The Contexts of Early Childhood

The Development of Children (5th ed.)

Cole, Cole & Lightfoot

Chapter 11

Contexts of Development

Contexts of Development

Urie Bronfenbrenner

Mutual Shaping

Parents shape their children’s development Directly: By the tasks they pose, the ways they

respond to particular behaviors, the values they promote, and the patterns of behavior they model

Indirectly: By selecting many of the other contexts to which children are exposed, such as the places they visit, the means by which they entertain themselves, and the children with whom they play

Children shape their parents’ behavior Through their interests, temperament, appearance,

verbal ability and other characteristics that influence parent-child interaction

Overview of the Journey

Family as a Context for Development

The Young Child in the Community

Media Linking Home and Community

Family as a Context for Development

The Young Child in the Community

Media Linking Home and Community

Family as a Context for Development

Family Structures and Dynamics

Parenting Styles

Family Diversity

Families Under Stress

Family Structures

Nuclear family A family consisting of a husband, a wife, and their

children

Extended family A family in which not only parents and their

children but other kin—grandparents, cousins, nephews, or more distant family relations—share a household

Single-parent family A family that is headed by one parent, usually the

mother

Orchard Town, New England

Gusii Community, Kenya

Patterns of Social Behavior

Cultural Group

Behavior Category

Specific Kinds of Behavior

USA

Individualistic Sense of Self

Dependent-dominant

Seeks help; seeks dominance; seeks attention

Sociable-intimate

Acts sociably; engages in horseplay; touches

Gusii

Inter-dependent Sense of Self

Nurturant-responsible

Offers help; offers support; gives responsible ideas

Authoritarian-aggressive

Reprimands; assaults; insults

Parents: Three MajorOrdered Universal Goals

Survival Goal To ensure that their children

survive by providing for their health and safety

Economic Goal To ensure that their children

acquire the skills and resources needed to be economically productive adults

Cultural Goal To ensure that their children acquire the basic

cultural values of the group

Parenting Patterns (North America)

ResponsiveParent is accepting and

child-centered

UnresponsiveParent is rejecting and

parent-centered

DemandingParent expects much of child

Authoritative Parenting

Relationship is reciprocal, high in bidirectional

communication

Authoritarian Parenting

Relationship is controlling, power-assertive,

high in unidirectional communication

UndemandingParent expects

little of child

Indulgent Parenting

Relationship is permissive, low in control attempts

Neglectful Parenting

Relationship is indifferent, uninvolved

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Authoritative Demanding but reciprocal relationship

Favor reasoning over physical punishment

Encourage independence

Self-reliant

Self-controlled

Display curiosity

Content

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Authoritarian Demanding and controlling

Favor punitive methods over reasoning

Stress obedience over independence

Other-directed

Lack social competence

Lack curiosity

Withdrawn

Baumrind’s Parenting Styles

Style DescriptionTypical Child

Characteristics

Permissive Undemanding and little control exercised

Allow children to learn through experience as a result of indulgence or neglect

Neither independence nor obedience stressed

Dependent on others

Poor impulse control

Relative immaturity

Immigrant Families

Today, one in five children has immigrant parents

Today, one in five children has immigrant parents

Percentage of immigrants to the United States from various parts of the globe

Children born to unmarried teenage mothers (USA)

Preschool childrenMore aggressiveLess self-controlledLess cognitively advanced

Following a disturbing rise during the 1970s and 1980s, the number of babies born to teenage mothers declined significantly between 1990 and 2000. (Guttmacher Institute, 2004.)

Following a disturbing rise during the 1970s and 1980s, the number of babies born to teenage mothers declined significantly between 1990 and 2000. (Guttmacher Institute, 2004.)

Consequences of Divorce Divorce rates in USA are highest in the world

30% of children born to married couples will see their parents divorce before they reach age 18

Children whose parents have divorced are twice as likely to Have problems in school Act out, becoming unruly and angry (boys)

or demanding and attention-seeking (girls) Be depressed and unhappy Have less self-esteem Be less socially responsible and competent

Seem to do best when divorced parents support each other in their parenting roles and are consistent in their approach to discipline

Divorce-Stress-Adjustment Perspective (Amato)

Impact of Poverty

The Young Child in the Community

Varieties of Day Care

Effects of Day Care

Preschool

Varieties of Day Care63% of U.S. mothers with children younger than 6 are working and use some form of supervised care

