What is a Child?

Person undergoing the period of development from infancy to puberty

Infancy: Latin root not speaking, usually defined as 1st two years of life Puberty: onset of reproductive capacity; marks beginning of adolescence

Focus of Child Development

Growth and change that occur during the course of childhood Study both biological inheritance and environmental influences Personality
Stable, enduring characteristics Changing, situational / social circumstances

Why Study Children?

Know if your child is different or needs help, able to help your child with changes Design schoolwork, activities, etc. around what they can do Understand human nature; change future (prejudice, aggression/war, etc.) Profit, advertising Optimize treatment of developmental problems

Definition of Child Development?

Scientific study of the patterns of growth, change and stability that occur from conception through adolescence SCIENTIFIC approach (uses scientific method) Focus -- human development Views development as a continuing process throughout the life span Can be general to specific (universal -> cultural, ethnic -> individual traits)

Development vs. Growth

Development: orderly appearance, over time, of physical structures, psychological traits, behaviors, and ways of adapting to the demands of life Changes are both qualitative and quantitative Qualitative vs. Quantitative: Qualitative - changes in type or kind Quantitative changes in amount E.g., cell specialization, sophistication of language, grammar Growth: refers to changes in size or quantity only E.g., weight, number of vocabulary words, etc.

Child Development will be Broken Down into Three Areas

Physical development Cognitive development Social and personality development

What is Physical Development?

Physical development examines
the brain nervous system muscles needs for food, drink and sleep

What is Cognitive Development?

Cognitive development examines
learning memory problem solving and intelligence

What is Social and Personality Development?

Social -- ways social relationships grow, change and remain stable over course of life Personality -- stability and change in enduring characteristics that differentiate one person from another Both -- focus on emotional development during childhood and adolescence

Child Developmentalists look at particular age ranges:

Prenatal period conception to birth Infancy and toddlerhood birth to age 3 Preschool period ages 3 to 6 Middle childhood ages 6 to 12 Adolescence ages 12 to 20 BUT, it is important to note that these are arbitrarily chosen, some being more easily distinguished than others Averages / Individual differences

Where do these individual differences come from?

Nature Nurture
Culture Ethnicity Race Cohorts Normative events

 Normative history-graded influences are biological and environmental influences associated with a particular moment in history (e.g. 9/11) Normative age-graded influences are biological and environmental influences similar for individuals in a particular age group, regardless of when or where they were raised (e.g. puberty) Normative sociocultural-graded influences include ethnicity, social class, subcultural membership and other factors Normative life events are specific, atypical events that occur in a particular persons life when such events do not happen to most people

Differing Influences on a Child (Normative Events)

Historical Views of Children

John Locke: tabula rasa Jean-Jacques Rousseau: children are inherently good and if allowed to express their natural impulses will develop into generous and moral individuals Only fairly recently have children been studied scientifically

History of Child Studies

Before 1600, children not given any special status Baby biographies became popular in the late 1700s in Germany Charles Darwin -- importance of understanding individuals in his theory of evolution and gave weight to the baby biographies
Believed that if you could understand the development of individuals of a particular species, you could identify how the species developed

History of Child Studies

The 20th century saw child development as a discipline. Alfred Binet studied childrens intelligence, memory and mental calculation while G. Stanley Hall pioneered the use of questionnaires to illuminate childrens thinking and behavior Women made significant contributions to the discipline of child development in the early 1900s (e.g., Leta Stetter Hollingsworth was one of the first psychologists to focus on child development)

Current Issues in Child Development

Continuous vs. discontinuous change Critical vs. sensitive periods Nature vs. nurture

Continuous Change vs. Discontinuous Change

In continuous change, development is gradual, like the way a seedling becomes a tree E.g., Newborn babies will not imitate their parents speech even when parents speak clearly and deliberately Discontinuous change occurs in distinct steps or stages, like the way a caterpillar becomes a butterfly E.g., Puberty and the adolescent growth spurt ushering in a new stage of life

Critical vs. Sensitive Periods

Critical periods are specific times during development in which a particular event has its greatest consequence Sensitive periods are particular times when an organism is susceptible to certain kinds of stimuli in their environment Plasticity: the degree to which a developing behavior or physical structure is modifiable.

Nature vs. Nurture

Nature traits, abilities, and capabilities inherited from ones parents Nature = Genetic Nurture environmental influences that shape behavior Nurture = Environment A gift from god in the aspects of physical,mental Decided by God before a man is born-cognitive, physical and affective aspects. Every human given multiple intelligence Human are born with good deeds Human initiate towards self perfection.

NATURE OF HUMAN BEING

RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE Man are Gods creation All religion believes that a man is born with good Characteristics The human brain is a gift from God that differs from other creatures.

NATURE OF HUMAN BEING

HUMAN POTENTIAL 1. INTELECTUAL DEVELOPMENT 2. SPRITUAL DEVELOPMENT 3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT 4. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

NATURE OF HUMAN BEING

BIOLOGOCAL PERSPECTIVE Every Human is unique Man is capable to use his potentials to the maximum capacity Nature of human shows that biological perspective shows that genetic and environment influence the development of human beings

FACTORS INFLUENCE INDDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN A MAN

GENETIC ENVIRONMENT Family background Peer Group Culture and Beliefs Information technology School and teachers

IMPLICATION OF THE NATURE OF HUMAN TO THE TEACHING AND LEARNING PROCESS.

Prepare various cognitive activities Develop students talent in Co-curriculum Vary teaching techniques and activities Motivate students Develop intrinsic strength of the students. Develop potential in physical activities Aware the students potential Education program must be planned in detail and effectively to produce outstanding society.