Pr

epar
edbyEl
masAl
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Assi
gnmentNo.1

AUTUMN2018

HumanDev
elopmentandLear
ning(
8610)

Q.
1.Di
scussi
ssues/
cont
rov
ersi
esi
nchi
l
ddev
elopment
.

Developmenti sapr ocesst hatentail

st heent i
relife-
spanofani ndi vi
dual ,from concept ionto
death.Someofusar eintri
guedt ounder standhowdoesdev elopmentev olveov erthey ears,
whatar ethechangest hatoccurandhowdot heyoccurdur i
ngt hel ife-span?Ast udyofal l
changest hroughoutt hel i
fe-spanofani ndividual i
sr eferredt oasdev elopment alpsy chology,
development al sci
enceorhumandev elopment( Keenan&Ev ans, 2009) .Howev er,whenwe
focusourat tent i
ontounder st
andt hegr owth, changesandconsi stenci es, onar athernar rower
porti
onofl i
fe-span, fr
om concept i
ont hroughadol escence, wear er efer ringt othest udyofchi l
d
development .Thef i
eldofchi lddevelopmenti smul ti
discipli
nar y,whi chdr awsi t
sknowl edge
from severalotherf i
eldssuchaspsy chology ,sociology ,anthropol ogy , biologyand
neurosciencet onameaf ew( Berk,2013) .Likewi se,itinformst hepr act icesofv ar
iousexper t
s
whoar ekeent oimpr ov ethelivesofchi l
dren.Thesei ncl
ude: educat or s, pedi at
rici
ans,
psychologists,childcar eserviceproviders,soci alserv i
cepr ofessi onal s, andpar ents.Int hi
sway ,
thefiel
dofchi lddev elopmenthasbot hscient i
ficaswel laspr act ical rel evanceandut i
li
ty.

Whilethest udyofchil
ddev el
opmentisimportantinitsownright,
italsoinf
ormsusaboutthe
natureofhumandev el
opment .Abett
erunderstandingofthegrowth,changesandstabi
l
ityi
n
theearlierbehavi
orsofli
fehasthepotenti
alt
oi nforml at
erbehavi
or,alsoref
err
edtoasadult
behavior.Aswef ocusont hegrowthanddevelopmentofchi ldr
eninthisunit
,wedrawuponthe
pri
nciplesoflif
e-spandevelopment
alpsychol
ogyt oi nf
orm ourunderstandi
ng.

I
SSUES/
CONTROVERSI
ESI
NCHI
LDDEVELOPMENT

Anumberofcont rover
siesexistinthefiel
dofchi lddevelopmentduetoitscomplexnat
ure.
Researchersvaryinthei
ropinionabouthowchi l
drenchangeanddev el
opov ert
ime,whatare
thesechangesl i
ke,andwhatar ethesimil
ariti
esanddi f
ferenceset
c(seeKeenan&Ev ans,
2009).Thesev ar
iedperspectivesadvancet heknowl edgeaboutchil
ddevelopmentand
psychologybyguidingresearchi ndiv
ersear easofchilddevelopment(
e.g.,
social
,emoti
onal
,

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i
ntell
ectual
,andphysical
devel
opment)andcont
radi
cti
ngandint
egrat
ingdi
ff
erentv
iews.The
f
ollowingsecti
onspresentt
hemostrecurr
enti
ssuesinthest
udyofchil
ddevel
opment.

