SOCIAL CHANGE INFLUENCERS

Fresno Pacific University

ECD 300- Children, Family and Community

Mrs. Cynthia Kaitfors Smith

Social Change Influencers

Michelle Jaramillo

September 22, 2016

SOCIAL CHANGE INFLUENCERS

Many factors and events can have a huge effect on a child and parent when it comes to

the social change and how this can really take a toll on some. The world we live in today is a

world that is constantly changing therefore the effects of social change is constantly happening

all around us.Many factors and events can have a huge effect on a child and parent. When it

comes to the social change of a child and the environment many changes go into effect. Parent

involvement in children’s academic and social development, sibling relationships, and the effects

of violence are all examples of social changes that influence a child. Violence is one of the most

effective influences that could play negatively in a child’s life. The effect on children can

sometimes stay with them for a life time. A child being exposed to violence can drastically affect

many areas, one of them being academic progress and class room behavior. “Between 10 and

20% of children in the United States are exposed to domestic violence annually” (Carlson, 2000).

As a result of domestic violence in the home children may also suffer from becoming physically

abused. Exposure to violence in the home and community can easily affect not only children but

adolescents and teenagers as well, which leads to poor academic progress, increased disruptive

and unfocused classroom behavior.

Parent involvement and children’s academic and social development elementary school

shows examples and data collected of how children can succeed further in education when a

parent is involved. Data collected from the NICHD Study of Early Childcare and Youth

Development were used as a tool to investigate children’s academic and social development

from the grades of First, Third, and Fifth graders. The data that was used to collect information

focused on these main categories parent involvement and children’s standardized achievement

scores, social skills, and problem behaviors. According to Herrold and O’Donnel
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(2008) studies found 90% of parents of elementary school children reported attending general

school meetings, data collected from the National Center for Education Statistics. Parent

involvement is often known to become the pathway which could very well enhance the

achievement of underperforming children (Berger, 1991). How parents interact and become

involved or uninvolved in their children’s school and education can very well play a huge

rollwhen it comes to the social influence of the child. Many times children do not get the support

from their families that they need to become successful. Majority of the time parent involvement

is always encouraged by teachers and childcare providers. Parent involvement is not only just

important in the child’s school, but more urgently the importance goes beyond. Behaviors of the

parents within the home and school setting are meant to support children’s educational progress.

Depending on the levels of parent involvement between families and changes within the

involvement of children’s literacy skills, with increasing parent involvement during elementary

school evidence showed literacy growth amongst the students. Parent involvement is very well

thought of as an avenue for promoting higher performances in students.

However not only does parent involvement help the child to succeed academically,

researchers have shown that parent involvement help’s with the child’s behaviors. The child’s

behavior can be enhanced in the home setting and also in the classroom setting. Many times

children act out behaviorally due to not receiving enough attention from the parents or care

provider, when you offer the child the appropriate attention they tend to be more focused and

complete all tasks. Parent involvement is also described as the parent and the teacher working

together to discuss social functioning and any issues which may arise. In the article studies were

shown to have proof academic achievement, data was obtained by the parents and teachers in
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first, third and fifth grade. Parent Teacher Involvement Questionnaire were given out for parents

and teachers to complete, the assessment was taken 54 months prior to Kindergarten to get the

before and after results before they enter grade school. The results of the studies found showed

high scores for those children who had steady interaction and involvement with their children,

and scores were low for children who did not have much parent support or involvement.

(Woodcock & Johnson, 1989, 1990)

In life many factors can take place and quickly social influencers can affect us as a

parent child and even families. As families continue to grow and new additions are added to

family size, sometimes this can be much for a child to attain. Many times children can react

differently to this new life change and act out in a negative behavior due to not being able to

express their feelings. Sibling relationships and influencers in childhood and adolescence, in the

article they address how this can become a social change for children. A child’s relationships

with their siblings are based on a few different factors, for example characteristics to cultural

norms and values this varies from child to child. Siblings are known to be building blocks of

family structure, family dynamics changes according from one family member to the next. In

families every family member has a role to play and everyone has a title. Siblings in the family

can have different effects on one another and based on how the relationship is between the

siblings they develop each other and this determines who they are within social patterns. Family

dynamics in a large family can serve as building blocks of the family structure. Not every

relationship we create in life will always be a positive experience. Data was received to collect

structural factors which interfered with the social processes of status characteristics. The tool

collected is directly measuring sibling’s personal qualities to understand the impact on sibling
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relationships. The examination was created to examine sibling temperament and to show the

difficulties in which were linked to sibling relationship difficulties. (Stoneman& Brody, 1993)

The relationships within families and siblings that are created truly are a reflection of what social

systems are made out to be.

Witnessing domestic violence can terrorize children and significantly disrupt child

socialization, exposure to domestic violence is known to be a form of psychological

maltreatment. (McGee & Wolfe, 1991; Peled& Davis, 1995; Somer&Braunstein, 1999).

Children who are exposed to marital violence are very much associated with developing other

problems such as psychological, emotional, behavioral, social, and academic problems. Multiple

forms of abuse are usually expected upon the child who grew up witnessing domestic violence.

For example, as they grow older they can easily develop aggressive behaviors and become

violent to those around them. Second, they too can become a victim of abuse from partner’s in

their adult relationships. Anxiety can also be developed as another health problem to the child

who witnesses forms of violence. Moderating effects of child characteristics include,

temperament, coping strategies, gender, and age. Studies have shown within the general

population families who are characterized with domestic violence are likely to experience higher

levels of general stress, including lower income and more frequent moves. Domestic violence

has been used to the referring of a wide range of behaviors which include, physical, sexual, and

psychological abuse. Repeated exposure to the act of violence can lead to traumatic events in

children for example posttraumatic stress and oppositional defiant diagnosis. The social and

emotional competence is lowered within the child as they develop from different stages. Children

who come from dysfunctional families are less likely to function at a successful rate in school.
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(Iarskaia-Smir nova, Romanov, &Antonova, 2008). Exposure to violence is greatly different as

growth takes place from a child to a youth; healthy social relationships now become more of a

challenge to develop for the youth. Children who are exposed to violence in the homes and

surrounding

In conclusion, as a community and as professionals in this field we have remain a strong

support system for the families dealing with social changes. In life changes are always going to

take place from when we are little all the way into adult hood. Change is sometimes never a bad

thing to have, somethings positive outcomes appear through changes. Social changes are all a

part of life and have different impacts from one person to the next. In the world we live in we are

influenced daily on our environment and who we choose to surround ourselves with. Parents and

children experience life differently obviously due to the development of their maturity, never the

less the age of a person will not prevent anyone from experiencing social changes.
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References

Child Witness to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analytic Review Journal of consulting and

clinical psychology 2013 vol. 71

The Effects of Violence on Academic Progress and Classroom Behavior: From a Parent’s
Perspective by: DR’s Garry R. Walz and Jeanne C. Bleuer 2013

Sibling Relationships and Influencers in Childhood and AdolescenceMarch 17, 2014

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3956653/

Parent Involvement and Children’s Academic and Social Development in Elementary

SchoolMay1, 2011http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2973328/