Unit 1 Understand child development

1 Understand a 1.1 Explain a range of theories and philosophical

range of approaches to how children learn and develop
underpinning
theories and
philosophical
approaches to
how children
learn and
develop 1.2 Analyse how theories and philosophical approaches
influence own practice in supporting learning and
development

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 Why?
• Reflection time

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 Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999)

• Ainsworth supported Bowlby’s concept of a mother-baby

attachment process and conducted further research in this area.
In particular, Ainsworth studied the behaviours known as
stranger and separation anxiety, which young children
experience around eight to 15 months of age.
• During this time, children become distressed if they are left in
the care of strangers or if they are approached by a stranger. In
the 1960s, Ainsworth devised a procedure, called A Strange
Situation, to observe attachment relationships between a
caregiver and child.
• The ‘Strange Situation’ will determine whether the infant is
securely attached, insecurely attached or avoidant of the parent
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 How do the theories of Bowlby and Ainsworth apply to
the care of children?

• The work done by Bowlby and Ainsworth on attachment has

had a significant effect on the caregiving practices used for
infants and toddlers in care.

• For example, the concept of a primary caregiver for a young

child in care is based on the theory of attachment
development.

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Chapter 4: Child Development Principles

• What is child development?

Child development is a process every child goes through. This process
involves learning and mastering skills like sitting, walking, talking,
skipping, and tying shoes. Children learn these skills, called
developmental milestones, during predictable time periods.
• There are several stages of development and factors that affect the
proper growth and development of children.
• Understanding how a child might act or what a child might learn at
different ages and stages will help you know what to expect from a
child in your care.
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What is a developmental milestone?
A developmental milestone is a skill that a child acquires within a
specific time frame.
For instance, one developmental milestone is learning to walk. Most
children learn this skill or developmental milestone between the ages of
9 and 15 months.

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 Developmental milestone
Milestones develop in a sequential fashion-One after the other.
This means that a child will need to develop some skills before he or she can
develop new skills.

For example, children must first learn to crawl and to pull up to a standing
position before they are able to walk.

Each milestone that a child acquires builds on the last milestone developed.

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 What are the different phases of a child’s
development?
• Can you name them?
• When does development come to a stop?

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Chapter 4: Child Development Principles

Child Development Basics

• Child development is the pattern of changes that scientists
study in how children grow from birth to teen years.
• Researchers study four areas of development:
1. Physical
2. Intellectual
3. Emotional
4. Social

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 Reflection time
• Now that you know the 4 different areas of development.
• What can you say about the factors or agents who can influence these
developments?

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 Research has shown that early childhood may be the
most important life stage for brain development.
 A baby’s brain is about one quarter the size of an adults’.
 Scientists have found that babies’ brains develop in
response to stimulation.
 Arouses senses such as sight, sound, touch, taste,
and smell.
 Babies who are stimulated develop more quickly and have
a more secure self-image.
 What is a theory?
 A theory should allow us to
predict and explain human
behavior
 It should be stated in such a way that
it can be shown to be false
 It must be open to scientific
investigation
 Although researches don’t always agree,
scientific researchers have agreed upon
the five following general rules.

1. Development is similar for each individual

2. Development builds upon earlier learning.
3. Development proceeds at an individual rate.
4. The different areas of development are interrelated.
5. Development is a lifelong process.
 Psychoanalytic Theories:
Freud’ s Psychosexual Theor y

Personality has 3 parts

There are 5 st ages of psychosexual
development
Oedipus complex allows child to identify
with same-sex parent
Fixat ion is an unresolved conf lict during a
stage of development
 Freudian Stages
Birth to 1½ to 3 3 to 6 6 yrs to Puberty
1½ yrs yrs
years puberty onward
Oral Stage Anal Stage Phallic Latency Genital
Stage Stage Stage
Infant’s Child’s
pleasure pleasure Child’s Child A time of
centers on focuses on pleasure represses sexual
mouth anus focuses on sexual reawakening;
genitals interest source of
and sexual
develops pleasure
social and becomes
intellectual someone
skills outside of the
family

Figure 2.1
 Erikson’s Psychosocial theory

• Check out the video!

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYCBdZLCDBQ
 Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory
There are 8 st ages of psychosocial
development

 Each has a unique developmental

task
 Devel opment al change occur s
t hroughout life span
 Early experiences and family relationships are
very important to development
 Unconsci ous aspect s of t he mi nd ar e
considered
 Per sonal i t y i s best seen as a developmental
process
 Erikson’s Eight Life-Span
Stages
Erikson’s Stages Developmental Period
Trust vs Mistrust Infancy (first year)
Autonomy vs shame & Infancy (1 to 3 years)
doubt
Initiative vs guilt Early childhood (3 to 5 years)

Industry vs inferiority Middle and late childhood

Identity vs identity Adolescence (10 to 20 years)
confusion
Intimacy vs isolation Early adulthood (20s, 30s)
Generativity vs Middle adulthood (40s, 50s)
stagnation
Integrity vs despair Late adulthood (60s onward)
 Cognitive theories:
Piaget’s cognitive developmental
theory

Stresses conscious mental processes

Cognit ive processes are inf luenced by biological
maturation
Four st ages of cognit ive development in children
Assimilat ion and accommodat ion underlie
how children underst and t he world, adapt
to it, and organize their experiences
 Let’s watch a video!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhcgYgx7aAA

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 Piaget’s Four Stages of Cognitive Development
Sensorimotor Stage:
The infant constructs an understanding of the world by
Birth to 2 coordinating sensory experiences with physical actions:
years of age progressing from reflexive, instinctual action at birth to the
beginning of symbolic thought toward end of the stage.

