BASIC CONCEPTS HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Human
Principles of Child Factors Affecting
Development:
Growth and Human
Meaning, Concepts,
Development Development
and Approaches

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• the pattern of movement or
change that begins at
conception and continues
through the life span
• includes growth and decline
• can be positive or negative

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1 . Development is relatively orderly.

Proximodistal Pattern
The muscular growth of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared to the
hands and fingers.
Cephalocaudal Pattern
During infancy, the greatest growth always occurs at the top – the head – with
physical growth in size, weight and future differentiation gradually working its way
down from top to bottom. 5
Development proceeds from the head Development proceeds from the
downward.
center of the body outward.

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2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes of developmental
processes and rate of development are likely to vary among individuals.

3. Development takes place gradually.

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

and socio- emotional processes.

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Biological Involves changes in the individual’s
physical nature.

Cognitive Involves changes in the individual’s

thought, intelligence, and language.

Socio-emotional Includes changes in the individual’s

relationship with other people, changes in emotions,
and changes in personality.

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 Traditional
Perspective
 Life-span Approach

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 TRADITIONAL
Human development shows extensive change from birth to adolescence, little
or no change in adulthood and decline in the late old age.

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 LIFE-SPAN APPROACH

Believes that even in adulthood, developmental change takes place as

it does during childhood.

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Characteristics of Life-span Development

Development is LIFELONG.

It does not end in adulthood.

No developmental stage dominates development.

Development is MULTIDIMENSIONAL.

Development consists of biological, cognitive and socio-

emotional dimensions.

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Development is PLASTIC.

Development is possible throughout the lifespan.

Development is CONTEXTUAL

Individuals are changing beings in a changing world.

Development involves GROWTH, MAINTENANCE and REGULATION.

Growth, maintenance and regulation are 3 goals of human development.

The goals of individuals vary among developmental stages.

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Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

1. All the domains of development and learning (physical, social, emotional and cognitive) are
important and closely-related.
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
areas 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 (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
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representational capacities.
Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and
opportunities for positive relationship 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 for developing self-regulation as well as 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 when 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 behaviors affect their learning and development.
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What is Growth?
It is the progressive increase and continues advancement of the
child from birth to maturity (Kelly, 1965).

Structural Change
- referred as physical change, like height, weight, and breadth.

Functional Change
- Involves slowing down of mental processes like the ability to
perceive things, to reason, increase in vocabulary, agility and
etc.

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GROWTH The term growth denotes a net increase
in the size, or mass of the tissue. It is largely
attributed to multiplication of cells and increase in
the intracellular substance.

ACCORDING TO HURLOCK • GROWTH is

change in size, in proportion, disappearance of old
features and acquisition of new ones.

ACCORDING TO CROW (1962) • Growth refers to

structural and physiological changes

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DEVELOPMENT • Development specify
maturation of functions. It is related to the
maturation and myelination of the nervous
system and indicates acquisition of a variety of
skills for optimal functioning of the individual.

According to Hurlock(1959) • Development

means a progressive series of changes that
occur in an orderly predictable pattern as a result
of maturation and experience.

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According to J.E. Anderson(1950) • Development
is concerned with growth as well as those
changes in behavior which results from
environmental situations.

According to Liebert, Poulos and Marmor (1979) •

Development refers to a process of change in
growth and capability over time, as function of
both maturation and interaction with the
environment

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What is Maturation?
The process of attaining a level of development at which
some specified mental function or type of behavior ordinarily
appears. It is the unfolding of traits potentially present in the
individual because of heredity (Harmon, 1951).

It refers to the process of change of an individual which

occurs primarily as a function of aging or time. It excludes the
effects of practice and experience (Edwards, 1968).

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 6 MATURATION PRINCIPLES
according to Cox (1970)
1. Learning depends upon the biological basis being present as
well as the opportunity to practice.
2. Chronological age and maturational age although related are not
synonymous.
3. Although overall maturational development is forward and
continuous, the parent should expect to see plateaus and
regression in the child’s development.
4. The more biologically mature a child is, the easier for him to
learn a given task.
5. The child usually gives signals indicating his maturational
readiness for a given task.
6. Training given after the maturation readiness may be less
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efficient.
7 Principles of Development

1. Development is Cephalocaudal
• Describes the direction of growth and development

• Proceeds from head downward

• Control comes in this order : HEAD >> ARMS >> LEGS

2. Development is Proximodistal
• This also describes the direction of growth & development

• The direction is Centre to Outwards

• Spinal cord develops first, then the other parts of the body

• The sequence is like : ARMS >> HANDS >> FINGERS

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7 Principles of Development

3. Depends on Maturation and Learning

• Maturation stands for biological growth and development.
• These occurs in sequence.
• Prepares the child to accept new skills and progress on it.
• Like, a six month old child cannot use language as the infant’s brain has not yet
attained that maturity label to talk.

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7 Principles of Development

4. Simple to Complex
• Children use their cognitive and language skills to reason and solve problems.
• Children at first are able to hold the big things by using both arms. In the next part
able to hold the big things in a single hand, then only able to pick small objects like
peas, cereals and etc.
• Children when able to hold pencil, first starts draw circles then squares then only
letters after that the words.

