EDEC 1600

Introduction to Child Development

Chapter One

A Child’s Journey

When Systems Connect

Developmental Domains

PhysicalCognitivePsychosocial

Nature and Nurture

Nature: The biological factors, including genes, that contribute to development

Nurture: The environmental factors and experiences that contribute to development

Ethnicity

Characteristics based on race, cultural heritage, nationality, religion, language

Ethnic identity: sense of membership in an ethnic group

Socioeconomic status: people similar in occupational, educational, and economic characteristics

Sex and Gender

Poverty

Views of Childhood

1) Born Evil

•Original sin•Biblical backgrounds

2) Locke: Tabula Rasa

I think I may say that, of all the men we meet with, nine parts of ten are what they are, good or evil, useful or not, by their education. 'Tis that which makes the great difference in mankind.

Locke on Punishment

For I am very apt to think, that great severity of punishment does but very little good; nay, great harm in education: and I believe it will be found, that, …, those children who have been most chastised, seldom make the best men.

3) Rousseau

- Man is born free, and everywhere he is in shackles.- Our greatest evils flow from ourselves.

Democratic Education

Teachers and classes are available at timetabled times, but the children can decide whether to attend or not. School rules are made by majority vote by pupils and staff alike having equal votes.

Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytically Based Theories

Psychoanalytic Theory

Sigmund FreudPersonality development is

attributed to unconscious sources in the mind

Id – based on pleasureEgo – rational and reality basedSuperego – moral conscienceIncludes the idea that children

pass through five stages of psychosexual development

Psychosocial TheoryErik Erikson

Development focuses on the effects of social influences

Individuals pass through eight stages of development in which they must resolve crises that lead to healthy psychological development

Crisis a challenge that pushes for resolution

Freud: Psychoanalytic Theory

Cognitive Theories

Constructivist approach focuses on the ways children construct knowledgeJean PiagetLev Vygotsky

Information processing approach focuses on how children pay attention to, remember, and develop strategies about information

Piaget

• Children actively construct their understanding of the world

• Assimilation: incorporation of new information into existing knowledge

• Accommodation: adjusting knowledge to fit new information and experience

Piaget’s 4 Stages of Cognitive Development

Lev Vygotsky’s Cognitive Theory

Also known as sociocultural theoryChildren’s cognitive growth depends on their

interactions with adults and more knowledgeable peers

Zone of proximal development—the distance between a person’s actual developmental level and the higher level of development that could be achieved with assistance

Scaffolding—support provided to children while attempting to learn

Zone of Proximal Development

Vygotsky

• Children construct knowledge.• Learning can lead development.• Development cannot be separated

from its social context.• Language plays a central role in

mental development.

Information Processing

• Comparing computer to human brain• Hardware analogous to brain• Software analogous to

cognition• Emphasizes how individuals

manipulate information, monitor it, and strategize about it