Child development refers to orderly changes that occur as children grow. It can be described across physical, cognitive, and social/emotional domains. Many theories have aimed to describe and explain child development. Major 20th century theories included psychoanalytic theories focusing on personality formation, behavioral and social learning theories emphasizing environmental influences, biological theories highlighting innate processes, cognitive theories examining information processing and knowledge construction, and systems theories analyzing a child's complex interactions within multiple environmental systems.
2. Child Development
Definition:
Change in the child that occurs over time. Changes follow an
orderly pattern that moves toward greater complexity and
enhances survival.
Periods of development:
Prenatal period: from conception to birth
Infancy and toddlerhood: birth to 2 years
Early childhood: 2-6 years old
Middle childhood: 6-12 years old
Adolescence: 12-19 years old
3. Domains of Development
Development is described in three domains, but growth
in one domain influences the other domains.
Physical Domain:
body size, body proportions, appearance, brain development, motor
development, perception capacities, physical health.
Cognitive Domain:
thought processes and intellectual abilities including attention, memory,
problem solving, imagination, creativity, academic and everyday
knowledge, metacognition, and language.
Social/Emotional Domain:
self-knowledge (self-esteem, metacognition, sexual identity, ethnic
identity), moral reasoning, understanding and expression of emotions,
self-regulation, temperament, understanding others, interpersonal skills,
and friendships.
4. Theories
What is a theory?
Orderly set of ideas which describe, explain, and predict
behavior.
Why are theories important?
To give meaning to what we observe.
As a basis for action -- finding ways to improve the lives and
education of children.
6. 6th - 15th centuries
Medieval period
Preformationism: children seen as little adults.
Childhood is not a unique phase.
Children were cared for until they could begin
caring for themselves, around 7 years old.
Children treated as adults (e.g. their clothing,
worked at adult jobs, could be married, were made
into kings, were imprisoned or hanged as adults.)
7. 16th Century
Reformation period
Puritan religion influenced how children
were viewed.
Children were born evil, and must be
civilized.
A goal emerged to raise children effectively.
Special books were designed for children.
8. 17th Century
Age of Enlightenment
John Locke believed in tabula
rasa
Children develop in response to
nurturing.
Forerunner of behaviorism
www.cooperativeindividualism.org/ locke-john.jpg
9. 18th Century
Age of Reason
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
children were noble savages, born with an
innate sense of morality; the timing of growth
should not be interfered with.
Rousseau used the idea of stages of
development.
Forerunner of maturationist beliefs
10. 19th Century
Industrial Revolution
Charles Darwin
theories of natural selection and survival
of the fittest
Darwin made parallels between
human prenatal growth and
other animals.
Forerunner of ethology
11. 20th Century
Theories about children's development expanded
around the world.
Childhood was seen as worthy of special
attention.
Laws were passed to protect children,
12. Psychoanalytical
Theories
Beliefs focus on the formation of personality. According
to this approach, children move through various stages,
confronting conflicts between biological drives and social
expectations.
13. Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual Theory
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.
14. Erik Erikson
Psychosocial Theory
Expanded on Freud's theories.
Believed that development is life-long.
Emphasized that at each stage, the child
acquires attitudes and skills resulting from
the successful negotiation of the
psychological conflict.
Identified 8 stages:
Basic trust vs mistrust (birth - 1 year)
Autonomy vs shame and doubt (ages 1-3)
Initiative vs guilt (ages 3-6)
Industry vs inferiority (ages 6-11)
Identity vs identity confusion (adolescence)
Intimacy vs isolation (young adulthood)
Generativity vs stagnation (middle adulthood)
Integrity vs despair (the elderly)
16. Behaviorism
Developed as a response to
psychoanalytical theories.
Behaviorism became the dominant view
from the 1920's to 1960's.
17. John Watson
Early 20th century, "Father of
American Behaviorist theory.
Based his work on Pavlov's
experiments on the digestive
system of dogs.
Researched classical conditioning
Children are passive beings who
can be molded by controlling the
stimulus-response associations.
www.psych.utah.edu.//Cards/Watson.html
18. B. F. Skinner
Proposed that children "operate" on their
environment, operational conditioning.
Believed that learning could be broken down
into smaller tasks, and that offering
immediate rewards for accomplishments
would stimulate further learning.
19. Social Learning Theory
Albert Bandura
Stressed how children learn by observation
and imitation.
Believed that children gradually become
more selective in what they imitate.
21. Maturationists: G. Stanley Hall
and Arnold Gesell
Believed there is a predetermined biological
timetable.
Hall and Gesell were proponents of the
normative approach to child study: using
age-related averages of children's growth
and behaviors to define what is normal.
22. Ethology
Examines how behavior is determined by a
species' need for survival.
Has its roots in Charles Darwin's research.
Describes a "critical period" or "sensitive
period, for learning
24. Attachment Theory
John Bowlby applied ethological
principles to his theory of attachment.
Attachment between an infant and her
caregiver can insure the infants survival.
26. Jean Piaget
Cognitive development
theory
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.
27. Piagets Cognitive
Development Stages
Sensori-motor
Ages birth - 2: the infant uses his senses and motor abilities to
understand the world
Preoperation
Ages 2-7: the child uses metal representations of objects and is
able to use symbolic thought and language
Concrete operations
Ages 7-11; the child uses logical operations or principles when
solving problems
Formal operations
Ages 12 up; the use of logical operations in a systematic fashion
and with the ability to use abstractions
28. Lev Vygotsky
Socio-Cultural Theory
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.
ced.ncsc.edu/hyy/devtheories.htm
29. Information Processing Theory
Uses the model of the computer to describe
how the brain works.
Focuses on how information is perceived,
how information is stored in memory, how
memories are retrieved and then used to
solve problems.
31. Urie Bronfenbrenner
Ecological Systems Theory
The varied systems of the
environment and the
interrelationships among the
systems shape a child's
development.
Both the environment and biology
influence the child's development.
The environment affects the child
and the child influences the
environment.
32. Bronfenbrenners Ecological Model
The microsystem - activities and
interactions in the child's immediate
surroundings: parents, school,
friends, etc.
The mesosystem - relationships
among the entities involved in the
child's microsystem: parents'
interactions with teachers, a school's
interactions with the daycare
provider
The exosystem - social institutions
which affect children indirectly: the
parents' work settings and policies,
extended family networks, mass
media, community resources
The macrosystem - broader cultural
values, laws and governmental
resources
The chronosystem - changes which
occur during a child's life, both
personally, like the birth of a sibling
and culturally, like the Iraqi war.
33. Outline of 20th Century Theories
Psychoanalytical Theories
Psychosexual: Sigmund Freud
Psychosocial: Erik Erikson
Behavioral & Social Learning Theories
Behaviorism: Classical Conditioning - John Watson &
Operant Conditioning - B.F. Skinner
Social Learning - Albert Bandera
Biological Theories
Maturationism: G. Stanley Hall & Arnold Gesell
Ethology: Konrad Lorenz
Attachment: John Bowlby
34. Cognitive Theories
Cognitive Development: Jean Piaget
Socio-cultural: Lev Vygotsky
Information Processing
Systems Theories
Ecological Systems: Urie Bronfenbrenner
Outline of 20th Century Theories