HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

 Is the pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through
life span. It includes growth and decline.

Means that development can be positive or negative ( Santrock, 2000)

The virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has a right to the development and fulfilment of
his potentialities as a human being.
- Ashley Montagu

Explanation:
 Every living creature is called to become what it is meant to be. The caterpillar is meant to
become a butterfly; a seed into a full grown herb, bush or tree; and a human body into a mature
person, the person who is fully alive, the glory of God” in the words of St. Irenaeus .

PRINCIPLES OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Development is relatively orderly.

A. Proximodistal Pattern
 Muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared to the hands and
fingers.
Example:
Sit, crawl then walk before children can run; muscle control of the trunk and arms
comes earlier as compared to the hands and fingers
B. Cephalocaudal Pattern
 from the top – head, with physical growth in size, weight and future
differentiation gradually working its way down from top to bottom : neck,
shoulders, middle trunk, and etc.
Example:
The head grows more in size, weight at first then gradually working its way down to
the neck, shoulders, middle trunk, etc.

2. While the pattern of development may be similar, the outcomes of development

processes and the use of development are likely to vary among individuals.

 Stimulation in very important.

 Caring and loving parents can help develop warm and responsible children, adolescents
and adults
 Heredity and environment affect the growth and development of children.

Example:
• Home with a loving and caring parents- warm and responsible children and adolescents,
adults
• Home with deprived environment- carefree and irresponsible adolescents and adults
 • Individual differences in developmental characteristics and variation of ages when people
will experience events that will influence their development

3. Development takes place gradually.

 It takes weeks, months or years for a person to undergo changes that result in
the display of developmental characteristics.

4. Development as a process is complex because it is a product of biological, Cognitive

and Socio-emotional processes (Sntrock,2002)

A. Biological
 Physical changes, hormonal changes during puberty, adolescence,
cardiovascular decline during late adulthood.
 involve changes in the individual’s physical nature
B. Cognitive processes
 Involves changes in the individual’s thought, intelligence and language.
C. Socioemotional processes
 Changes in the individual’s relationships with other people changes in
emotions, and changes in personality
D. Harmonious, displeasing, etc.
E. In love, hatred, etc.

All these processes are intertwined. They are not isolated from each other.

TWO APPROACHES TO HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Traditional Approach
 Extensive change from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood
and decline in late old age
2. Life-span Approach
 Adulthood developmental change takes place as it does during childhood

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT

(Paul Baltres in Santrock,2002)Characteristics of Human Development:
1. Development is lifelong.
 It does not end in adulthood
 No developmental stage dominates development

2. Development is multidimensional.
 Development consists of biological, cognitive and Socio-emotional dimensions.
3. Development is elastic
 Development is possible throughout the life span of the person.
4. Development is contextual –
 Individuals are changing beings in a changing world.
5. Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation.
 3 goals of human development: growth, maintenance and regulation
 The goals vary among developmental stages

PRINCIPLES OF CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND LEARNING THAT

INFORM PRACTICE (BASIS OD DAF)

DAF (Developmentally Appropriate Practice)

1. All the domains of development and learning physical, social-emotional and

cognitive are important, and they are closely interrelated. Children’s development
and learning in one domain influence and are influenced by what takes place in
other domains.
2. Many aspects of children‘s learning and development follow well documented
sequences, with later abilities, skills, and knowledge building on those already
acquired.
3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as
at uneven rates across different areas of a child’s individual functioning.
4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of
biological maturation and experience
5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a
child’s development and learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of
development and learning to occur
6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self –regulation, and symbolic
or representational capacities.
7. Children develop best when they have secure ,consistent relationships with
responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers.
8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and
cultural contexts.
 9. Always mentally active in seeking to understand the world around them, children
learn in a variety of ways; a wide range of teaching strategies and interactions are
effective in supporting all these kinds of learning.
10. Play is an important vehicle fro developing self regulation as well as for
promoting language, cognition, and social competence.
11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a
level just beyond their current mastery, and also where they have many
opportunities to practice newly acquired skills.
12. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as
persistence, initiative, and flexibility; in turn, these dispositions and behaviours
affect their learning and development.

The Stages of Human Development & Developmental

Tasks
1. Infancy ( from birth to 2 years old)
2. Early Childhood (3-5 years old)
3. Middle Childhood (6-12 years old)
4. Adolescence (13-18 years old)
5. Early adulthood (19-29 years old)
6. Middle Adulthood (30 – 60 years old)
7. Late Adulthood (61 and over)

Havighurst has identified six major age periods:

1. Infancy and Early Childhood (0-5 years)

- Extreme dependence on adults.
1. Learning to walk
2. Learning to take solid foods
3. Learning to talk
4. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
5. Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
6. Acquiring concepts and language to describe social and physical reality.
7. Readiness for reading
8. Learning to distinguish right from wrong and developing a conscience

2. Middle Childhood (6-12 years)

Learning Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games

Building Building a wholesome attitude toward oneself.
Learning Learning to get along with agemates.
Learning Learning an appropriate sex role
Developing Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating.
Developing Developing concepts necessary for everyday living.
Developing Developing conscience , morality and a scale of values.
Achieving Achieving personal independence .
Developing Developing acceptable attitudes toward society.
3. Adolescence (13-18 years)

 Achieving mature relations with both sexes.