Preoperational Stage:
2 to 7 years The child begins to represent the world with words and
of age images. These words and images reflect increased
symbolic thinking and go beyond the
connection of sensory information and physical action.

Concrete Operational Stage:

7 to 11 years
of age The child can now reason logically about concrete events
and classify objects into different sets.

Formal Operational Stage

11–15 years of
age through The adolescent reasons in more abstract idealistic and
adulthood logical ways.

Figure 2.3
 Jean Piaget categories of play

Sensori motor Here an infant up to two years of age will use various senses and motor skills to
play explore objects and their environment.

Symbolic play In this type of play, symbols are much more evident. Children can pretend that
one object is another, the cubby house becomes a rocket. This type of play is
usually seen during Piaget’s preoperational stage.

Games with rules In this stage, children are able to follow rules of games, changing their
understanding of the purpose of rules as they get older. Children in the concrete
operations stage are usually also in this play stage (Nixon and Gould 1999).

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• Piaget believed that children could use play to act out unpleasant
experiences or experiences where they had very little power.
• This explains why children entering school play teachers over
and over again with younger children, acting out teachers who are
ferocious in their ability to order and command.
• The child can imagine themselves in the position of power and
this helps them to deal with being powerless. This is also
common with children witnessing or involved in violent
households.
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• Piaget believed that children learn through play and
hands on, concrete experiences.
• Emergent curriculum, developmentally appropriate
practice, the project approach and even the Reggio Emilia
approach all have this need for children to play, touch and
learn through real experiences within the foundations of
the program

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• Jean Piaget has been a significant influence on early
childhood education and care.
• He believed that children learn through play and that
development, skills and knowledge occur in a particular
pre-ordained manner.
• Children move through the developmental stages at a set
rate and cannot skip stages.

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How does Piaget’s theory apply to the care of children?

• If we understand how children think and learn, we can provide a stimulating

environment that will support their learning.
• This will involve a good range of experiences and a free-choice approach so
that each child will be able to follow their own interests at the level they are
ready for.
• Using Piaget’s theory, the carer’s role is to provide stimulation and to
observe carefully to see when to step in and interact or change experiences.
• He was important because he saw children as active participants in their
own learning.
• Lev Vygotsky also saw children's thinking developing in stages, but he
emphasised the social and cultural influences on a child's learning.
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Lev Vygotsky’s sociocultural
cognitive theory
-Children act ively const ruct t heir
knowledge
-Social int eract ion and cult ure guide
cognitive development
-Learning isbased upon invent ions of society
-Knowledge is created through
int eract ions wit h ot her people and objects
in the culture.
-Less skilled persons learn f rom t he more skilled

 Information-processing theory
 How does Vygotsky’s theory apply to the care
of children?
• Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development means that
children learn with the guidance and assistance of those in
their environment.
• Sensitive carers in the child’s world will know that children
will need assistance and will know when to step in and
guide the child to support them in the learning process.
• Children need interactions on a one-to-one basis and these
conversations will assist their learning

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• While Piaget did not feel there was any use in presenting
materials and problems to children which were beyond
their developmental capacity, Vygotsky saw an important
role for adults in extending children's learning beyond what
they were capable of independently.
• Vygotsky used the term 'Zone of Proximal Development' to
describe the extension of skills a child is capable of with
adult help

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 example
• Picture a toddler who has a large knob puzzle with a simple bear
shape.
• The toddler tries to put the teddy in the hole, but has it upside down.
He tries to get it in, cannot and moves away. This child, operating
independently is unable to complete the puzzle.
• Along comes a caregiver, who reengages the toddler with the puzzle
and says, ‘look, here is his ears, see here is the space for the ears.’
The caregiver then puts the teddy bear right way up and just to the
side of the hole. The toddler slips the puzzle into place. Now the
toddler is capable of doing the puzzle.
• By careful scaffolding the child’s zone of proximal development has
been expanded.
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• Vygotsky saw play as much more significant than Piaget.
• He saw it as crucial to learning in the preschool period,
particularly imaginative play.
• Vygotsky saw play as a major contributor to the
development of the zone of proximal development—if
children can imagine themselves doing something, they are
closer to doing it.

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 Albert Bandura (1925- )

• Albert Bandura, like Skinner and Watson before him, is a

behaviourist.
• They believed that learning is gradual and continuous.
Development is a sequence of specific conditional
behaviours. The main emphasis is on the environment, not
heredity.
• They considered observable behaviours to be most
important. Bandura’s social learning theory focuses on the
imitation of behaviours by children.
• They will imitate their caregivers and peers, thus learning
much about our society and how it operates. 33
 Bandura’s Modeling/Imitation

Child Child imitates

observes behavior
that seems
someone rewarded
admired
 Bandura’s Social Cognitive Model

Behavior

Person Environment
(cognitive)

Figure 2.4