Sociological Aspects of Children Moving Chapter 10 Sociological Aspects of Children Moving

Standards Based Education Standard 5: Students demonstrate and utilize knowledge of psychological and sociological concepts, principals, and strategies that apply to the learning and performance of physical activity. Activity: Number off K through 6 Select one sub-standard for grade (St. 5) Share with class (include rationale)

The Socialization of Children Socialization is education It is the process through which children Acquire a sense of personal identity Learn what people in the surrounding culture believe Discover how to behave according to the expectations of that culture The process involves both “nature” (heredity) and “nurture” (environment) The process involves a collaborative effort between the child and society

Abraham Maslow The Theory of Human Motivation 1943

Socialization Agents Parents/family School and peers Mass media

Socialization Agents: Parents The family is the primary agent of socialization Messages delivered vary based on size and composition of the family unit as well as the parenting styles used by the parents Most effective parenting style is “authoritative” (not the “passive” or “authoritarian” styles)

Socializing Children to Be Physically Active The influence of parents Parental encouragement Parental involvement Parental facilitation Parental role modeling The teacher-parent partnership Parents and teachers need to become major partners in their efforts to produce physically active children

Socialization Agents: School and Peers Basic function of the school is to socialize the child into becoming an adequately functioning adult in the society Schools allow friendships between and among peers to develop, which is essential to the healthy development of the child

Socialization Agents: Mass Media Mass media is a particularly enticing socialization agent Messages conveyed are problematic in the areas of violence, gender and race stereotyping, and boy/girl relationships The time spent playing video games and watching television lessens the child’s time available to be physically active

SMALL GROUP CHAT . . . Briefly discuss benefits and concerns of the three socialization agents: Parents School & Peers Mass Media

LESSON PRESENTATIONS

Inclusion as a Socialization Issue Dominant culture (values, beliefs and behaviors) in United States today comes primarily from Anglo Saxon thought and perspective Culture contains attitudes and perceptions about people of certain socioeconomic conditions, with particular physical characteristics (gender, skin color, body size, shape, and weight), and from different ethnic backgrounds Culture can lead to exclusion based on its attitudes and perceptions, thus inclusion is a socialization issue

Providing Quality Instruction In terms of ethnicity – including cultural integration In terms of varying motor and mental abilities – developmentally appropriate instruction In terms of gender (includes eliminating use of gender specific “sports” terms – play like a girl; boy/girl push ups; boys vs. girls; lining up by gender, etc.)

Cognitive Bias – Social Bias Be aware of our own biases and stinkin’ thinkin’ The Pygmalion effect, or Rosenthal effect, refers to the phenomenon that the greater the expectation placed upon people, often children or students, the better they perform. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4wL5t8YH1Q Teacher expectations for improving student performance include the following 4 factors: Climate factor – creating a warm, welcoming environment Input factor – engaging material is taught Response opportunity factor – student is allowed and encouraged to speak in class Feedback factor – positive reinforcement and appropriate corrections are made

Issues in Teaching and Assessing Social Skills in the Movement Setting Many terms can be used to describe and name the social skills important for children to learn (ex: Character Development, Peer Interactions, etc) The educator’s role in teaching social skills must be specified. Teacher’s role is To know what kind of behavior he or she wishes to see (observable) Affective goals To develop a plan for making certain that is the kind of behavior that occurs To model the expected behavior

Models and Strategies for Developing a Plan to Teach Social Skills Common beliefs in most of the models: Social interaction is a learnable skill Children are responsible for their own behavior Children are valued members of the learning community Children learn best through student-centered activities Adults model appropriate behavior Character Counts – charactercounts.org

Assessment of Social Skills Student self-awareness: Used to give students an opportunity to reflect on their own behavior at a certain point in time Verbally In writing (logs and journals) With checklists IEP Goals are required mandates for Students with Special Needs

Student Self-Assessment of Social Skills

Assessment of Social Skills: Classroom Behavior Observation

Models for Teaching Social Skills A number of models are based on a framework that says successful people possess resilience, as well as certain skills and perceptions about themselves These perceptions and skills are called “Significant Tools” (Glenn & Nelsen, 1989) In this context, perceptions are what a person thinks of him or herself after reflecting upon past and current experiences In this context, skills are things a person can do

Models for Teaching Social Skills “Developing Capable People” Kahan & McKnight, 1998 SEVEN SIGNIFICANT TOOLS: Three self-perceptions (what I think) I am capable I am significant I am influential Four skills (what I can do) Maintains self-identity Develops friendships Maintains flexibility and integrity Maintains a code of ethics

Individual Reflection. . . Create two lists: 1) Your skills (1 or 2 things you can “do”) 2) Your perceptions of yourself (could be related to your skills or other general characteristics . . . “I am”) Share with a small group . . .

Cognitive Bias – Social Bias Jane Elliott’s Brown Eyed Experiment she created the famous “blue-eyed/brown-eyed” exercise, first done with grade school children in the 1960s after the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Introduction by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, President of the Heroic Imagination Project and renown researcher of the Stanford Prison Experiment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8c6IWIAFUI Frontline: A Class Divided (full version) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html