1. Making a Difference in the Lives of Children and Adolescents
Chapter 1

2. Chapter Outline The field of child development
Basic issues in development
Theories of child development
Developmental periods
From theory to practice

3. The Field of Child Development
Goal: to identify and explain persistent, cumulative, & progressive changes in physical, cognitive, & social-emotional development of children & adolescents
Three key factors
Nature – genetics
Nurture – environment
The child’s own activity – choices and efforts

4. Three Developmental Domains
Physical
genetics
prenatal growth & birth process
body/brain changes & motor skills
health-promoting behaviors
Cognitive
concepts, language, memory, reasoning
Social/Emotional
emotions, self-concept, motivation, social relationships, moral reasoning & behavior

5. Nature and Nurture
Nature: inherited (genetic) characteristics & tendencies
Nurture: environmental conditions
Separate and combined effects
relative effects vary for different areas of development
inherited tendencies affect responsiveness to environment
extreme environments may play greater role in development
timing of environmental exposure matters
children’s natural tendencies affect their environments

6. Universality and Diversity
Universality – commonalities seen in all individuals
Diversity – different individuals progress in different ways

7. Change
Qualitative – dramatic change in essence or underlying structure
stage theories (Piaget, Erikson)
hierarchical
often universal
Quantitative – gradual progression with many small additions and modifications

8. Basic Lessons Remember both nature and nurture
Familiarize yourself with developmental trends & common variations
Look for both qualitative & quantitative change

9. Theories of Child Development
Biological
Behaviorism and social learning
Psychodynamic
Cognitive-developmental
Cognitive process
Sociocultural
Developmental systems

10. Biological Theories Emphasize bodily maturation & motor abilities
Historically, overlooked effects of experience
Darwin, Montessori, Lorenz, Bowlby
Key principles:
maturational levels impose limits on abilities & interests
physical abilities serve valuable functions

11. Behaviorist & Social Learning Theories
Behaviorism: visible, external behaviors & environmental influences
Skinner, Pavlov
Social learning: beliefs and goals
Bandura

12. Psychodynamic Theories
Interaction between internal conflicts & environment
Role of early experience
Social/personality, abnormal development
Freud, Erikson

13. Cognitive-Developmental Theories
Qualitative changes in thinking processes
Children play an active role
Piaget, Kohlberg, Flavell

14. Cognitive Process Theories
Detailed analyses of what children think and do
Siegler

15. Sociocultural Theory Impact of social and cultural systems
“process of children becoming full adult participants in the society into which they are born”
Vygotsky, Greenfield, Gauvain

16. Developmental Systems Theory
Dynamic relation among systems
child’s body
physical environment
multiple, interconnected social systems
Bronfenbrenner, Thelen

17. Developmental Periods
Infancy (birth to 2 years)
Early childhood (2–6 years)
Middle childhood (6–10 years)
Early adolescence (10–14 years)
Late adolescence (14–18 years)

18. Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Instruction & services adapted to age, characteristics, & developmental progress of individual children
children as active learners
adult-level functioning is not always realistic or valuable for children to model
children should work together with ethics and democracy

19. Preparing for Developmentally Appropriate Practices
Look for & capitalize on children’s strengths
Recognize that immaturity serves a purpose
Meet diverse needs
Nudge children toward advanced thinking & behaving

20. Strengthening the Commitment
Maintain awareness of current research findings through continued coursework
Work with colleagues & professionals to share concerns & gain new perspectives
Join organizations & subscribe to professional journals

21. Take-Home Messages Developmental change is studied
in several domains
in several developmental periods
Patterns of change can vary
Many theoretical frameworks provide explanations for change
Teachers and practitioners should commit to developmentally appropriate practices