Child Growth and Development

Authors: Diane E. Papalia,

Ruth Duskin Feldman
 If you are EMPLOYED working with children in a
LICENSED preschool, child care, or family child
care program, you are eligible for reimbursement
for your courses and for the book loan program.

In order to participate, fill out the required two

sided form, have your supervisor sign the form,
and return it by the October 1st to the FCS office.
Additionally an online confidential survey must be
completed. Instructions are on the FCS website,
which is: http://FCS.sites.mjc.edu/
 Child Development 103
Instructor: Jeanette Fanconi, M.A.
Cell phone: 678-6889
Email: jaj0529@aol.com
Book needed: A Childs World: Infancy through
Adolescence the 12th edition.
Directions: Complete this thought .Child
Development is?

A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

~Lao Tzu: Chinese Philosopher
 What will happen today?
Roll
Icebreaker Activities
Read and go through the syllabus
Introduction of the Instructor
Mini Lecture on: Child Development and its history.
In class activities
 Services and Programs
To Promote Student Success
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esident/Accreditation/recomme
ndation1/studentservicesprogra
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 Child development
Scientific study of change and stability from
conception through adolescence
Stability
Consistent behaviors or characteristics that
persist across time and situations.
 John Locke: English philosopher, forerunner of
behaviorism, 1600s
Saw infant as blank slate
Jean-Jacques Rousseau: French philosopher, 1700s
Saw infant as innately good
Charles Darwin, English naturalist, 1800s
Originated idea of evolution
Species develop through natural selection, survival of
the fittest, adaptation to the environment
G. Stanley Hall, late 1800s
Father of child study, first to write about adolescence
 Alfred Binet, French psychologist, late
1800s
First intelligence test
John Dewey, American philosopher,
1900s
First to study children in their social
environment
James Mark Baldwin, American
psychologist, 1900s
Established journals and university
psychology departments, interaction of
nature and nurture
Maria Montessori, Italian physician,
1900s
Early childhood education
Based on self-chosen activities
Maria Montessori
In carefully prepared environment
Tasks go simple to complex
 John B. Watson, American
psychologist, 1900s
Father of behaviorism
Humans are trainable
Arnold Gesell, American
psychologist, 1900s
Normative changes
Interdependence of domains of
development

John B. Watson
 Shifts in knowledge reflect progress in understanding
Reflect changing technology
New, sensitive instruments to measure behaviors such as
eye movements
New tests, brain imaging, MRI
Basic Research gives us information about specific
aspects of development without worrying about how
the information can be used in real-life.
Applied Research sets out to apply that basic research
in order to help solve problems in a practical way.
1. Domains of Development -

Physical: Growth of body and brain, sensory capacities,

and motor skills
Cognitive: Mental abilities, such as learning, memory,
language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity
Psychosocial: Personality, emotions, and social
relationships

All interrelated, all affect each other

2. Periods of development
Social construction: shared idea accepted by society
Adolescence

Prenatalthe time from conception to birth

Infancythe period from birth to 1824 months
Early childhoodthe period that extends from the
end of infancy to about 56 years of age
Middle and late childhoodthe period that extends
from about 6 to 11 years
Adolescencethe period from about 1012 years to
about 1822 years
 Individual differences: Differences among
children in characteristics, influences, or
developmental outcomes.

Heredity, Environment, and Maturation.

Inherited characteristics
Environmental factors
Contexts of Development
1. Family
Nuclear family
Two-generational kinship, economic, and
household unit
Two biological parents and their biological,
adopted, and/or stepchildren
Extended family
Multigenerational kinship network of
grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc.
Contexts of DevelopmentContinued
2. Socioeconomic status (SES): Combination of
economic and social factors describing an individual
family, including income, education, and occupation.

Risk Factors: Conditions that increase the

likelihood of a negative developmental outcome.
3. Culture and Race/Ethnicity

Culture: A societys or groups total way of life

including customs, traditions, laws, knowledge,
beliefs, values, language, and physical products.

Ethnic group: Group united by ancestry, race,

religion, language, and or national origins, all of
which contribute to a sense of shared identity.

Race: Once viewed as a biological category; now a social

construct.
Ethnic gloss:
 August 28,2013
Good Morning!
Please hang on to your Personal Development
papers for discussion.

You will need a scantron this morning.

We will be taking a Reading Check over Chapters 1
this morning.

Quote of the day: Happy are those who dream

dreams and are ready to pay the price to make
them come true. ~ Leon J. Suenes
Contexts of DevelopmentContinued
Normative and Nonnormative Influences
Normative age-graded influences
Normative history-graded influences
Historical generation
Cohort

Nonnormative
Unusual events that have a major impact on individual
lives, e.g. winning the lottery
Contexts of DevelopmentContinued
Timing of Influences: Critical or Sensitive Periods
Imprinting
Critical period
Controversial: Sensitive periods may be more useful
Plasticity
An Emerging Consensus
All domains of development are interrelated
Normal development includes a wide range of
individual differences within the general processes all
children follow as they develop
An Emerging Consensus Continued
Children Help Shape Their Own Development and
Influence Others Responses to Them
Historical and Cultural Contexts Strongly Influence
Development
An Emerging Consensus Continued
Early Experience Is Important, but Children Can Be
Remarkably Resilient
Development in Childhood Is Part of Development
Throughout the Life Span
 Studying the Life Course:
Growing Up in Hard Times
What major cultural event in
your lifetime shaped the lives
of families and children?
 Is there a critical period for language acquisition?
Victor, the Wild Boy of Aveyron, 1800
Found around 12 years of age, possibly abandoned
Itard studied him for 5 years, sensory awareness, socialization,
emotional training, moral and social behavior, language, thought
Never learned to speak
Remained focused on wants and needs
Genie, 1970
Abusive father, malnourished , no bowel control, two words: her
name and sorry
National Institute of Mental Health researchers
Never learned normal language
Abusive foster homes, regressed into total silence
Children are human beings to whom respect is due,
superior to us by reason of their innocence and of
the greater possibilities of their future.
Maria Montessori