 Achieving a masculine or feminine social role.
 Accepting one’s physique : dramatic changes
 Achieving emotional independence from adults.
 Preparing for marriage and family life.
 Preparing for an economic career.
 Acquiring values and an ethical system to guide behavior
 Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior. .

4. Early Adulthood (19-29 years)

Early aclulthoocl is a time for work and a time for love, sometime,s leaving little time .for
anything else. For some of us, finding our place in adult society and committing to a more stable
life toke longer than we imagine. We still ask ourselves who we are and wonder if it isn't enough
.iust to be. Our dreams continue and our thoughts ore bold but at. some point we become more
pragTtatic. Sex and love are powerful passions in our lives - at times angels o.f light, at other
times o.f' torment. And we possibly will never know lhe ktve o.f our porents until we become
parents ourselves. (Santrock, 2002).

 Selecting a mate.
 Learning to live with a partner.
 Starting a family
  Rearing children
 Managing a Home
 Starting an occupation
 Assuming civic responsibility.

5. Middle Adulthood (30-60 years)

In midlle ad,rlthood uthat ute hav,e been forms what we will be. I;or sonte o.f- u,s. midtlla age is
such a fogg place, a time when we neecl lo di.;c'over v'hut v,e are running .from and to and why.
we compare ou, li.fb v'ilh v,hat vts 1t6vts5J to make it. In middle age, tnora tintc.ttrclchc,s
he.fitre us and some evaluations have to be made, hov,ever reluctanrlv. A,s rhe young/old
polarity greets us with a special .f'orce. y,e neetl to .join the daring of youth with the discipline
o.f-age in that does justice to both. As middleaged that thc generations of living things pass in
hand on the torch.

 Helping teenage children to become happy and responsible adults.

 Achieving adult social and civic responsibility.
 Satisfactory career achievement.
 Developing adult leisure time activities.
 Relating to one’s spouse as a person.
 Accepting the physiological changes of middle age.
 Adjusting to aging parent.

6. Late Adulthood (61 and over)

 Adjusting to decreasing strength and health

 Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
 Adjusting to death of spouse.
 Establishing relations with one’s age group.
 Meeting social and civic obligations.
 Establishing satisfactory living quarters

Application : AS the future teachers to the early childhood and

adolescence ,what should you do?

 Early childhood
Help them develop readiness for school and other school activities like play, group work,
pay attention, focus, develop singing , dancing, drawing, social relations with others, teachers,
others.
Make them enjoy schooling, working , playing , relating with others, writing, puzzle making,
running, walking, catching and throwing ball, stepping with rhythm, and etc.

 Adolescence High School Teachers should

o Acknowledge each person as a special person with each individuality .
o Study each strengths and weaknesses
 o Take one a s a genius
o Make the whole group accept everyone’s personality differences.
o Provide as many collaborative, interactive and challenging activities in all subjects
o Provide activities to develop their abilities, skills, interests and inspire them to excel.
o Help them to identify what they want to be in life.
o Assist them to become what they want to be.

 Middle and Late Childhood (6 to 12 years –grades 1-7

Help pupils by:
o Focus
o Follow instruction
o Give modeling
o Expose them to many examples of activities
o Develop their abilities , interests and skills
o Give them positive feedback
o Challenge them to develop their interests, skills, abilities
o Challenge them to create something innovative

ISSUES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

1. Nature and Nurture

Nature – refers to an individual’s biological inheritance.
Nurture – refers to environmental experiences.

Key Takeaways
 The nature versus nurture debate involves the extent to which particular aspects of
behavior are a product of either inherited (i.e., genetic) or acquired (i.e., learned)
influences.

 Nature is what we think of as pre-wiring and is influenced by genetic inheritance and

other biological factors.

 Nurture is generally taken as the influence of external factors after conception, e.g., the
product of exposure, life experiences and learning on an individual.

 Behavioral genetics has enabled psychology to quantify the relative contribution of

nature and nurture with regard to specific psychological traits.
  Instead of defending extreme nativist or nurturist views, most psychological researchers
are now interested in investigating how nature and nurture interact in a host of
qualitatively different ways.

 For example, epigenetics is an emerging area of research which shows how

environmental influences affect the expression of genes.

 Nature refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are—from our
physical appearance to our personality characteristics.
 Nurture refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early
childhood experiences, how we were raised, our social relationships, and our surrounding culture.

