Social and Emotional Development — Comprehensive Notes
Overview and Course Context
Instructor greeting and crowd engagement (thumbs up) to gauge mood and workload among students.
Discussion of semester workload: some students feel overwhelmed by due dates; courses are spread across disciplines (chemistry, history, etc.).
Midterm break approaching; anticipation for completing the second assignment and applying feedback from the first assignment.
Next week: discussion of the second task/assignment; by then students will have received grades for the first assignment and can use feedback to improve.
Purpose of today: address concerns or burning questions from the group about social and emotional development topics.
Interrelatedness of Developmental Domains
Core reminder: physical development, cognitive development, and social-emotional development are interrelated.
Issues in one domain can impact others (e.g., physical development problems affecting self-regulation, motivation, or social interactions).
Emphasis on a holistic view: a problem in one area often shows up across others.
Key Tasks in the Social-Emotional Domain
Build a healthy sense of self and establish identity as one moves from childhood into adolescence.
Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood; involves developing a range of emotions and the ability to regulate them (self-regulation for learning and emotion).
Emotion regulation influences behavior: poor regulation can lead to difficulty listening in class, preparation for tests, etc.
From early on, we become aware of others and our place in society; relationships extend from small groups to larger social contexts, guided by societal expectations.
Learning opportunities and social contexts shape what is considered acceptable behavior (need experiences and guidance from more knowledgeable others, as per Vygotsky).
Development of personal values is a key part of this stage, including social conscience concerns.
Brown-text prompts on slides invite deeper reading; PDFs of chapters preserve page numbers for cross-reference.
Attachment Theory and Early Relationships
Attachment theory is a major framework for understanding early relationships, security, and trust.
Strong attachment and sense of security are linked to greater independence in preschool, better friendship-making, and empathy.
Poor attachment is associated with behavior problems and anxiety; linked to lower perceived competence by teachers and peers.
Joint attention (a core attachment concept): shared focus on an object or activity with a more capable other, enabling information sharing and learning.
Joint attention requires the ability to gain, maintain, and shift attention; plays out in activities like puzzles, games, cooking, etc., where adult guidance helps the child learn.
Implications for high school: early attachment experiences shape how students present themselves later; teachers encounter students at different developmental trajectories.
Theoretical Foundations: Piaget, Erikson, and Vygotsky
Piaget: four stages of cognitive development (early childhood to adolescence/adulthood); emphasis on how children construct knowledge.
Erikson: psychosocial stages (four to five broader stages) with a focus on social and identity development across the lifespan:
Trust vs. Mistrust (birth–1 year)
Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (2–3 years)
Initiative vs. Guilt (4–5 years)
Industry vs. Inferiority (6–11 years)
Identity vs. Role Confusion (12–18 years)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (young adulthood)
Generativity vs. Stagnation (middle adulthood)
Integrity vs. Despair (late adulthood)
In Erikson’s framework, industry leads to a sense of competence and self-efficacy; identity exploration dominates adolescence.
The sense of self-efficacy in school develops in upper primary and continues into high school as students form a coherent identity.
Theory of Mind, Social Cognition, and Sociocultural Learning
Theory of Mind: awareness that others have thoughts, feelings, desires, and intentions that may differ from one’s own.
Intersubjectivity: shared understanding between two or more people; foundational for social interaction and empathy.
Social cognition: thinking about how others are likely to think, feel, and respond; taking into account others’ desires and intentions when deciding how to act.
Observational learning and reinforcement (Skinner and social learning theory): behaviors are learned by observing others and through reinforcement (punishment/reward).
Vygotsky’s sociocultural approach emphasizes the role of the more knowledgeable other (MKO) and scaffolding in learning; joint attention and guided participation are central.
Recursive thinking and ambivalence: teenagers begin to think about their own thoughts and reevaluate decisions, influencing social behavior.
Attachment Details: Joint Attention and Early Relationships
Joint attention underpins secure attachment and later independence; a child and adult share focus on an object, facilitating information sharing.
Through joint attention, children learn to coordinate attention and use guided social cues to learn tasks (e.g., puzzles).
Strong attachment is linked to better peer relationships and resistance to negative peer pressure; weak attachment associated with behavior problems and anxiety.
Teachers should consider students’ early attachment histories when addressing current classroom behavior and engagement.
Developmental Stages: Erikson versus Piaget
Piaget’s stages provide a cognitive framework; Erikson’s stages describe psychosocial development and identity formation.
In Erikson, the fifth stage (Identity vs. Role Confusion) corresponds with adolescence; a major task is forming a sense of self and personal values.
Identity development is ongoing; adults may still refine self-concept well into early adulthood (often around age 27 when many feel they have become fully formed).
The process is influenced by peers, cultural context, and life experiences, including media and literature consumption (e.g., references to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter as cultural touchpoints).
Self-Concept, Self-Esteem, and Self-Efficacy
Self-description: how one describes oneself, typically free of evaluative judgments (e.g., I am a 14-year-old girl living in the city).
Self-concept: evaluative judgments about oneself in specific domains (e.g., good at sport but not at maths).
Self-esteem (self-worth): global evaluation of oneself (e.g., I’m pretty happy with myself).
Self-efficacy: belief in one’s capacity to perform a specific task (e.g., I can catch the bus to school without help).
In late childhood, self-image becomes more global and integrated; by adolescence, social feedback and peer comparison shape self-esteem and identity.
