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| Module 1: The developing person |
Section 2
Human
development
|
You are now in section two (Human development)
of Module one. Section two of the module discusses human growth and development.
This section addresses the historical
perspective of development, general principles & theories of development
and covers some of the specific elements of growth across a variety of
domains such as physical and cognitive development. Many of the concepts
discussed within this section relate back to the developmental perspectives
presented in section one. As you read through the content, take the
time to consider the way in which these two sections interrelate.
As you work through the module, I am sure
that many of the names like Piaget, Erikson and Freud will sound familiar
to you from your undergraduate study. As stated earlier, take the time
to explore those elements of the module that you find interesting or novel
and briefly refresh your memories on some of the more familiar topic areas.
The content covered is presented in an
abbreviated form. If you wish to seek clarification on some of the
issues or seek to explore this topic area further, I encourage you to visit
a child development text. 
The
concept of child
Lets take a minute to
briefly address the historical perspective of childhood. The content covered
is presented in an abbreviated form. If you wish to seek clarification
on some of the issues or seek to explore this topic area further, I encourage
you to visit a child development text.
Medieval Times (6th
– 15th Century)
Characteristics:
-
Childhood not perceived as a separate stage
in life.
-
Children were viewed as miniature adults and
as such were expected to perform adult functions.
-
Toys were designed not only for children,
but for adults as well.
-
Adults and children played similar games and
enjoyed similar activities.
-
The idea that a child was a unique individual
gradually began to develop during this time: the church defended the rights
of children and encouraged spiritual growth; the medical field devised
specialised patterns of care for young children; laws were introduced during
this period to protect children from the mistreatment of adults.
The Reformation
(16th Century)
Characteristics:
-
Puritanism devised the image of child as a
‘fragile creature of God’ who required safeguarding and reform. This was
the prevailing view of the time.
-
Child is born evil.
-
Harsh, punitive child rearing practices were
common.
-
Children were dressed as adults and generally
wore tight and restrictive clothing to reduce the likelihood of inappropriate
behaviour.
-
Families of the time found this approach difficult
to implement and many were reluctant to do so.
-
Instruction in the notions of right &
wrong emerged in order to reduce children’s temptation.
The Enlightenment
John Locke (End 17th Century)
-
Child as tabula rasa (blank slate) – born
as neither good nor evil.
-
Child shaped through life experience (forerunner
to behavioural theory).
-
Child should be rewarded with support and
encouragement – a shift to kindness & compassion for children.
Rousseau (18th Century)
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Child as noble savage – born with an innate
plan for growth & development.
-
Child born with a sense of right & wrong.
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Rousseau believed that adult training would
harm the child’s inborn morality and thinking.
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4 stages of development were identified –infancy,
childhood, late childhood, and adolescence – all children were said to
pass through these stages.
Charles Darwin (19th Century)
-
Darwin’s theory of evolution – natural selection
and survival of the fittest.
-
Importance of the adaptive value of physical
characteristics and behaviour.
-
Became the basis for many modern theories
of child development.
20th Century
-
Legal recognition of childhood and the special
needs of children.
-
Laws passed to regulate child labour, make
education compulsory for all children and delineate parental responsibility
for all minors.
| Stop and think
Post a response on the forum |
Consider the notions of child as a ‘charming
toy’ and childhood as a unique phase in development. Do you think
these notions are still present in society today? Do you feel there
is a place for these ideas in today’s educational context? Why or why not?
Lawson, E. (unpub.) (2000).
Historical constructions of childhood and adolescence tutorial. CSU, Bathurst. |
Optional Multiple Choice
Test
Optional multiple choice test from, Berk,
L., Child
development, 5th edn, Companion Websites.
Principles of development
Lets now consider the three major principles
of development. These principles may be applied to all aspects
of development.
1. Individuals develop at different
rates.
We are all unique; no two people are the
same. We develop at differing rates and time frames. As teachers
we need to be aware of these differences and cater for these accordingly.
Consider the children that you work with
on a daily basis. Do any two children have identical physical features,
lose the same tooth at the same time or begin to crawl on the same day?
Although there may be some similarities between children, any two given
children will develop at different rates.
2. Development is relatively orderly.
As individuals we generally follow similar
patterns in our overall sequence of development. For instance we begin
our lives feeding on liquids before progressing on to solid foods.
We must be able to sit before we can stand independently. We must
be able to speak before we can sing etc. Many of these patterns in
growth and development, particularly those related to physical development
are universal.
3. Development takes place gradually.
As a rule of thumb, development across
all aspects of life is a gradual process that occurs from the prenatal
period throughout our adult lives.
Consider your ability to solve problems
and show abstract reasoning in early childhood and reflect on your current
ability now – it is to be hoped that there is a marked improvement between
the two!
