Cook

Case Study 1

Case Study of Desert

Jennifer Cook

College of Southern Nevada

Cook Case Study 2

Case Study of Desert

I would like to introduce you to a young boy named Desert. Desert will be

entering the 5th grade next year and will be turning 10 years old in less than two months.

Desert is, for the most part, developing normally and displays characteristics at or above

his age group according to The Child Development Guide (DSHS, 1993). The

observations and interviews were made at the house where he lives with his sister, father,

and me, his mother. According to Woolfolk, “projections are that only about half of all

children will grow up with two parents who stay married” (Woolfolk, 87-88). Desert has

a father and mother who are married and living together. I have been observing Desert

his entire life and have firsthand knowledge of Desert’s growth and development, but for

the purpose of this case study the information was gathered over the past month. In

addition to my own observations of Desert, I also interviewed his father and a counselor/

family friend who has observed Desert since he was small in which we discussed his

physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and moral development.

Physical

According to The Child Development Guide (DSHD, 1993), the typical

characteristics of a boy Desert’s age include: engaging in active, rough and tumble play,

have a great interest in sports, have good body control, and are interested in developing

greater strength, skill, and speed. My observations have concluded that physically Desert

is developing normally as he is active and engages in team sports such as soccer and

basketball. According to the website (Livestrong, 2013), Desert is of average height of

56 inches and of average weight of 76 pounds. He has recently put on a little weight and
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is growing progressively taller. He has developed his coordination by building structures

with Legos and other intricate building materials that require following directions and a

long attention span.

Even though Desert conforms to most of the physical norms of development, he

has a few growth needs. In the summer months, he sits on the computer for long periods

of time and spends less time engaging in outdoor activities and exercise. The American

Heart Association (2014) recommends that all children should engage in at least 30

minutes every day of physical activity as part of a wellness program. Desert has also

overcome a bedwetting issue that occurred intermittently over the years, but has not

occurred in several months. Desert generally eats healthy and is active with only a few

weaknesses. The growth objective and rational for Desert is to continue to be active and

sit in front of the computer less.

Intellectual

Desert meets and exceeds the intellectual development of typical 9-10 year olds.

According to The Child Development Guide (DSHS, 1993), the typical intellectual

development of 9-10 year olds should be: they have definite interests, they are

inquisitive, lively, curious, are capable of prolonged interest and can do more abstract

thinking and reasoning. Desert excels at reading, writing, and math; he has tested above

grade level on all three subjects and is placed at the top 95 percentile in the State.

According to Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development, Desert is in the Concrete

Operational Stage (Woolfolk 51). He is inquisitive about how things work and he uses

his abstract thinking and reasoning to figure out how to fix and build things. Desert

understands past, present, and future. He can predict and manipulate future outcomes by
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knowing how his actions now can influence future responses and scenarios. He asks

meaningful questions that will surprise you when you see they are coming from a young

boy. His Grandma even asks him to assist her with electronics and appliance fixes in her

home. He is capable of maintaining interest for long periods of time. He has built large

Lego sets, recommended for ages 12 and up, when he was 8 years old. He has an interest

in architecture and loves building with Legos and building on Minecraft. He collects

rocks and crystals and can tell you the names of them.

According to The Child Development Guide (DSHS, 1993), Desert exhibits

characteristics in his intellectual development of 11-12 year olds. He challenges adult

knowledge and is right in a lot of instances. He has been doing chores for money and

continually wants to do more. He makes trades and deals with people online through

online gaming; proving that he understands money has value and how it works. He is

very interested in the world and has been asking questions about community service and

volunteering. The rational for Desert in his intellectual development is to continue to

excel and stay interested by challenging his abilities.

Social

At nine years of age, the social development of “Boys and girls differ in

personalities, characteristics, and interests; are very group and club oriented but always

with the same sex” (DSHS, 1993). The typical social development of nine-ten year olds

as listed in The Child Development Chart, describes Desert who makes friends of the

same sex easily, but doesn’t ignore the girls who are usually very interested in Desert.

Desert has not shown any interest in the opposite sex, other than friends. Desert has been
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successful with overcoming his shyness and has been emerging into a confident young

man who is social with his peers.

According to Erikson’s Eight Stages of Psychosocial Development Theory,

Desert corresponds to the appropriate stage for ages 6-12, industry vs. inferiority, Stage

4. Erikson’s Stage four, industry vs. inferiority, theory states that, “ The child must deal

with demands to learn new skills or risk a sense of inferiority, failure, and incompetence”

(Woolfolk, 100). In the last year, Desert has become more confident in his abilities and

has increasingly been able to face his fears with success. Desert enjoys school, always

likes his teacher, and excels at all subjects he has encountered so far. He respects and

trusts authorities. Desert has already begun developing capabilities for abstract thinking

and understanding the perspectives of others. This will lead him to create his own

identity and move on to the next stage of psychosocial development: identity vs. roll

confusion. Desert will continue to develop friendships and increase his confidence in

groups and clubs. Involvement in a club of his choice and liking will benefit him greatly

and help build his confidence and leadership abilities.

