Study Notes: Theories of Child Development (B-EDS 111)

Overview of Education Studies and B-EDS 111

  • Module Identity: Education Studies 1: Theories of Child Development (B-EDS 111) is a Year 1 module at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 5, carrying 10 credits.

  • Learning Commitment: Approximately 10 hours must be spent for every 1 credit. Students are required to spend at least 100100 hours studying the material, completing assignments, and preparing for assessments.

  • Knowledge Mix: The module consists of 9 credits of Disciplinary learning and 1 credit of Situational learning.

  • Sequence of Education Studies Modules:

    • Module 1: Theories of Child Development (this module) – focuses on how children develop from birth to adulthood and the psychology of education.

    • Module 2: Theories of Learning and Teaching – focuses on general principles and methods of teaching.

    • Module 3: Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment – examines the system of education in practice.

    • Module 4: History of Education and Education Policies – contextualizes South African education historically (colonialism, apartheid, and inequality).

    • Module 5: Sociology of Education – explores big forces behind education across countries and the world.

  • Psychology of Education: This discipline applies psychological ideas to education to understand how the human mind works when learning, what motivates learners, and how to support them.

  • Significance of Developmental Knowledge: Understanding normal development helps teachers identify abnormal development (deviations from the norm) and create optimal learning opportunities for various stages.

Conceptions and Utility of Theory

  • Definition of Theory: A system of ideas that helps structure reality and explains aspects of the natural or social world. The word originates from the Greek thorὁs, meaning "spectator."

  • Wacker’s 8 Features of a Valid Theory (1998):

    • Uniqueness: A theory must be different from others; if two are indistinguishable, they are judged as one.

    • Conservatism: Useful old theories are conserved even when new ones are developed (e.g., older child development theories remain relevant).

    • Generalisability: A valid theory can be applied across many contexts (e.g., development principles that apply to children globally).

    • Fecundity or Productivity: The theory offers many new conceptual ideas, models, and hypotheses.

    • Parsimony (Occam’s Razor): The simplest solution/explanation involves the fewest assumptions and is considered superior.

    • Internal Consistency: Logical connections between ideas are clear, coherent, and identifiable.

    • Empirical Risk: A theory must be testable and challengeable. Risky predictions (those that correctly forecast unlikely events) lead to stronger theories.

    • Abstraction: The theory is independent of time and space, working in any situation rather than just special cases.

  • The Utility of Development Theory: It explains how children grow progressively (physically, emotionally, cognitively) across different contexts and identifies the roles of biology (nature) and context (nurture).

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

  • Core Concept: Focuses on how individuals are linked in dynamic, interdependent, and interacting relationships within a social context.

  • Five Environmental Systems:

    • Microsystem: The immediate environment (family, body) where the child is an active participant. This is the closest system (where the child eats, sleeps, grows).

    • Mesosystem: Relationships between different microsystems (e.g., the relationship between home and school or child and peers).

    • Exosystem: Settings where the child is not an active participant but is still affected (e.g., a parent’s workplace or government policy changes).

    • Macrosystem: The overarching belief systems, ideologies, and culture (e.g., religious beliefs or societal views on right and wrong).

    • Chronosystem: Changes over time and history (e.g., historical inequality in South Africa).

  • Systems Thinking: Requires looking at the entire system the child is part of rather than the child in isolation. This is used in family therapy and community psychology.

  • Implications for Learning: Teachers must develop close relationships with caregivers to understand external factors influencing classroom performance.

Cognitive Constructivism (Jean Piaget)

  • Core Belief: Children are active cognising agents who construct knowledge through interaction with their environment rather than simply receiving information.

  • Quantitative vs. Qualitative Differences: Piaget proposed that an adult does not just have more knowledge than a child; they think in a fundamentally different way.

  • Processes of Intelligence:

    • Assimilation: Understanding new information in terms of existing knowledge (schemata).

    • Accommodation: Altering existing cognitive structures because new information conflicts with what is known.

    • Equilibration: The balancing process between assimilation and accommodation.

  • Readiness: Development must precede learning. A child must be cognitively developed enough to master a specific skill or concept.

  • Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development:

    • Sensorimotor (0−20-2 years): Learning through senses and motor responses. Milestone: Object Constancy/Permanence (knowing objects exist even when out of sight).

    • Pre-operational (2−72-7 years): Symbolic thinking and play. Features include Egocentrism (inability to see others' perspectives) and Centration (focusing on one aspect only).

    • Concrete Operational (7−117-11 years): Logical thinking begins, but primarily for concrete/visible tasks. Milestone: Conservation (understanding quantity remains the same despite shape changes).

    • Formal Operational (11−1611-16 years): Increase in logic, deductive reasoning, and understanding of abstract concepts.

Psychodynamic and Psychosocial Theories (Freud and Erikson)

  • Psychodynamic Overview: Human functioning is based on internal drives and the Unconscious (thoughts/feelings hidden from the mind that influence behavior).

  • Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Stages: Driven by libido (pleasure-seeking energy) and tension/pleasure cycles.

