Introduction to human growth and development.

This course presents concepts of all the dimensions of human development from conception to birth and further articulates the implications of the patterns of this development on education; particularly with regard to the nature of the learner, the content, materials and the learning experiences.

^^DEFINITION OF TERMS.^^

Human Refers to a being who is a member of the species of homo sapiens often referred to as mankind. While mankind has some resemblance with other animals, especially the primate order, man has unique faculties which develop in very unique ways.

Has a unique upright posture, longer legs than arms for locomotion, an average brain capacity of 1350 cubic centimeters compared to the primates whose cranial capacity does not exceed 600 cubic centimeters.

Unique spiritual, moral and ethical capacity that is absent in the other animals.

A strong quest for a supernatural being, and a conscious sensitivity to moral obligation and ethical principles He is a social and cultural creature who enjoys group relationships.

The cultural pattern set by the society which he learns through the process of enculturation governed him.

He is aesthetical, creative and a vocational being- utilizing his talents to make a living.

^^Growth^^

Positive change or increase in size and maturation; often over a period of time.
It is the progressive development of a living thing.
Human growth from infancy to maturity involves great change in body size and appearance.
The growth process is never steady; sometimes growth occurs rapidly, at other times slowly.
Individual patterns of growth vary widely because of heredity and environment.
Living conditions such as nutrition influence growth.

^^Development.^^

Refers to a pattern of change that begins at conception and continues through out the life span.
Most development involves growth, although it also includes decay (death and dying).
Human development is a complex life long process of growth and change.
From infancy to childhood; childhood to adolescence, and adolescence to adulthood enormous changes take place.
Development refers to qualitative changes in the human being as a whole.
It is the continuous process through which physical, emotional and intellectual changes occur.
It is a wider and comprehensive term than growth.
It is also possible without growth.

^^The Rationale for the Study of Human Growth and Development.^^

Why study human growth and development?

As a teacher the responsibility for other human beings will be part of your everyday life. The teaching career involves interaction with human beings; The more you learn about human beings the better you can deal with them.
This course is provocative, intriguing and is filled with information about human growth and development.
Information on human growth and development is crucial in school activities such as placement and retention; counseling and planning curricular content and experiences.
Assists in developing educational programs such as early childhood education, special education, compensatory education, and middle school education.
The understanding patterns of growth and
development helps educators to plan lessons
based on individual students needs.
Accumulated data on human growth and development provides a basis for understanding the differences in educator’s learning theories.
Records of physical maturations of school children help educators to predict ranges of growth for chronological age.
Understanding the development of fine motor skills is important for facilitating academic tasks such as writing, typing and crafting.
Further, understanding human growth and development helps to improve the teacher’s ability to;

Interact with students.
Detect problems related to the cognitive, emotional, social and physical aspects of development.
Ensure balanced development of students.
Closely watch the markers of development, ensuring that students meet their development milestones; and identifying children with special needs.

Knowledge on intellectual, social and emotional development during school age years guides decisions about development related factors in these areas.
On intelligence, Piagets’ model of continual and progressive change in the structure of behavior and thought in children has assisted educators in preparing intellectual experience in schools.
Information on the successful research on the shaping of human behavior and acceleration of learning provides the curriculum developers with significant value decisions about the choice of anticipated learning outcome and learning.

^^THE STUDY OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.^^

In the past much attention was not given to the study of human development, and as such little was known about the difference between children and adults.
For example, in Medieval Europe laws did not distinguish between children and adults before 1600, as evidenced in dress, punishment for offences, and work.
Children had weak emotional contact with parents.
However, the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans held rich conceptions of child development.