As teachers we notice the gradual changes
that occur across aspects of development in the children in our care.
Consider the overall changes in development
in one of the children you teach from January this year until now.
Can you specifically pinpoint some of those changes?
Readings
There are no set readings for this section
of the module.
| Stop and think
Post a response on the forum |
Reflect on some of the implications of
the principles of development for your daily teaching practice.
How may you/do you integrate these ideas
into your teaching on a daily basis?
|
Theory & research
Before we progress further into the theoretical
perspectives and frameworks it is important to note the significant role
that research plays in the study of child development. Lets now examine
some of the approaches that are generally used in this context and how
they are developed. Before you begin, you should note that some of
this content is quite dry. It is important that you persevere, as
a sound understanding of the content to follow will enhance your understanding
of the theories to be addressed later in the module.
In order to carry out research, a researcher
must first put forward a hypothesis, that is a prediction about
a specified behaviour based on theory. If there has been no research
done in a specific area from which to derive a theory, a researcher will
generally devise one or more research questions. An example of such a question
may be - do children demonstrate differential rates of cognitive growth
in the 6-12 year age period?
The research question itself will then
guide the researcher in terms of the research method and design
that they will adopt. Qualitative methods are most commonly used to study
children’s development.
Common methods used include:
-
observation,
-
self reports (including interviews),
-
physiological methods (measuring physiological
processes & links with behaviour),
-
ethnography, and
-
case studies.
Feel free to explore any of these approaches
further in either a child development or research methods text.
Once a researcher has defined their research
topic and selected an appropriate research method they must set about ensuring
that the research will be both reliable and valid.
Reliability refers to the consistency
or replicability of research results. Results must be applicable
from observer to observer. Reliability will be determined depending
on the research method implemented.
Validity refers to the ability of
the research method to measure what it intends to measure. We may
measure validity by careful examination of research results looking for
the content required in the research question and by attempting to predict
if the content may be applied across other situations.
Research Design
Two main approaches are used to test a researcher’s
hypothesis: correlational and experimental design. The approach that
is chosen will be determined by the degree of accuracy that either approach
will yield. A brief summary of each approach is outlined below. Again,
I encourage you to refer to a child development or research methods text
if this content seems unfamiliar to you.
Correlational designs attempt to
assess the degree of relationship between two variables. In this
form of research design the investigator gathers information without changing
the participant’s experience and examines the relationship between the
two or more variables –nothing is manipulated. Correlational studies
do not allow us as researchers to determine cause and effect; they only
permit the analysis of the degree of relationship between any given variables.
Experimental designs allow us to
determine the cause and effect between two or more variables. Experimental
design involves performing an experiment in a carefully regulated setting
in which one or more of the factors being studied is manipulated and all
others are held stable. If studied behaviours change when a factor
is altered we conclude that the manipulated factor has caused the change.
We can divide the event/behaviour to be studied in an experiment in two
ways as either a dependent or independent variable. A dependent variable
refers to the factor that will be measured in an experiment; the independent
variable refers to the manipulated factor in the experiment.
Stop and consider a hypothesis you may
have about your learning environment or it’s students. Consider how
you could go about researching this hypothesis. Would you use a correlational
or experimental design? Why?
Studies in child development are generally
carried out in one of two design approaches: the longitudinal or the cross
sectional design.
Longitudinal designs adopt a holistic
perspective – that is, participants are studied at specific ages, or points
in time, over a specified time frame to gain a clearer overall picture
of the feature being studied.
Cross sectional design refers to
an approach to research in which people of varying ages are being studied
at the same point in time over a limited time period. There are various
advantages and disadvantages associated with each approach. A combination
between the two approaches is often preferred.
Ethics
It is important to conduct research from an
ethical standpoint. That is, we must protect the wellbeing of the
participants involved in our research study. Participants are required
to give formal consent to be involved in a study and retain the right to
withdraw from the study at any time. Researchers must have their proposed
study approved by an ethics committee in order to evaluate the nature of
the research. It is expected that the researcher will then complete
the study under the guidelines specified for/by the ethics approval committee.
Readings
There is no set reading for this aspect of
the module. However, it is strongly suggested that you access either a
child development text or a research methodology text to further your understanding
in this area.
| Stop and think
Post a response on the forum |
Examine one of the theories presented
in this module, for example Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development.
Analyse the research method used in this approach and discuss its validity
& reliability. You may require the use of a child development
text to assist you in this process.
How may you as teachers use the concepts
of research methodology and design in the context in which you teach?
Do you consider these approaches would be of use in your daily practice?
|
Optional multiple choice
test
Optional multiple choice test from, Berk,
L., Child
development, 5th edn, Companion Websites.