Positive self-concept and self-efficacy are linked to better school achievement and resilience; negative feedback or bullying can undermine self-worth and motivation.
Bullying, Diversity, and Inclusive Education
Bullying can be linked to how students internalize feedback and the social context of school.
Diversity and difference must be embraced; teachers should understand atypical development (mobility impairments, autism spectrum, ADHD, etc.) and adapt teaching to ensure inclusion.
Inclusive education involves altering lessons and activities to engage all students, including those with physical or cognitive differences.
Teachers should cultivate awareness of why a student may deviate from a typical trajectory and plan supportive strategies accordingly.
The role of observation is critical: regular monitoring helps detect changes in student behavior that may indicate wellbeing concerns.
Role of Observation and Classroom Management
Observation helps teachers detect shifts in student behavior; regular re-checks are necessary as students may change over time.
Teachers have the power to structure peer groups to encourage interaction and break down social barriers (e.g., seating students with different peers; creating partner work with deliberate pairing).
Teaching is intellectual work: the goal is to enable all students to access the subject matter regardless of their developmental trajectory or personal challenges.
Emphasizing the idea that a teacher’s role is to teach students how to learn and engage with content, not only to deliver subject knowledge.
Pragmatics, Reciprocal Teaching, and Communication Skills
Pragmatics: appropriate use of language in social contexts to achieve a desired effect (e.g., politely asking for a Coke in a shop rather than demanding it).
Reciprocal teaching: a scaffolded approach to group reading with four roles (questions, clarifying, summarizing, and predicting) that develops communication and social interaction skills.
Assignments can incorporate reciprocal teaching as a simple, effective scaffold for developing pragmatic communication and collaboration.
Good communication and pragmatics support social interactions and pro-social behavior in groups.
Pro-social Development, Moral Reasoning, and Social Dilemmas
Pro-social development progresses through stages: hedonistic (self-focused) → needs-oriented → approval-based/social expectations → internalized prosocial behavior.
Internalization means pro-social behavior becomes part of one’s self-concept, not just a rule-following habit.
Prosocial reasoning involves balancing personal desires with concerns for others’ welfare (e.g., helping a friend in need even if it delays personal plans).
Scenarios (e.g., a choice between going to a party vs. helping a classmate) illustrate the internal conflict between self-interest and social responsibility.
Friendship development: progression from egocentric to understanding reciprocity, then intimate and mutual sharing; by adolescence, friendships focus on support and relationship quality rather than simple activities.
Play, Sociodramatic Play, and Social Competence
Play provides practice for real-world social interactions: rules, negotiation, role-taking, and exploring multiple perspectives.
Sociodramatic play supports development of interpersonal behaviors and social competence; page references in course materials point to pages 592–596 for more on sociodramatic play and its role in social development.
Experience with sociodramatic play helps children negotiate conflict and learn appropriate language pragmatics and social roles.
Adolescent Social Development: Peers, Conformity, and Anxiety
Interpersonal reasoning in adolescence leads to greater understanding of others’ feelings; conformity pressures peak during this period.
Peers influence immediate status; girls may experience greater anxiety about friendships than boys.
Parents and other adults influence long-range plans and aspirations.
Resilience: Adaptation in the Face of Threats
Resilience is the capacity to adapt successfully in threatening or challenging circumstances.
Protective factors include high self-esteem, reflective ability, motivation, and warm family and peer support.
Resilience arises from the interaction of risk factors (e.g., poverty, abuse, neglect) and protective factors across individual, family, and community levels.
Not everyone has the same resilience; significant protective environments can buffer risk, while severe, unmitigated risk can overwhelm capacity to cope.
Caution against viewing resilience as a fixed trait; context and environment play a major role in how resilience develops.
Cultural Implications and School Role in Social-Emotional Development
Cultural experiences influence social and personal development; temperaments and personalities influence responses to routine changes.
Temperament and personality interact with teaching approaches; some students respond less well to abrupt changes.
Interactions with teachers can positively or negatively shape a child’s understanding of self.
Children require experiences with sociodramatic play and support to negotiate conflicts; language pragmatics and appropriate communicative behaviors are essential.
Schools must provide individual learning support to accommodate varying capacities and understandings of self and others; emotion regulation, cognition, and behavior require ongoing development.
Closing and Next Steps
Question and answer: any remaining concerns or questions about today’s topics?
Preview: next week focuses on the next assignment and further exploration of social-emotional development concepts.
Final reminder: students should engage with the material, participate in discussions, and prepare for the Lord of the Rings- themed homework discussion mentioned in class.
Appendix: Key Terms to Remember (glossary-style prompts)
Attachment theory
Joint attention
More knowledgeable other (MKO)
Scaffolding
Theory of Mind / Intersubjectivity
Social cognition
Observational learning / Reinforcement
Pragmatics
Reciprocal teaching (Questioning, Clarifying, Summarizing, Predicting)
Pro-social development / Prosocial reasoning
Sociodramatic play
Self-concept / Self-esteem / Self-efficacy
Identity vs. Role Confusion (Erikson)
Industry vs. Inferiority (Erikson)
Resilience (risk and protective factors)
Inclusion / Inclusive education
Cultural implications in development
Page references mentioned in Brown bits
For interpersonal behavior and sociodramatic play, see Brown bits pages 592–596 for further reading and examples.