Emotional

The Child Development Guide states normal characteristics of emotional

development for children nine to ten years old are, “that they may have some behavior

problems if not accepted by others” (DSHS, 1993). Desert is displaying a normal

emotional development. Desert is, for the most part, accepted by others. This has led to

an increased self-esteem and increased self-concepts.

We, as parents, make sure our children feel accepted and are encouraged to

express their feelings and emotions. Children have an inherent desire to be accepted by
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their parents and peers. “Many psychologists consider self-concept to be the foundation

of both social and emotional development” (Woolfolk, 108). Desert has been developing

positive self-concepts since he was small. Children gather self-concepts and “they gage

the verbal and nonverbal reactions of significant people-parents and other family

members in the early years, and friends, schoolmates, and teachers later- to make

judgments” (Woolfolk, 107). These self-concepts together as a whole form the child’s

self-esteem. Desert will continue to develop positive self-concepts and self-esteem. If he

does disobey, he responds quickly to punishments and learns quickly to not repeat the

bad behavior.

Moral Development

According to The Child Development Guide, Desert conforms to typical or

normal characteristics of moral development for a nine year old. Desert “is conscious of

fairness; is highly competitive: argues over fairness; has difficulty admitting mistakes,

but he is becoming more capable of accepting failures and mistakes and taking

responsibility for them. Also, he is developing a conscience and is aware of right and

wrong (DSHS, 1993).

Desert is very competitive and wants to win and be successful. He is especially

hard on himself when he fails. For example, last year he received one B on a report card

and he ran to his room in tears; even though, his father and I were supportive and

understanding. Desert plays video games and board games with his father and they both

display anger and aggressiveness when they are losing. Neither Desert nor his father

accepts failures well. Desert has probably developed this aggressive behavior through

modeling his father behavior. “Modeling plays an important role in the expression of
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aggression (Woolfolk, 118). On the other hand, Desert is an awesome team player and

handles losing well as a team. Desert is concerned with fairness especially if it concerns

his sister. They must have the same amount of time to do things, like play on computer,

or the same amount of cookies for dessert. He is not a tattle-tell in school, but will be the

first to let mom or dad know his sister had one more play date than he.

Desert is a very kind and thoughtful boy. He definitely has a conscience

and is aware of what is right and wrong. He is also aware that what is best for the group

sometimes outweighs the law. According to Kohlberg’s Theories of Moral Development,

Desert is capable of moral reasoning at a Postconventional Level (Woolfolk, 2014). For

example, he participated in a Monsanto March against genetically modified foods. He is

aware that the law says these foods are safe, but we as a group disagree with certain laws

and our “moral choice is determined by socially agreed upon standards- the greatest good

for the greatest number (Woolfolk, 113)”. Desert would also demonstrate moral

reasoning at stage 3 Conventional Level more often then not. He would rather please the

group and do what is right, rather than, only benefit himself. Morally, Desert's

development is at a higher stage than most kids his age. I believe this is due to the fact

that the family and friends that surround him educate him about life and the importance

of making good choices with the best interest of the whole family in mind. Also,

Woolfolk states that, “ children that have been consistently exposed to caring, generous,

adult models will tend to be more concerned for the rights and feelings of others”

(Woolfolk, 117). Children should be taught early in their lives that there are

consequences to their actions, choices and behaviors. The child needs to understand that
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they are responsible for their actions and they hold the power to make good choices that

receive praise and rewards.

Conclusion

“The skills and concepts children learn in preschool and the early grades are

critical. They set students on pathways toward achievement or failure for the rest of their

school years” (Woolfolk 101). Based on my observations and with the assistance of the

work done by psychologists Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Kohlberg, and author Woolfolk, I

conclude that Desert meets/exceeds the physical, intellectual, social, emotional, and

moral development expectations of children his age of nine years old. Desert is ahead of

most kids his age and will continue to flourish and excel in all areas of development.

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References

Callaway, Chris. (2013, August 16). The average height and weight by age. Livestrong.

Retrieved from

http://www.livestrong.com/article/328220-the-average-height-and-weight-by-age/

Fosterparentscope. The Child Development Guide. (1993). Retrieved from

http://www.dshs.wa.gov/ca/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.htmThe American

Heart Association. (2014). Recommendations for physical Activity in

Children. Retrieved from

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/HealthierKids/Activities

forKids/

Woolfolk, A. (2014). Educational psychology. (12th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education