^^Philosophical Views. ^^

The following philosophical views were used to explain human development:

Original Sin View: Middle ages (evil beings/born sinful-bad-need salvation).
Tabula Rasa View: proposed by English philosopher John Locke in the 17thCentury, he argued that children are like a blank tablet/slate. Childhood experiences are useful in determining adulthood characteristics.
Innate Goodness View: proposed by Swiss philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau who stressed that children are inherently good and should be allowed to grow naturally with little parental monitoring or constrains.
^^The Modern Study of Human Development.^^
Began in the 1800s with more sophisticated techniques, methods and major theories that have unearthed new knowledge about the unique period of life in childhood which forms the foundation for adult life .There has been a major shift from a strictly philosophical perspective to direct observation and experimentation. Psychologists trained in biology and medicine have ventured into experimental studies of human beings in spite of raging debates on ethical and intellectual grounds. Sigmund Freud , Stanly Hall (questionnaires to 400 Boston students) and Alfred Binet(intelligence test) were the pioneers of modern study on human development. During 1920s a number of child development research centers emerged- infant and child behaviors were observed(play, friendship patterns, fears, aggression, sociability).Society for Research in Child Development was formed. Gesell developed sophisticated observational strategies- argued that children simply blossom with age due to biological maturational blueprint. Thus child development follow a natural evolutionary course-unfolds in stages with distinct motives and capabilities at each stage. Hall (1904)observed that adolescence was full of storm and stress. Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was prominent in the early 20th century. He believed children are rarely aware of the motives and reasons for their behaviors-the bulk of their mental life is unconscious ( the unconscious mind controls development).Like Hall, he stressed the role of conflict and biological influences on development. He argued that a child’s relationship with parents in the first 5 years of life are determinants of later personality development. He envisioned that a child moves through a series of psychosexual stages- filled with conflict between biological urges and societal demands. John Watson (1928)-argued that children’s behavior and development was controlled by the environment-that the children’s behavior can be shaped into whatever society wishes by examining and changing the environment. James Mark Baldwin- a pioneer in the study of the development of children’s conscious thoughts. He called this “genetic epistemology”-the study of how children’s knowledge changes over the course of their development. Jean Piaget adopted and elaborated on Baldwin’s theme.

^^Importance of Research in Human Development .^^

Medical research on human development have shed light on what educators can do to influence human growth and development. For example:

Studies in mind control and extrasensory perception promise that formal schooling has a major role in directing human intelligence, as well as emotional and moral behavior.
 Issues such as defining normal growth, promoting certain kinds of growth and emphasizing certain types of cognitive and affective growth make the study of human development a necessary foundation for curriculum planning (Bondi, J. &Wiles, J.; 1998 Curriculum Development a Guide to Practice: pp.24-25).

^^Todays’ Children: Contemporary Concerns .^^

“Children are the legacy we leave for the time we will not live to see” said Aristotle Greek philosopher of the 4th Century BC.
If we are not concerned and do little to improve on the lives of the children, we will depart from this planet with no legacy left behind.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow an American poet of the 19th century once lamented “Ah! What would the world be to us if the children were no more? We should dread the desert behind us Worse than the dark before”.
As such, we should care about factors that hinder proper development of children.
Four Contemporary Concerns in
Children’s Development:

Health and well being-physical/emotional/mental= poverty/malnutrition/child abuse
Families and parenting-styles- dysfunctional
families
Schools related issues–neglect developmental
processes

Culture and Ethnicity-demographic complexity/stereotypes-socio-cultural contexts of development becoming too complex.

^^Social Policy and Children’s Development.^^

Social policy is a national government’s approach to influencing the welfare of its citizens.
Because of the concerns arising in children’s development, there are both international and national policies safe guarding children.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.
It is the world’s most widely ratified human rights treaty in history.
The member Nations are bound to it by international law. Such nations have developed social policies and laws that protect child from hard labor, ensure provision of education, and spell out conditions for adoption.
For example Kenya is a member state and it’s constitution spells out various children rights; adequate health care, nutrition, education and protection from violence.

^^Kenya’s Basic Education Act (2013).^^

Article 36(1).
“ No pupil shall be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in any manner whether physical or psychological.”
UNICEF is another organization that has played a significant role in safeguarding the rights of children- to education, better health, and family support.
Read the following site and explore the history of child rights; the threats and opportunities of childhood today.

https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/what-is-the-convention.