STUDY GUIDE FOR MODULE NO.

1
BASIC CONCEPTS AND ISSUES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

MODULE OVERVIEW

There is a set of principles that characterizes the pattern and process of growth
and development. These principles or characteristics describe typical development as a
predictable and orderly process; that is, we can predict how most children will develop
and that they will develop at the same rate and at about the same time as other
children. Although there are individual differences in children's personalities, activity
levels, and timing of developmental milestones, such as ages and stages, the principles
and characteristics of development are universal patterns.

Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow
over the course of childhood. Such theories center on various aspects of development
including social, emotional, and cognitive growth.

The study of human development is a rich and varied subject. We all have personal
experience with development, but it is sometimes difficult to understand how and why
people grow, learn, and act as they do.

Why do children behave in certain ways? Is their behavior related to their age,
family relationships, or individual temperaments? Developmental psychologists strive to
answer such questions as well as to understand, explain, and predict behaviors that
occur throughout the lifespan. In order to understand human development, a number of
different theories of child development have arisen to explain various aspects of human
growth.

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT MEANING, CONCEPTS AND APPROACHES

Human Development

 the pattern or movement or change that begins at conception and continues

through the life span
 includes growth and decline
 can be positive or negative

Major Principles of Human Development

1. Development is relatively orderly.

 Proximodistal Pattern - development proceeds from the center of the body

outward
 Cephalocaudal Pattern - development proceeds from the head downward

2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes of

developmental processes and rate of development are likely to vary among individuals.

3. Development takes place gradually.

4. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive

and socio-emotional processes.

Approaches of Human Development

 Traditional Perspective – believes that individuals will show extensive change
from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and decline in late old
age.
 Life-span Approach – believes that even in adulthood, developmental change
takes place as it does during childhood.

What are the Characteristics of Life-span Perspective?

Development is LIFELONG
 It does not end in adulthood. No developmental stage dominates development.
Development is MULTIDIMENSIONAL
 Development consists of biological, cognitive and socio-emotional dimensions.
Development is PLASTIC
 Development is possible throughout the lifespan.
Development is CONTEXTUAL
 Individuals are changing beings in a changing world.
Development involves GROWTH, MAINTENANCE and REGULATION
 Growth, maintenance and regulation are 3 goals of human development. The goals
of individuals vary among developmental stages.

Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice

1. All areas of development and learning are important.

2. Learning and development follow sequences
3. Early experiences have profound effects on development and learning.
4. Development and learning result from an interaction of maturation and experience.
5. Children develop best when they have secure relationships.
6. Development and learning occur in and are influence by multiple social and cultural
contexts.
7. Children learn in a variety of ways.
8. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation and promoting language,
cognition, and social competence.
9. Development and learning advance when children are challenged.
10. Children’s experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning.

THE CORE ISSUES ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Here are some of the basic questions within the realm of developmental
psychology and what
Many psychologists today believe about these issues.

Nature vs. Nurture

The debate over the relative contributions of inheritance and the environment
usually referred to as the nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest issues in both
philosophy and psychology.

Philosophers such as Plato and Descartes supported the idea that some ideas are
inborn. On the other hand, thinkers such as John Locke argued for the concept of tabula
rasa a belief that the mind is a blank slate at birth, with experience determining our
knowledge.

Today, most psychologists believe that it is an interaction between these two

forces that causes development. Some aspects of development are distinctly biological,
such as puberty. However, the onset of puberty can be affected by environmental factors
such as diet and nutrition.

Early Experience vs. Later Experience

A second important consideration in developmental psychology involves the

relative importance of early experiences versus those that occur later in life. Are we
more affected by events that occur in early childhood, or do later events play an equally
important role?

Psychoanalytic theorists tend to focus on events that occur in early childhood.

According to Freud, much of a child’s personality is completely established by the age of
five. If this is indeed the case, those who have experienced deprived or abusive
childhoods might never adjust or develop normally.
 In contrast to this view, researchers have found that the influence of childhood
events does not
Necessarily have a dominating effect over behavior throughout life, however there is
evidence that childhood adversity may correlate to greater levels of stress in adulthood.
Many people with less-than-perfect childhoods go on to develop normally into well-
adjusted adults.

Continuity vs. Discontinuity

A third major issue in developmental psychology is that of continuity. Does change
occur smoothly over time, or through a series of predetermined steps?

Some theories of development argue that changes are simply a matter of quantity;
children display more of certain skills as they grow older. Other theories outline a series
of sequential stages in which skills emerge at certain points of development.

Most theories of development fall under three broad areas:

1. Psychoanalytic theories
 are those influenced by the work of Sigmund Freud, who believed in the
Importance of the unconscious mind and childhood experiences. Freud’s contribution to
developmental theory was his proposal that development occurs through a series of
psychosexual stages.

Theorist Erik Erikson expanded upon Freud’s ideas by proposing a stage theory of
psychosocial
Development. Erikson’s theory focused on conflicts that arise at different stages of
development and, unlike Freud’s theory, Erikson described development throughout the
lifespan.

2. Learning theories
 focus on how the environment impacts behavior. Important learning
processes include classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and social
learning. In each case, behavior is shaped by the interaction between the
individual and the environment.

3. Cognitive theories
 focus on the development of mental processes, skills, and abilities. Examples
of cognitive theories include Piaget’s theory of cognitive development.

