developmental theories in cultural contexts

Developmental theories in cultural contexts

Lesson 3Valentina Fantasia

Development as cultural process

• Children develop as participants in cultural communities

• Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth, development, and learning

• Development understood in light of the cultural practices and circumstances of their communities

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Cultural approaches to development

• All developmental theories are culturally grounded

• Different cultural communities expect children to engage in activities at vastly different times in childhood

• Western research aims at determining developmental steps

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Developmental theories

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Developmental theories

• Early experiences shape long-term human development

• Provide models for cultural expectations on learning stages and outcomes

• Inform and influence learning theories and practices – Educational strategies– Parenting strategies– Community resources

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Developmental theories

1. Piaget’s cognitive development theory

2. Dynamic system theory (Thelen & Smith)

3. Bioecological theory of developmental processes (Bronfenbrenner)

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Developmental theories

1. Piaget’s cognitive development theory

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• Children’s intelligence differs from an adult’s in quality rather than in quantity.

• Children actively build up their knowledge about the world.

• The best way to understand children’s reasoning was to see things from their point of view.

• Intelligence as

– the “direction that it follws in its evolution” (Piaget, 1962, p. 121)

• A form of equilibration , or integration of different operational (mental) structures, divided into stages

• Stage-like process of intellectual development

The intellectual development of the child (J. Piaget, 1962)

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4 great stages (or periods)1. Sensorimotor2. Pre-operational (2-7 yrs)3. Operational (7-12 yrs)4. Formal operationss (after 12 yrs)

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The Piagetian infant

• Active seeker of knoweldge• Infants live in a chaotic world of competing

imputs• Development based on domain-general

mechanisms of learning

The study of intelligence is first a study of the formation of operational structures

à how a child constructs a mental model of the world

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Esther Thelen(1941–2004)

2. Dynamic System Theory

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Dynamic System Theory

Inspired by the work of Bernstein (1967), Gibson's (1979, 1988) and Turvey (1990) and dynamic systems theory by Kelso (Kelso 1995; Kugler, Kelso, & Turvey, 1982; Kugler & Turvey, 1987):

1) developmental processes are nonlinear2) action and perception form an

inseparable loop 3) variability in development is functional.

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“Development is about creating something more from something less, for example, a

walking and talking toddler from a helpless infant”

L. Smith & E. Thelen (2003, p.343)

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THE DYNAMIC SYSTEMS APPROACH TODEVELOPMENT

Development: the multiple, mutual and continuous interaction of all levels of the developing system, from the molecular to the cultural

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• New behaviours can emerge dynamically without the requirement of specific genetic coding• Changes emerge because of the organism ßà context

relations• From molecular patterns of motor functioning involved in

reaching or walking to the molar changes in cognition

Development understood as

As nested processes that unfold over many time scales (from millisecond to years)

à The state of the organism at Time 1 shapes the state of the organism Time 2.

Stepping example

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The state of the organism at Time 1 shapes the state of the organism Time 2

TIME 1: Initial stepping upright -balance between body fat and muscles

TIME 2: Climbing stairs - lot of body weight acquired

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• Changes are coherent even when they seem not (e.g. walking u-shape)

• Changes are intertwined even if they involve different time scales

• Exploration: through active and directed exploration of the environment the child learns to detect relevant information and to couple the information to movements

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The hidden-object task: a different view

• Piaget’s theory of object permanence (Piaget, 1954): universal phenomenon due to limitations in a child’s concept of an object

• Thelen’s view: the same patterns of behavior are evident when waving a continually in-view object at location A or B, instead of hiding a toy (Smith et al., 1999).

• Many factors contribute to child’s performance in this task

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Key concepts

• The nature of physical development is not absolute but flexible

• Development is self-reorganization that emerges due to the interaction of the system/organization/person with another or the environment

• Variability (over stability): new dimensions developing and emerging from stable behaviours

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“Dynamic systems theories depart from conventional approaches because they seek to understand the overall behavior of a system not by dissecting it into parts, but by asking how and under what circumstances the parts cooperate to produce a whole pattern”

(E. Thelen in an interview, 2003)

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Bioecological Theory of developmental processes (1979)

UrieBronfenbrenner

(1917 - 2005)

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• Human development studied and conceptualised within unnatural settings (laboratory)

• “...much of contemporary developmental psychology is the science of the strange behavior of children in strange situations with strange adults for the briefest of periods of time” (Bronfenbrenner, 1977 p. 513)

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Ecological approach (1974)

Earlier studies were ‘unidirectional’, meaning that the laboratory studies observed the influence of A on B (e.g. a stranger/mother with a child), rather than looking at the possible influence of the child on the stranger/mother, or any other third party’s influence.

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Multiple aspects of a developing child’s life that interacts with and affects the child. à Ecological Systems Theory: wider influencing factors and the context (or ecology) of development dynamically interact influence the developing child.

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Key aspects

• Study of differentiated but integrated context of human development

• Reciprocal influence of the environment on the child’s development

• Development is not only shaped by the immediate environment, but also by the interaction with the larger environment

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Ecological environment conceived as set of nested structures each inside the other - like a Russian dolls

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Child development takes place through processes of progressively more complex

interaction between an active child and the persons, objects, and symbols in its immediate environment. To be effective, the interaction

must occur on a fairly regular basis over extended period of time

(Bronfenbrenner, 1998, p. 996)

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Bio-ecological systems of development

1. Microsystem:The relationships between the developing person and the immediate environment that person is in.

à Interactions and experiences that the developing person has directly with other individuals and immediate surroundings. E.g. the relationship between an individual and his or her parents, siblings, or school environment

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2. Mesosystem:Interactions between those who make up the child’s microsystems. “A system of microsystems” (Bronfenbrenner, 1977)

E.g. the relationship between the individual’s family and their school teachers or administrators.

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3. Exosystem:contains elements of the microsystem which do not affect the individual directly, but may do so indirectly.

E.g. if a parent changes or lose her job, this would affect their child in an indirect way such as financial strain or increased parental stress.

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4. MacrosystemThe prefix “macro” comes from the Greek for “large,” and is used because this system was thought to encompasses cultural and societal beliefs, norms and structures that guide how things happen in the lives of the developing human.

Examples: gender norms or religious influence.

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To summarise• Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory

views child development as a complex system of relationships affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment, from immediate settings of family and school to broad cultural values, laws, and customs.

• To study a child's development then, we must look not only at the child and her immediate environment, but also at the interaction of the larger environment as well.

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Process-Person-Context-Time (PPCT) Bioecological Model

(Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994)

1. (Developmental) Process2. Person3. Context4. Time

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1. Process: The developmental processes that happen through systematic interactions (at the micro-level).The proximal-or near-processes between the child and the immediate surroundings that are responsible for the child’s competencies and general well-being.

2. Person: The role of the individual and her personal characteristics in social interactions and development (age, sex, gender, physical or mental health).

à The influence of family, caregivers, or peers is largely determined by these characteristics

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3. Context: Context refers to the multiple aspects modifying the proximal processes, including environments in which the child is in interaction with others (physical, social)

à Ecological context as the key to understand a child’s development

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4. Time: encompasses various aspects, such as chronological age, duration and nature of periodicity.

Influences the systemic interactions within an individual’s lifespan as well as across generations (e.g. “family values,” a set of morals or beliefs à microsystem interaction over time)

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The bioecological theory is the first theory to embed the context in which children live by biological predispositions.

à Children do not develop in isolation but instead in a variety of contexts or environments in which they interact continuously.

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