Cont
inuousordi
scont
inuous

Oneoft hepuzzl i
ngi ssuesi nthest udyofchi lddev el
opmenti showt ochar acter
izethenat ureof
changest hatoccurwi t
htime?Ar et heybestv i
ewedasapar tofacont i
nuouspr ocessordot hey
takepl acei ndiscont inuousst ages?Somet heoristsbeli
evet hatdev elopmenti sasmoot h,
continuouspr ocessi nwhi chr athersi mpleknowl edge,skill
sandbehav iorsaregradually
accumul atedtof orm compl exknowl edge, skil
ls,andbehav i
ors.Thisi mpl i
esthatthepr ocessof
developmentpr oceedsi nanor gani zedandor derlywayi nwhi chnewerandcompl exbehav iors
arefor medont hebasi sofpr eviousabi l
i
ties.Cont r
arytothisv iew,othert heori
stsbelievethat
developmenti sadi scontinuouspr ocessi nwhi chnewski l
lsandbehav i
or semergeinr ather
abruptanddi sconnect edway s.Fr om t hi
sper spect i
ve,developmentt akespl aceinstagesand
most lyinvolvesaqual i
tat
ivereor gani zat
ionofknowl edge, behav i
ors,ski l
lsandfunctioning.I
tis
i
mpor tanttonot et hathowwechooset oexami nedevelopment( i
.e.,asacont i
nuousor
discont i
nuouspr ocess)af fectsourunder st andingandi nterpretat
ionoft heprocessaswel l.

However,
inst
eadoffocusingondevel
opmentasacont inuousordisconti
nuouspr
ocess,
devel
opmentalpsy
chologist
surgetofocusonthesourcesofconti
nuityordi
scont
inui
ty.Ov
eral
l
,
i
tisassumedthatdevelopmenthasbothcont
inuousanddiscont
inuousaspects.

Si
ngl
eormul
ti
plecour
ses

Anotheri ssuewhi chconcer nsdev el

opment alpsychol ogistsiswhet hert hereisasi nglerouteof
developmentori st heremany ?St agetheor i
stswhobel ievethatdev elopmentoccur si naseries
ofuniversal stagesar guet hatt hesamesequencei sfollowedev er ywher e.Yet,others
acknowl edgespeci fi
cf eat uresofi ndiv
idualsandt hedi stinctcont extual factorsi
nwhi chthey
arebroughtup.Theybel iev et hatchi l
ddev el
opmenti sinfluencedbyuni quecombi nationsof
personal (e.g.
,heredityandbi ologicalfact
ors)andenv ironment al (e.g.,home, school and
communi tyset t
ings)ci rcumst ances,andt hus,fol
l
owsmul ti
pleandv ariedt r
acks.Ov eral
l,
researcher stoday, ar
emor econcer nedaboutt hecont ext ualfactor st hati nf
luencet hecourseof
chil
ddev elopment .Mostoft hem acknowl edgebot huni versalfactor saswel lastheuni que
personal andcont ext ual feat uresi nthestudyofchi lddev elopment .

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Nat
ureorNur
tur
e(st
abi
l
ityv
s.pl
ast
ici
ty)

Perhapsoneoft hemostcont rov ersialquest i

onsi nthestudyofchi lddev el
opmenti sabouti ts
underlyi
ngcause.Howdoesdev elopmentt akepl ace?Whatar et hebasi cf actorst hatinfl
uence
development ?Theanswert othesequest ionsspar ksadebat eaboutt hepossi bleroleofnat ure
versusnurtureinhumandev elopment .
Thet erm natureimpliest hatt hebi ol
ogi calandher editary
tr
aitsthatwer ecei vefrom ourpar entsar er esponsibleforourdev elopment .Thet heor i
stswho
str
esst heroleofher edit
yinhumandev elopmental soemphasi zest abi l
it
y( i
.e.,thechi l
drenwho
aregeneticall
yhi ghorl owincer taintrait
swi l
lalsoremai nsoi nadul t hood).Wher eas, t
heterm
nurturesuggest sthatt hecompl exenv ironment al andculturali
nf luencesar eaccount ablefor
humandev elopment .Likewise,thet heoristswhoemphasi zenur turebel ievet hatdev elopmenti s
substanti
allyplasticandopent ochangest hroughoutt helif
e-span.Thus, whilet hetheor i
sts
att
endt obot hnat ureandnur tur
ei nexpl aininghumandev el
opment ,theyv aryint heiremphasi s.