    • Oral (0−20-2): Pleasure via mouth (sucking). Fixation results in over-eating or smoking.

    • Anal (2−42-4): Focus on defecation/urination. Conflict involves authority during potty training.

    • Phallic (4−64-6): Exploration of sexual organs and physical differences.

    • Latent (66 to Puberty): Libido is dormant; focus on school and play.

    • Genital (Puberty to Death): Maturation of sexual interests.

  • Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages: Development is about forming a lasting Identity through negotiating crises/conflicts.

    • Stages:

    1. Infancy (0−180-18 months): Trust vs. Mistrust.

    2. Early Childhood (2−32-3 years): Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt.

    3. Preschool (3−63-6 years): Initiative vs. Guilt.

    4. School Age (77 to Puberty): Industry vs. Inferiority.

    5. Adolescence (12−1812-18 years): Identity vs. Role Confusion (The "Identity Crisis").

    6. Early Adulthood (19−4019-40 years): Intimacy vs. Isolation.

    7. Middle Adulthood (40−6040-60 years): Generativity vs. Stagnation.

    8. Maturity (65+65+ years): Integrity vs. Despair.

Cultural Historical Theory (Lev Vygotsky)

  • Core Belief: Learning leads to development (opposite of Piaget). Social, cultural, and historical backgrounds are essential.

  • Mediation: Structured guidance from a more expert other (teacher/parent) that helps a child move from not knowing to knowing.

  • Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): The gap between what a child can do independently and what they can do with assistance.

  • General Genetic Law of Cultural Development: Functions appear twice—socially (inter-psychological) then individually (intra-psychological).

  • Concepts:

    • Everyday Concepts: Spontaneously learned through daily life.

    • Scientific Concepts: Must be taught through systematic cooperation between teacher and child.

  • Scaffolding (Wood, Bruner, & Ross, 1976): Techniques include recruiting interest, reducing degrees of freedom (simplifying), maintaining direction, marking critical features, and controlling frustration.

Stages of Physical and Language Development

  • Prenatal Period:

    • Germinal Phase: Fertilization to 2 weeks. Morula (ball of cells) becomes a Blastocyst.

    • Embryonic Phase: 2 to 8 weeks. Organs form, heart starts beating.

    • Fetal Phase: 8 weeks to birth. Point of viability around 7 months.

    • Teratogens: Toxic substances like alcohol (FASD), disease (Rubella), radiation (X-rays), or nutritional deficiencies (lack of folate causing spina bifida).

  • Infancy (0−20-2 years):

    • Body Growth Patterns: Cephalocaudal (head down) and Proximodistal (center out).

    • Brain Development: Synaptogenesis (connection creation) followed by Pruning (use-it-or-lose-it). Myelination (fatty coating) increases signal speed.

  • Language Development:

    • Babbling (0−90-9 months).

    • Holophase (10−1310-13 months): Single words.

    • Telegraphic Speech (18+18+ months): Two-word sentences.

    • Chomsky’s View: Humans possess an innate Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Key brain areas: Broca’s Area (speaking) and Wernicke’s Area (understanding).

Childhood through Adolescence

  • Early Childhood (2−72-7 years):

    • Moral Development: Kohlberg’s Pre-conventional level. Stage 1: Punishment/Obedience. Stage 2: Instrumental Hedonism.

    • Kohlberg’s Heinz Dilemma: A test tool where a man steals medicine for his dying wife.

  • Middle Childhood (7−117-11 years):

    • Physical: Loss of milk teeth, steady growth (2−3 kg2-3\,kg and 8 cm8\,cm per year).

    • Cognitive Gains: Metacognition (thinking about thinking), attention, and planning.

    • Peer Relationships: Focus on acceptance, popularity, and bullying. Bullying is defined as repeated, intentional, organized aggression.

  • Adolescence (12−1812-18 years):

    • Physical: Puberty (hormonal changes: androgens and oestrogens). Primary vs. Secondary sexual characteristics.

    • Brain: Pre-frontal cortex (planning/decision making) is not fully developed until early twenties, leading to impulsivity and risk-taking.

    • Morality: Kohlberg’s Conventional level. Stage 3: "Good boy/girl" (intentions matter). Stage 4: Authority/Social-order (rules are absolute).

Self-Concept and Mindset in the Classroom

  • Self-Concept: The answer to "Who am I?" (ideas and beliefs about oneself).

  • Self-Esteem/Worth: The value one places on oneself. Low self-esteem negatively affects learning.

  • Praise: General praise ("clever girl") can create dependency on external validation and an External Locus of Control. Specific feedback (“I like how you used different strategies”) is more effective.

  • Carol Dweck’s Mindsets:

    • Fixed Mindset: Belief that intelligence is inborn and set. These learners avoid challenges to keep appearing smart.

    • Growth Mindset: Belief that intelligence grows through effort and hard work. These learners value learning over grades and see mistakes as interesting opportunities.

  • Teaching for Growth: Praise the process and strategies, not just the outcome. Encourage persistence through difficult tasks.