MEANING AND TYPES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING CHILD DEVELOPMENT

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

CHILD DEVELOPMENT

WHAT IS CHILD DEVELOMENT

Papalia and Olds (1986:3): the scientific study of how people change and how they stay the same over time.

These are qualitative and quantitative changes

Qualitative changes: changes that can be indicated by abilities and structure.

Quantitative changes: changes that can be measured and described in numbers.

TYPES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Objectives of studying children

Why teachers should study child development

It is important for teachers to study child development in order to understand:

patterns and rate of growth and developmentneeds and problemsdifferences and similaritiesHow to prepare children for the next stages

of development.Parents’ roles in the development of their

children;Influence of society, its culture and values to

the development of children;

The understanding of the above aspects will enable the teacher to plan and organize children’s learning and interact with them in a more appropriate and effective way.

Personality developmentThe course uses Psychosocial

Development Theory developed by Erik Erikson.

Erikson is an American psychoanalyst born in Germany.

He extended Freudian theory of personality development which focuses on the unconscious biological processes of the mind;

Basic assumptions about personality development

It passes through stages and continues throughout the entire life span (a life span perspective).

It is governed by epigenetic principle (interaction between physical maturation and society);

Physical maturation sets the time table for the development to begin, triggers and shapes development.

The social forces direct development positively or negatively;

At each stage, a person has to resolve a

conflict or crisis (opposing forces) between maturation (biological events) and social influences (values,, wishes, attitudes and expectations);

Future personality development depends on the manner in which a person resolves the crisis which is within the context of social arrangement;

Earlier stages have influence over later stages;

Resolving each crisis stimulates next positive development;

Significant role of Play in personality development is to provide opportunity for social interaction.

Play helps children to:test their abilities, express emotions, master and adapt to the world.

According to Erikson, (in Childhood and Society collected in Diessner, 1997:pp 15-24) there are eight stages of development.

At each stage there is an expansion of the radius of significant relationships;

Radius of relationship

Stages of developmentThe eight stages are:1. Basic trust versus mistrust2. Autonomy versus shame and doubt3. Initiative versus guilt 4. Industry versus inferiority5. Role identity versus role confusion6. Intimacy versus isolation7. Generativity versus stagnation8. Integrity versus despair

Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development (Erikson)

Basic trust versus mistrust (1-1 year)

Infants need people to satisfy their basic needs; love, attention, good care, attachment and food.

Trust is developed if needs are met and mistrust if needs are not met.

Trust develops belief that people are trustful and dependable.

They will develop confidence, positive relationship with others and finally self-autonomy.

Lack of satisfaction of basic needs develops a sense of mistrust. This results to:

withdrawal, schizophrenia, despair and reserved, Pessimisticfailure to develop interpersonal skills

Balance between trust and mistrust is needed.

Excessive trust leads to belief that everything can be satisfied.

Autonomy versus shame/doubt (1-3 years) A period of exercising developed muscles and

bones. Hence children become active explorers of

their surroundings.They check and test their own power to do

things.They try to lift objects, to move from one place

to another, moving around, twisting and walking.

Physical maturity stimulates self-independence, self-decision and self-judgment.

Children who are allowed to explore, develop a sense of independence, self-expression, self-judgment and self-confidence; learn new skills and develop a sense of autonomy in decision making.

Those who are strictly protected, not allowed to explore and gain mastery develop feelings of doubt.

Balance is also needed at this stage. Excessive control lead to anxiety, doubt

and shame but too much freedom is also unsafe.

Doubt stimulates exploration. Shame helps them to learn code of conduct.

Initiative versus guilt (3-6 years)Pre-school years period, a period of

expansion of the child’s world, of facing new challenges, of developing a sense of purpose and being active to face the challenges,

They develop control over their environment and capacity to organize their activities and do things for themselves and on their own.

Appraised child when succeeded to do some thing initiated, develops a sense of initiative, ambition and purpose and feels confident in other initiatives.

The humiliated child who failed to

undertake a certain task become worried, feels guilty and incapable of taking responsibility.

Industry versus inferiority (6-11 years)

A period of physical and intellectual activities, of learning skills desired by the society.

Ability to do productive works; fishing, farming, petty trades.

The child understands his potential, limits and strengths by comparing with other children.

Success develops feelings of competence, competitiveness and self worth and ultimately a sense of industry.

Experience of failure develops feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, regression to the earlier stage and ignore talents and skills.

Identity versus Role confusion (11-

19/21years)The beginning of youth, a period of self-

identity and identity crisis confronted by a question of ‘who am I’?

Children develop the roles they have learnt in the previous stage through competency and creativity.

They become detached from their parents and prefer peer groups, a media for assessing their identity and expressing their feelings.

In the search for establishing a stable identity children may involve in different groups and find a carrier path.

If children fail to resolve the crisis of this stage, they develop feelings of trouble and confusion or ego diffusion.

Successful resolution leads to sense of identity ability to make decisions about personal values.