Howev er
,theext r
emeposi ti
onsonnat ureornur t
urear enolongersuppor
ted.Rat
her,iti
s
arguedthatdev el
opmenti sinfl
uencedbyani nteracti
onofbot hgeneti
candenvir
onment al
factor
s.Thisinter
actionitvi
ewi sbecomingincreasinglypopularamongtheresearchersaswel
l
asthegener alpubli
c,forexample,parent
s.Inturn,researcher
sareencouragedtostudythe
i
nterpl
aybet weent hesetwof act
orsinordertounder standhowdev el
opmenttakesplace.

-------------------

Q.
2Whatki
ndofphy
sical
act
ivi
ti
esshoul
dbeof
fer
edatschool
.

.Physicaldevel
opmentisoneoft hemajortopi
cal areasinthest udyofchi lddevel
opment .I
t
focusesont heway sinwhicht heover
all
body '
sst r
uctureincludingt hebrain,
nervoussystem,
muscles,organs,sensesandt hebodil
yneeds( e.g.
,hunger ,
thirst)determineanindivi
dual'
s
behavioranddevelopment .Forexample,adevelopment alpsychol ogistmightbeinter
estedto
seehowmal nutr
it
ionaffectsthephysi
calgrowthofachi l
d.

Howev er,
physicaldev
elopmentisnotonlyspecif
iedtothebiologicalandmat urat
ionalchanges
thatoccuroverti
mewi thli
ttl
eornoinf
luencefrom thecont
ext .Rather,i
tisbeli
evedt ooccur
withi
nanenv i
ronmentalcontext
,wherefactor
ssuchasnut ri
tion,opportunit
iesforplay,cul
tur
al
practi
cesetcplayasignif
icantr
ole.

ACTI
VITI
ESI
NSCHOOLS

Physicalacti
vi
ti
espl ayacrit
icalr
oleindevel
opi
ngthebasicmov ementskill
sofchil
dren.Si
nce
i
tisdiffi
cultf
orchildrentowor konsedentar
yacti
vi
ti
esforlongerdurati
onoftime,t
hissecti
on
presentssomei deasaboutdev elopi
ngphysi
calact
ivi
ti
esforchil
dreninthepreandelementary
school y
ears.Thesei deascanbemodi fi
edandexpandedincertai
not herwaystosupportt
he

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phy
sical
dev
elopmentofchi
l
dren.

Pr
eschool
andKi
nder
gar
ten

Preschoolchil
drenaregenerall
yagedbet weent hreetofiveyear
s.Atthisage,chi
l
drentendt
o
developsuff
ici
entcontrol
ov ertheirf
inemot orskil
lswhichhelpthem todraw,wri
te,copy
shapesandengagei nactivi
tiesthatrequi
reprecisecontrolofhandandbodymov ement.
Chil
drenatthisagelearnbestt hr
oughi nt
ri
nsicinter
estsandphy si
cali
nv ol
vement.

Somet raditi
onal phy sical activi
tiesf orthisagel ev el inv olverunning,jumpi ng, hopping,skipping,
drawing, colori
ng, paint i
ng, cut t
ing,past i
ng, glui
ng, usi ngpl aydough, roll
ers,andshapecut t er
s
etc.Howev er,t
eacher s,car egiver sorpar entscancer tainlyextendt hisnet worki nsomenon-
tradi
tional ways.Thi smayi nv ol
v eusi ngout sidepl ayasar ewar dforchi l
dren, fr
eepl ayday s,
dramat icplay,rolepl ay ,sand, wetmudorcl aypl ay, col lage,cooking, buil
dingandr elaxat
ion
(e.g.
,stretching,br eathingi nandbr eathingout ,closi ngey es)act i
viti
eset c.Besides,
mani pulati
v eactiviti
es( e.g., l
ego, scienceexper i
mentwi t
hmagnet s)andmusi cal,
gr oupand
mov ementact ivi
ties( e.g.,locomot orsmov ement swhi chinv olv
echi l
dr enrapidlymov i
ngfrom
placet oplace, nonl ocomot orsmov ement swhichi nv ol vechi l
drenper formingwhi lekeeping
stati
onar y,andmani pul ativemov ement swhi chi nvol vechi l
drenusi ngt heirbodypar tsto
mani pulateanobj ect)maypr ov i
deex cellentoppor tuni ti
esf oraheal thyphy sicaldev el
opment .