2. Continuity Vs. Discontinuity

The continuity view says that change is gradual. Children become more skillful in thinking, talking or
acting much the same way as they get taller. The discontinuity view sees development as more abrupt-a
succession of changes that produce different behaviors in different age-specific life periods called stages .

3. Stability Vs. Change

Stability implies personality traits present during infancy endure throughout the lifespan. In
contrast, change theorists argue that personalities are modified by interactions with family,
experiences at school, and acculturation.
ABSTRACT
The issues presented can be translated into questions that have ryarked animated debate among
developmentalists. Are girls less likely m do well in math because of their 'feminine' nature or
because of siety's 'masculine' bias? How extensively can the elderly be trained to tulson more
effectively? How much, if at all, does our memory decline h old age? Can techniques be used to
prevent or reduge the decline? For children who experienced a world of povea.),, neglect by
parents, and poor schooling in childhood, can enriched experiences in adolescence .trmove the
'deficits' that they encountered earlier in their development (Srrnock, 2002)?Child and
Adolescent Development: Looking at Leamers at Different Life Stages Based on the
presentations, each one has his4rer own explanations for his/her stand on the developmental
issues. What is the right answer? Up to this time. the debate continues. Researches are on-going.
But let me tell you that most life-span developmentalists recognize that extreme positions on
these issues are unwise. Development is not all nature or all nurture. not all continuity or
discontinuity and not all stability or all change (Lerner, 1998 as quoted by Santrock, 2002). Both
nature and nunure, continuity and discontinuity, stability and change characterize our life-span
development. ... The key to development is the interaction of nature and nufture rather than
either factor alone (Rutter, 2001 as quoted by Santrock, 2002). In other words, it is a matter of
"both-and" not "either-or". Just go back to the quote beneath the title of this lesson and the
message gets crystal clear. To summarize, both genes and environment are necessary for a
person even to exist. Without genes, there is no person; without environment, there is no pierson
(Scan and Weinberg, 1980, quoted by Santrock, 2002). Heredity and environment operate
together -or cooperate and interact - to produce a person's intelligence, temperament, height,
weight... ability to read and so on. lf heredity and environment interact, which one has a greater
influence or contribution, heredity or environment? The relative contributions of heredity and
environment are not additive. So we can't say 50% is a contribution of heredity and 50o/o of
environment. Neither is it correct to say that full genetic expression happens once, around
conception or birth" after which we take our genetic legacy into the world to see how far it gets
us. Cenes produce proteins throughout the life span, in many different environments. Or they
don't produce these proteins, depending on lrow harsh or nourishing those environments are.
(Santrock, 2002).

How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of Your Life What makes us the way we are? Why are
some people predisposed to be anxious, overweight or asthmatic? How is it that some of us are
prone to heart attacks, diabetes or high blood pressure? There's a list of conventional
answers to these questions. We aie the way we are becausq it's in our genes. We tul1l out the
way we do because of our childhood experiences. Or our health aRd well-being stem from the
lifestyle choices we make as adults. But there's another powerful source of influence you may
not have Considered: your life as a fetus. The nutrition you received in the womb; the pollutants,
drugs and infections you were exposed to during gestation; your mother's health and state of
mind while she was pregnant with you - all these factors shaped you as a baby and continue to
affect you to this day. This is the provocative contention of a field known as fetal orjgins, whose
pioneers assefi that the nine months of gestation constitute the most consequential period of our
lives, PERMANENTLY (Underscoring, ririnel influencing the wiring of the brain and the
functioning of organs such as the heart, liver and pancreas. ln the literature on the subject, which
has exploded over the past l0 years, you can find references to lhe fetal origins of canceL
cardiovascular disease, allergies, asthma, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, mental illness. At the
farthest edge of fetal-origins research, scientists are exploring the possibility that intrauterine
conditions influence not only our physical health but also our intelligence, temperament, even
our sanity. As a journalist who covers science, I was intigued when I first heard about fetal
origins. But two years ago, when I began to delve more deeply into the field, I had a more
personal motivdion: I was, newly pregant. If it was true that my actions over the next nine
months would affect my offspring for *re rest of his life, I needed to know more. Of course, no
woman who is pregnant today can escape hearing the niessage that what she does affects her
fetus. She hears it at doctor's appointments, sees it in the pregrrancy guidebooks: Do eat this,
don't drink that, be vigilant but never stressed. Expectant mothers could be forgiven for feeling
that pregnancy is just a nine-month slog full of guilt and devoid of pleasure, and this research
threatened to add to the burden. But the scientists I met weren't full sf dire warnings but of the
excitement of discovery - and the hope thal their discoveries would make a positive differenge.
Research on fetal orlgins is'prompting a revolutionary shift in thinking about where human
4ualities come from and when they begin to develop. lt's turning pregDancy inlo a scientific
frontier: the National tnstitutes of Health embarked last year on a multidecade study that will
examine its subjects before they're'born. And it makes the womb a promising target for
prevention, raising hopes of conquering public-health scourses like obesity and heart disease
through interventions before birth