattern of biological, cognitive, and socioemotional changes that begins at conception and continues through the life span.

• (Berk;2007) defines development as the transformation or pattern of changes that are orderly, cumulative and directional

Orderly: there is logical sequence to change Cumulative: includes all that was there plus something new

(value added) Directional: moves toward greater complexity

Child Development vs. Developmental Psychology

• Child Development – a field devoted to understanding all aspects of human growth and change from conception through adolescence.

• Developmental Psychology – the more general field of study, that includes child development, and is devoted to understanding all aspects of human growth and change across the entire lifespan.

A dependent new born baby develops

• Language, self-awareness, a personality, and physical abilities, among other things

To become a capable independent young person

Child Development is what happens when. . .

Certain aspects of development are predictable.Focus their eyes Sit upLearn to walkBegin to speakDevelop logical reasoning skills

Around the world most infants and children do the following at about the same time.Development proceeds through a certain sequence

How it happens

Source: Dr. Mandana Ahsani (2009)

Periods of Development

The Prenatal Period – from conception to birth.Infancy and Toddlerhood – from birth to 2 years.Early Childhood – from 2 to 6 years.Middle Childhood – from 6 to 11 years.Adolescence – from 11 to 20 years.

Periods of Child Development

Mainly through observations which result into theories proposed by psychologists.

Theorists propose explanations for how children grow and develop.

Focus on different aspects of development (moral, physical, intellectual, etc.)

How we Study Children

1. Is development continuous or discontinuous? Or both?

2. Is there a single, universal course of development, or are there many?

3. Is “nature” or “nurture” more important for development?

*Theories in development answer these questions

The Three Questions

CONTINUITY VERSUS DISCONTINUITYGRADUAL DEVELOPMENT

STAGES

NATURE VERSUS NURTURE

HEREDITY BIOLOGY GENETICS

ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY CULTURAL

ENVIRONMENT

KNOWLEDGE GENERATION

REMAIN THE SAME AT LATER STAGE

CHANGES AT LATER STAGE

STABILITY VERSUS CHANGE

Continuity Vs. Discontinuity

Continuous theory of development: development follows a smooth progression from infancy to adulthood, with a single quantitative dimension

Discontinuous (stage) theory of development:development occurs in stages, each qualitatively different from the one before

THEMES OF DEVELOPMENT

• Figure 2.2 The course of development as described by continuity and discontinuity (stage) theorists.

Source; (Huitt;2009)

CONTINOUS AND DISCONTINOUS

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature – inborn biological givens – the hereditary information children receive from their parents at the moment of concept that signals the body to grow and affects all their characteristics and skills.

Nurture – the complex forces of the physical and social world that influence children’s biological make up and psychological experiences before and after birth.

THEMES OF DEVELOPMENT

Stability v. Change

Stability – children who are high or low in a characteristic will remain so at later ages.Change – children who are high or low in a characteristic can change at later ages, typically due to changes in the environment in either a positive or negative way.

THEMES OF DEVELOPMENT

SOME IMPORTANT THEORISTS IN CHILD

DEVELOPMENT

Sigmund FreudPsychosexual

• Was based on his therapy with troubled adults.

• He emphasized that a child's personality is formed by the ways which his parents managed his sexual and aggressive drives.

• Personality develops in eight psychosocial stages through the life span.

• Social relationships and conscious thought are important.

• Nurture, but nature also important

• Stages build on each other• Child Active in development

Erik EriksonPsychosocial

• Children "construct" their understanding of the world through their active involvement and interactions.

• Studied his 3 children to focus not on what they knew but how they knew it.

• Described children's understanding as their "schemas” and how they use: assimilation accommodation.

Jean PiagetCognitive Developmental

• Agreed that children are active learners, but their knowledge is socially constructed.

• Cultural values and customs dictate what is important to learn.

• Children learn from more expert members of the society.

• Vygotsky described the "zone of proximal development", where learning occurs.

Lev VygotskyPsychosocial Development

BF Skinner Operant Conditioning

• Positive Reinforcement (rewards) increase a desired behavior

• Negative Reinforcement (punishment) decrease an undesired behavior

• Rewards and punishments shape behavior when given right after the behavior is demonstrated

BanduraSocial Learning

• Bandura believed that people learn behavior by observing and imitating others– “Monkey see, Monkey do”

• Typical Social Learning Theory comment:– “You can teach a dog new tricks if you show him how to

do it, and reward him each time he does a good job.”

Physical Development – changes in body size, proportions, appearances, and the functioning of various body systems – brain development, perceptual and motor capabilities, and physical health.Cognitive Development – development of a wide variety of thought processes and intellectual abilities, including attention, memory, academic and everyday knowledge, problem solving, imagination, creativity, and the uniquely human capacity to represent the world through language.Emotional and Social Development – development of emotional communication, self-understanding, ability to manage one’s own feelings, knowledge about other people, interpersonal skills, friendships, intimate relationships, and moral reasoning and behavior.Moral Development – development of personal rules and conventions regarding one’s interactions with others

Domains of Development

Characteristics of Domains of Development

Characteristics of Domains of Development

Importance of childhood time• Childhood, a crucial time• Self-esteem developed in

childhood• A child who feels good about

themselves is more likely to be able to overcome problems later in life.

• Developmental tasks occur in succession.

Why study child development?• Guidance for parents and other

care-givers• Helps society to support

healthy growth.• Helps identify and help children

with special needs• Contributes to self-

understanding– Understanding the influences and

experiences that shaped you

Why study Child development?• It is possible for effective

teaching to take place when the teacher understands how students think and how they view the world.

• Effective teaching strategies must take into account students’ ages and stages of development.

QUESTIONS?

END OF LECTURE FOUR

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