Overall
,phy
sicalacti
vi
tiest
hataremeaningful
andenjoyablearemorel i
kelyt
oproduceposi
ti
ve
l
earningoutcomesamongy oungchi
ldr
en.Suchacti
vi
tieslaythefoundationformanyot
her
ski
ll
ssuchasl it
eracy,numeracy
,cr
eati
vi
ty,andemoti
onal stabi
li
tywhichareneededinl
ater
year
s.

El
ement
aryLev
el

Theschool agechildrencont i
nuetodev elopthei
rgr ossandf inemot orski ll
s.Withthi
s
refi
nement ,theybecomeadeptatact i
vi
tieswhichr equi r
epr ecisehandandbodycont rol
,for
exampl e, writi
ng.Dailyphy sicalacti
vi
ti
esshoul dbei ncorpor atedi ntot heschool routi
neof
element aryschool chi l
drent omai nt
ainact i
vephy si
cal dev elopment .
Thi scanbedonei n
differ
entway s,forexampl e, i
ntroduci
ngheal thandphy sical educat ioncl assesandi ntegrati
ng
phy si
cal activi
ti
esintoot herar easofcur r
icul
um.Besi desphy sical educat i
onclasses,thereare
manyot herway sinwhi cht eacherscanengagest udent sinphy sical activ i
ti
es.Theseinclude,
forexampl e,all
ocatingsomet i
mef orphy si
calactivityondai l
ybasi s, incorporati
ngconcept s
from otherar easofcur r
iculum intophysicalacti
vityt i
meandv i
cev ersa, andprovidi
ngchi l
dren
wi t
hhandsonexper iencesasmuchaspossi bl
e( e.g.,r
athert hant eachi ngt hem t
heconcept s
oflivi
ngandnon- l
ivi
ngt hingswi thi
nthef ourwallsofcl assr oom, taki ngt hem outonaschool

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roundandhel pi
ngthem underst
andtheconceptfrom t
heirsurr
oundi
ngs).Mor eov
er ,physi
cal
acti
viti
esdescri
bedbeforecanalsobeef f
ect
ivel
yusedforelementaryschoolchil
drenbyadding
consistentyetr
eal
ist
icchal
lenges.Forexampl
e,thesequential
patt
ernsforlocomot or
mov ement scanbemademor ecomplexasthechildl
earnstocoordi
nateandcont rol hi
sbody
mov ement s.

Theov eral
l goalofsuchact i
vit
iesshouldbetomakechi l
drenmovethei
rbodiesatamoderate
orrigorouslevelofint
ensityforatleast20mi nut
esdur
ingtheschoolt
ime.Someeducati
onist
s
alsoarguet hatengagingstudentsinef f
ecti
vephysi
cal
activi
ti
esatel
ementaryschool
isl
ikel
y
tohav eaposi t
iveimpactont heiroveral
lheal
thandwellbeingdur
ingadul
thoodby
i
ncor porat
ingal i
fe-
stylechange.

--------------------

Q.
3Expl
ainGar
dner
'st
heor
yofMul
ti
pleI
ntel
l
igence.

Gar
dner
'st
heor
yofmul
ti
plei
ntel
l
igence

Incontrasttothev i
ewt hatintel
li
gencei scomposedofasi ngleorasmal lnumberof
overarchi
ngabi l
it
ies,Howar dGar dnersuggeststhatani ndi
v i
dualmayexhi bitsev
eral typesof
i
ntell
igences.Hecat egorizedthesei ntel
li
gencesintoeightidenti
fi
abl
ef ormsandar guest hat
ther
ecoul dbepossi blymor ethant hesef or
ms.Hi sl
istofintel
li
gencesincludesthef oll
owi ng:
l
ogical-mathemat i
cal,l
inguisti
c,spatial,
musical
,bodilykinestheti
c,i
nterpersonal
,intrapersonal
andnat ural
ist
ic.Thisisfurtherelaboratedin