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7 Principles of Development

5. Continuity
• From conception to death (Womb to Tomb)
• Leads child to be an adult in respect of body size, functioning, behavior.
• Adulthood changes to old age.
• Then comes the death which ends the life cycle.

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7 Principles of Development

6. Generality to Specificity
• Development proceeds from general to
specific.
• Growth occurs to large muscle
movements to smaller muscle
movements.
• This resembles with the whole and part.
We first see the whole then comes the
parts.
• Infant grasps the object with his whole
hand before using thumb or forefinger.
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7 Principles of Development

7. Growth & Development are personal matter

• Rate and amount of growth is not same for all.
• This is caused by both heredity and environment.
• There is no two individual whose development rate is name.
• There is no validity in comparing one child’s progress with or against another child.

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12 Principles of Child
Development

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Principle 1: Interrelatedness

Development in one domain influences

and is influenced by development in other
domains
Example: Language skills impact social
relationships
Example: Crawling increases development due
to increased ability to explore

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Principle 2: Orderly Sequence

Development occurs in a relatively orderly

sequence, with later abilities, skills, and
knowledge building on those already
acquired
Example: crawl, pull to stand, steps,
walking
Example: cooing, sounds, approximations,
words, phrases, sentences
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Principle 3: Varying Rates

Development proceeds at varying rates from

child to child as well as unevenly within
different areas of each child’s functioning.

Own pattern and timing of growth

Unique personality, temperament and
learning style
Varied experiences and family background
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Principle 4: Long Term Effects

Early experiences have both cumulative and

delayed effects on individual children’s
development; optimal periods exist for certain
types of development and learning.
Example: Responding to infants cries
Example: Early literacy experiences
Example: First 3 years optimal for verbal language

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Principle 5: Increasing Complexity

Development proceeds in predictable

directions toward greater complexity,
organization, and internalization.

Example: Self talk before abstract thinking

Example: Using real items in play before being
able to substitute a pretend or other object
for that item
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Principle 6: Social and Cultural Influence

Development and learning occur in and are

influenced by multiple social and cultural
contexts.
Learning is additive
We need to help connect what children already know
with what we want them to know
Example: Children whose primary language is not
English develop a new language well when provided
opportunities to learn English while continuing to
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learn new concepts in home language
Principle 7: Active Learners

Children are active learners.

Example: Learning addition through play

with toys and games
Example: Learning spatial concepts
through play with toys rather than
worksheets
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 Principle 8:
Biological and Environmental

Development and learning result from

interaction of biological maturation and the
environment.
Example: The language that children are exposed to
is the one that they will learn even though they are
born with capacity to learn any language
Example: A child with typical physical abilities but not
exposed to bikes will not learn to ride a bike
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Principle 9: Play

Play is an important vehicle for children’s

development, as well as a reflection of their
development
Organizing the play environment with themes and
props can enhance language development

Providing many motor toys will give you opportunities

to observe children's motor development
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 Principle 10:
Practice and Challenge

Development advances when children have

opportunities to practice newly acquired skills
as well as when they experience a challenge
just beyond the level of their present mastery

Allowing a child to put on own coat with

needed assistance
Leaving recently mastered puzzles in the
classroom
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Principle 11: Learning Modes

Children demonstrate different modes of

knowing and learning and different ways of
representing what they know.

Example: After a walk around the

neighborhood one child may come back and
draw a picture, another act out what they saw
and another talk about it
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Principle 12: Needs Met

Children develop and learn best in the context of a

community where they are safe and valued, their
physical needs are met, and they feel
psychologically secure.

Example: If children are well fed they will be

able to concentrate on learning activities.
Example: If children are living in violent home
environments they may have trouble
interacting positively with peers. 43
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I. HEREDITY & GENETIC FACTORS

1. PHENOTYPE
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF PARENTS
3. RACE
4. SEX
5. BIO-RYTHEM & MATURATION
6. GENETIC DISORDERS
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A. PHENOTYPE

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B. CHARACTERISTICS OF PARENTS

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C. RACE

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D. SEX

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E. BIO-RHYTHM MATURATION

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F. GENETIC DISORDERS

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II. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

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A. PRE-NATAL ENVIRONMENT

Uterus shields
the fetus from
external adverse
conditions

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Harmful Prenatal Factors

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B. POST-NATAL ENVIRONMENT

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POST-NATAL ENVIRONMENT

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1. NUTRITION

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2. INFECTIONS AND INFESTATIONS

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3. TRAUMA

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4. SOCIO ECONOMIC LEVEL

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5. CLIMATE

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6. CULTURAL FACTORS

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7. EMOTIONAL FACTORS

Children from broken

homes and orphanages
do not grow and develop
in an optimum level.

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Emotional trauma from
unstable family, insecurity,
sibling jealousy and rivalry,
loss of parents,
inadequate schooling
among others have
negative effect on growth
and development

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8. CHRONIC DISEASES

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9. ORDINAL POSITION IN THE FAMILY

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