63% of U.S. mothers with children younger than 6 are working and use some form of supervised care

Characteristics of Quality Child-Care Centers Children in the program are enjoying themselves as they

play and learn There are small groups of children (fewer than 15) and low ratios

of caregivers to children (at least one adult for every 7-9 children) Activities organized for children are

appropriate to their age levels and abilities

Equal attention and time are devoted to the whole child (i.e., cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development)

Staff meet regularly to plan and evaluate the program

Parents are welcome to observe, discuss and make suggestions about the program

Developmental Effects of Day Care

Intellectual: High-quality day-care may be beneficial for low SES children

Social: More self-sufficient, independent, verbally expressive, helpful, and cooperative; also less polite, agreeable, and compliant, and more aggressive; more years in day care correlates with greater likelihood of behavior problems in kindergarten

Preschool (Nursery School)

Purpose: Educational, rather than supervisory Preparation for kindergarten (age 5): “War on

poverty” (1960s), Project Head Start (federal funds for children from low-income families)

Spans ages 2½ - 6, for approx. 3 hours/day Emphasis on exploration: sandbox,

water-play table, doll corner, block area, large rug for stories and songs, cluster low tables for arts/crafts and snacks, and outdoor area (with jungle gyms, slides, swings)

Effects of Head Start

Began as summer program; now operates year round and serves nearly 1 million children Receive food, health and dental

care, and intellectual stimulation Although first reports were promising

(i.e., gains in standardized test scores), differences largely disappeared during first 3 grades

Children attending model programs were less likely to require remedial special-education classes Unfortunately, results depend on the quality of the

classroom program and few Head Start classrooms can be considered of high quality

Media Linking Home and Community

Books

Television

Interactive Media

Books

Emergent literacy Understanding that letter symbols convey information Fostered by being read to –

dialogic reading (adult asks questions, listens, adds information of interest, and prompts child; based on idea of “zone of proximal development”)

Books Problem with most fairy tales and myths

Are cruel, brutal, and frightening (e.g., Show White is given a poisoned apple by her step mother; Hansel and Gretel are shoved in the oven by a witch)

Are not realistic portrayals of the world

Problem with many children’s books Ignore or misrepresent

certain ethnic/racial groups, women, the working-class, and poor people

Television

TV set is on 6+ hours/day in average home, and young children are in front of it for 2+ of those hours

Dorothy & Jerome Singer:

“No other extraparental influence has penetrated the lives of children as television has”

Television

Modeling 14-month-olds

imitate actions they see on TV

Infants imitate language they hear on TV

Young children identify with superheroes and mythical creatures they see on TV (evident in fantasy play, toys they choose, and breakfast cereals they insist on having!)

Television

What is real? Young children easily

confuse appearance and reality

2-year-olds think that a bowl of popcorn shown on TV will spill if TV set were to be turned upside down

4-year-olds believe that Sesame Street is a real place 5-year-olds believe that television characters can see and

hear them 7-year-olds have difficulty understanding that when a bad

guy is shot on television, the actor isn’t really dead 8-year-olds claim that actors and actresses who play

married couples must be friends and they do not realize that fictional programs are rehearsed

Television

Problems of Form Young children have difficulty interpreting sequences of

quick scene changes without transitions Juxtaposition of images intended to convey the relation of

one action to another may also give them difficulty Format also makes it difficult for children to stop and

ponder what is being presented

Young children have difficulty reassembling these cards to create a meaningful scene.

Television

Problems of Content Media stereotypes: People who populate TV

screen are not representative of the population of viewers (e.g., men presented as in control, women as submissive, passive, sensual; African Americans are portrayed more positively than European Americans, whereas Hispanic Americans are disproportionably portrayed in criminal roles, if visible at all) – absence of positive role models for certain groups

Television

Problems of Content Violence: 80% of TV programs

children watch include at least one violent event (and many contain more, particularly cartoons); after children watch a violent program, they act more aggressively than children who have watched more benign programs; children come to believe that aggression and violence are acceptable ways to settle disputes

Interactive Media

Positive features Allow children to interact with the pictures and stories,

controlling the movements of characters and engaging in active problem solving

Can develop better eye-motor coordination Can develop creativity in developing stories/visuals

Negative features May promote short attention span May create the expectation that

answers and rewards come easily May lead to superficial

understanding