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--

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Gardner'
stheoryofmul t i
plei
ntel
li
gencehasbeenwar ml
yreceivedi ntheeducational
communi tysinceitgelswel l
withthenoti
onsofindi
vi
dualdif
ferencesamongl earner
sand
teacher'
sexperiencesabouthowchi ldr
enlearn(
Woolfol
k,2014).Howev er
,iti
scrit
ici
zedt
hat
thereisalackofaspeci f
iccri
ter
ionaswellasempiri
cal
evidencet osupportthe
conceptuali
zati
onofi ntell
i
gencebyGar dner
.

-----------------

Q.
4Discussi
ntel
lect
ualdev
elopmentf
rom bi
rt
htoadol
escencewi
thr
efer
encet
opai
get
ian
t
heor
yofcogniti
vedevel
opment.

Pi
aget
'st
heor
yofcogni
ti
vedev
elopment

Piagetbel iev edthosechi ldren’scogni ti

vedev elopmentpr ogressesthr oughf ourstageswhi ch
i
nv olvesensor i-
mot or,preoper at
ional ,
concr eteoper at i
onal,andf ormal oper ati
onal periods.
Thesest agesar etreatedasf ixedanduni versal andr epresentagener al sequencewhi chi s
obser vablei nalltypesofcogni ti
v echange.Pi agetar guedt hatchildren'st hinkingandt heway s
throughwhi cht heymakesenseoft heirexper iences( schemes)changewi t
hage.Thei nfancy
per i
odi smar kedbysensor imot oract i
onpat ternsdur i
ngwhi chachi l
dact sont heobj ects
aroundhi m/ hertof orm schemes.Soon, he/shebegi nstof orm ment al imageswhi chhel pt o
transformt hinki
ngandexper iencesi ntomeani ngful,manageabl eandmemor ablepat t
er ns.This
transformat i
oni nthinkingissuppor tedbyt wocr i
ticalprocessesi ncludi ngadapt ati
onand
organi zati
on.Adapt ationinvolvest hepr ocessofdev elopingschemesbydi rect l
ywor kingupon
theenv i
ronmentt hroughassi mi lationoraccommodat ion.Howev er,i
ft hebal ancebet ween
theset woi sdi sturbed, i
tcausesacogni tiveconf l
ictordi sequili
brium wi thint hemi ndsof
children.Itisi mpor t
antt oresol v
et heconf l
ictt hroughei therassimi l
ationoraccommodat ionto
bringt hemi ndbackt otheequi li
brium st ate.Theser esul t
edi ndev el
opi ngmor eeffecti
v e
schemest hathel pthechi ldtoadv ancehi s/hert hinking.

i
.Thesensor
i-
mot
orst
age.

Thesensori
mot orstagei
scharacteri
zedbythefi
rsttwoy earsoflif
edur i
ngwhichinf
ant st
hink
thr
oughtheirf
ivesenses.Atthebeginni
ngofthi
sst age,t
hesensor yrefl
exesofthechildserve
tomakeupf orhis/heri
ntel
l
igence.Thechi
ldengagesi ncir
cularreact
ions(r
epeat
ingchance
behavi
ors)whichhelphim/hertoadapttohi
s/hersurroundings.Later
,thechil
ddeli
beratel
y

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employsintenti
onalorgoaldir
ect
edbehavi
orsbycoor
dinat
ingdiffer
entschemest osol
ve
simpleproblems.Objectper
manence(theabi
li
tyt
ounderst
andt hatobj
ectsexistevenwhen
theyarenotseen)emer gestowar
dstheendofthi
speri
odwhi chhelpstosetthestagefor
mentalrepresentat
ionsandengagesthechil
dinmakebeli
eveplay .

i
i
.Thepr
eoper
ati
onal
stage.

Aschi l
drengr ow, theyent erinthepreoper ati
onal stage(2to7y ears)whi chchar acteri
zesthei
r
i
mmenser epresent ati
onal orsymbol i
ccapaci ties.Chi l
drenmakeadv ancement sintheirmental
representati
onsast heydev el
opmor eeffecti
v eschemes.Forexampl e, ast heygetpastthefir
st
twoy earsoft heirlif
e,theirmake- bel
ieveplayget smor esophisti
cated.Thi scogni ti
vechangei s
seenwhenachi ldol derthan2y earsofagepr etendst ouseanobj ect( cup)i ndif
ferentways,for
exampl e,usingitt odrinkwat eraswel lasusi ngi tasahat .Simil
arl
y ,
chi ldr en'sdrawingsget
mor emat ure,realisti
canddet ai
leddur i
ngt hepr eschool year
s.Howev er,t heirexpanding
cogniti
vecapaci tiesar eli
mitedbyt heiri
nabi l
i
tyt ot akeintoaccountsomeoneel se'sperspecti
ve,
referr
edtoasegocent r
ism.

i
i
i.Theconcr
eteoper
ati
onal
stage.

Theconcr eteoperational stageextendsf rom 7t o11y ears.Ast hechildrenentert hemi ddl

e
chil
dhood, theyaccompl i
shanumberofcogni ti
v eadv ancement s.Forexampl e,chi l
dr enatthi
s
stageperfor m mental operati
onst hatfoll
owl ogi calrules.Theyar ecapableofthi nkingi nmore
thanonedi recti
onandar ecapabl etoseeapr oblem fr om diff
erentangl es(decent ration).
Consequent ly,t
heyunder st
andt hatcertainchar acteristicsremai nthesameev eni ft heychange
theoutwar dappearance( conservation)
.Thei runder standi ngofspacei smorepr eci sewhen
compar edwi ththepreschool chi
ldren.Theyar ecapabl eofdev elopi
ngl ogi
calhier archiesand
classi
fi
cationsy st
emsandcanper formr eversibleact ionswhi chdemonst rat
est hatt hechildr
en
hav enowdev el
opedl ogical,f
lexi
bleandor ganizedschemest hanbef ore.

i
v.Thef
ormal
oper
ati
onal
stage.

Childrendev el
opt hecapaci tyforanabst ractandsy stemat i
ct hi
nkingar ound11y earsofage.
Piagetr efer
redtot hisstageasf or
mal oper ati
onal stage.Whilethechi ldrencanper f
orm
oper ationswi thther ealobjectsatt heconcr et
eoper at
ionalstage,theyar enowr eadyto
perf orm ment al,
abst ractoperationswi t
houtanyconcr etethi
ngsorev ents.Themai nfeatur
es
oft hisst ageincl
udehy pothetical-
deduct i
ver easoningandpr opositionalthought .These
abiliti
esr efertothechi l
dren'scapaci t
ytof orm andev aluat
elogical propositi
onswi t
hout
refer r
ingt othereal worldcircumst ancesandsy stemat ical
lyreachingaconcl usi on.
Accompany i
ngthisst age,comest heindi
v i
dual'sdesi r
et ogetnot i
ced, oftenreferredtoas
adol escentegocent r
ism.Thi sisahei ghtenedsel f-consciousnessphasei nwhi cht hegrowing

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adolescentstendtobeli
evethatothersar
einter
est
edinthem i
nt hesamewayastheyar
e
themselves.Thisstat
ecausesirr
esponsibl
eanduncontr
olledbehavi
orsof
tenl
eadi
ngtosui
cide
attempts,negati
vethought
s,anddr uguseetc.

----------------------

Q.
5Whati
ssoci
aldev
elopment
?Whyi
siti
mpor
tant
?

.
CONCEPTOFSOCI
ALDEVELOPMENT

Socialdev el
opmenti sani mpor tantaspectofchi l
ddev elopment.Itist heabi li
tyt of orm posi t
ive
andpleasi ngr elati
onshi pswi t
hot her s( Cohenandot hers2005) .
Soci al devel opmenti ncludes
l
earningt hev alues, knowl edgeandski llsthatenabl echildrentorelatet oot her sef f
ect i
velyand
tocontributeinposi ti
veway stof ami l
y ,school andthecommuni ty.Thi ski ndofl earningi s
del
iveredont ochi ldrenbyt hreemeans: dir
ectlybypar entsandteacher s;indi rect l
yt hrough
socialrelati
onshi pswi thint hef ami l
yorwi thfri
ends,andt hroughchi l
dr en’spar ticipationint he
cul
turear oundt hem.Thr ought heirrelat i
onshipswi t
hot hersandt heirdev el opi ngawar enessof
socialnor ms,v aluesandexpect ati
ons, chil
drenconst r
uctasenseofi dent i
ty( whot heyar e).As
chi
ldrendev elopsoci all
y ,theynotonl yl earnhowt or eactappropriatelyi nv ariet yofsi tuati
ons
butalsopl ayr oleinshapi ngt heirrelationships.

Thedev elopmentoft hesoci alandemot ionalheal

thofachildisimportantforthedev el
opment
ofhisappr opri
ate( r
ight)behav ior,understandingofl
ifeandshifttoadult
hood.Social emoti
onal
devel
opmenthel psshapeachi ldintowhathewi ll
becomel ateri
nlif
ebyt eachingproper
react
ionst oemot ional matters.Soci al
ski l
l
sar eal
laboutachi l
d'
sabili
tytocooperateandplay
withothers,payingat tenti
ont oadul tsandt eacher
s,andmaki ngreasonabletransi
ti
onsf r
om
acti
vit
yt oacti
vity.Emot ional developmenti stheprocessoflearni
nghowt ounderstandand
contr
ol emot i
ons

Soci
alDev
elopment
:Whyi
siti
mpor
tant
?

Humanbei ngsarenat ural

lysocial.Developi
ngski ll
si nthi
sdomai nincr easeschi ld’scapaci t
yto
besuccessf ulatschool andinsoci all
if
e.Dev elopmenti nsoci alskil
lsenhancesment alheal
th,
successatwor k,andtheabili
tytobeusef ulcit
izen.Socialskil
lsincludev ar i
ousabi l
it
iessuchas
communi cat
ion,problem-solv
ing,decisionmaki ng, self
-management ,andpeerr elati
ons.These
ski
ll
senabl eani ndiv
idualtobui l
dandmai ntainposi t
ivesocialrelati
onshi pswi t
hot her s.
Extr
emesoci albehaviorsint
erferewithlearning,teaching,andt hecl assr oom' sorganizat i
on.
Socialcompet enceisr el
atedtopeeraccept ance, teacheraccept ance, pr esentsuccess, and
fut
ure( postschool)success.Ifachi l
ddoesnotdi splayappr opri
at esoci al skil
l
s,otherchi l
dren

Pr
epar
edbEl
masAl
i
 Pr
epar
edbyEl
masAl
i
don'tlikehim andwillnotmakef r
iendswithhi
m.Somet imeschildrenwor khardtodisplayt he
newandbet terbehaviorsthey'
vebeentoldtoshow,butarestil
lexcludedbyot hers,
perhaps
duet opastreputati
onormay bebecauseothersdon'
tli
kethenewl ylearnedbehav i
orswhi ch
don'tseem "natural
."Atotherti
mes, st
udentsmaystil
lfail
becauset heyhav edif
fi
culty
moni tori
ngandcont roll
ingthei
rbehavi
orwhenunex pectedreacti
onsoccur .Teachercanhel p
student showt ocopewi thsuchsocialpr
oblemsanddev elopadjustmentabili
tyinthecircle.

Thesocialcontextsinwhichchil
drenl
i
vehaveimpor
tanti
nfl
uencesont hei
rdev
elopment.
Accordi
ngt oBronfenbrenner
,thr
eeofthecont
ext
sinwhichchi
ldrenspendmuchoft hei
rti
me
arefamil
ies,peers,andschool
s.

---------------------

Pr
epar
edbEl
masAl
i