Abnormal Behavior vs. Individual Differences

One of the biggest concerns of many parents is whether or not their child is
developing normally. Developmental milestones offer guidelines for the ages at which
certain skills and abilities typically emerge, but can create concern when a child falls
slightly behind the norm. While developmental theories have historically focused upon
deficits in behavior, focus on individual differences in development is becoming more
common.

Psychoanalytic theories are traditionally focused upon abnormal behavior, so

developmental theories in this area tend to describe deficits in behavior. Learning
theories rely more on the environment’s unique impact on an individual, so individual
differences are an important component of these theories. Today, psychologists look at
both norms and individual differences when describing child development.

RESEARCH IN CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT

Principles of Research
Teachers as Consumers/End Users
 Involves decisions related to educational policies, curriculum, effective teaching-
learning processes, and even those involving research.

“Research is to see what everybody else has seen and to think what nobody else
has thought.”
- Albert Szent-Gyorgi, Hungarian Biochemist

Teachers as Researchers
 Conducts of research does not only belong to thesis dissertation writers. It is for
students and teachers too.
The Scientific Method
 One important principle of research is adherence to the scientific method, since
research is a systematic and logical process.

5 Steps of the Scientific Method. (John Dewey)

1. Identify and define the problem

2. Determine the hypothesis
3. Collect and analyze data
4. Formulate conclusions
5. Apply conclusions to the original hypothesis

Research Design
 Researches that are done with high level of quality and integrity provide us with
valuable information about child and adolescent development.

RESEARCH DESCRIPTION STRENGTHS WEAKNESS

DESIGN

1. CASE STUDY An in-depth look at It provides Need to exercise

an individual. information about caution when
an individual's generalizing from
fears, fantasies, the information; the
traumatic subject of a case
experiences, study is unique,
upbringing, family with a genetic
relationship, health, make-up and
and anything that experiences no one
helps a psychologist else shares;
understand that involves judgments
person's of unknown
development reliability, in that
(Santrock,2002) usually no check is
made to see if other
psychologists agree
with other
observation
(Santrock 2002)
A research design Useful because the
2. CORRELATION that determines more strongly two Because to exercise
AL STUDIES associations events are the correlation
corrected, the more research does not
we can predict one involve the
from the other. manipulation of
factors, it is not a
dependable way to
isolate cause
(Kantowitz et Al
2001, cited by
Santrock, 2002.)
A research design The only true Experimental
3. EXPERIMENTA that determines reliable method of research is limited
L cause-and- effect establishing cause to what is
relationships. The and effect. observable, testable
experimental and manipulable.
method involves
manipulating one Failure to achieve
variable cause randomization may
changes in another limit the extent to
variable. The which the study
method relies on sample is
controlled representative of
methods,random the parent
assignment and the population and, with
manipulation of it, generalizability of
variables to test a the findings of the
hypothesis. study.

Experimentation
with humans is a
subject to a number
of external
influences that may
dilute the study
results ( Donnan,
2000)

A further limitation
of experimental
research is that
subjects may
change their
behaviour or
respond in a
specific manner
simply because of
awareness of being
observed
Hawthorne effect
( Haughey 1994,
Clifford 1997)
4. NATURALISTIC A research design One of the
The disadvantages
OBSERVATION focuses on advantages of this of naturalistic
children's type of research isobservation include
experiences in that it allows the the fact that it can
natural settings. research to directly
be difficult to
observe the subjectdetermine the exact
This does not in a natural setting.
cause of a behavior
involve any and the
intervention or experimenter
manipulation on the cannot outside
part of the variables.
researcher. This
technique observing
involves subjects in
their natural
environment. This
type of research in
often utilized in
situation where
conducting lab
research is
unrealistic, cost-
prohibitive or would
affect the unduly
subject's behavior.
5. LONGITUDINA This research Allows them to They are expensive
 L studies and design record and monitor and time-
follows through a developmental consuming.
single group over a trends.
period of time. The The longer the
same individuals study lasts, the
more subjects drop
out- they move, get
sick,lose
interest,etc.
Subjects can bias
the outcome of a
study, because
those who remain
may be dissimilar to
those who drop out.
6. CROSS- A research strategy Allows them to It gives no
SECTIONAL in which individuals record and monitor Information about
of different ages are developmental how individuals
compared at one trends. The change or about the
time. researcher does not stability of their
have to wait for the characteristics
individuals to grow ( Santrock,2002)
up or become older.
7. SEQUENTIAL This is the It provides It Is complex,
combined cross- Information obtain expensive and time
sectional and from cross-sectional consuming.
longitudinal or longitudinal
approaches to learn approaches.
about lifespan
development.
(Schaie 1993 cited
by Santrock 2002)
8. ACTION Action research is a Appropriate in Typically take place
RESEARCH reflective process particular setting in one organization
progressive when the purpose only at a particular
problem- solving led of study is to “to time and could not
by individuals create changes and be interpreted
working with others gain information on within different
in teams or as part processes and organizations in the
of a community of outcome of the same way.
practice" to improve strategies used” Therefore, research
the way they (Hunt 1987) findings are hard to
address issues and generalize.
solve problems.

In the context of
teaching, action
researches of
teachers stem from
their own questions
about and
reflections on their
everyday classroom
practice.

DATA – GATHERING TECHNIQUE DEFINITION/ DESCRIPTION

1. Observation Observations can be made in either

laboratories or materialistic settings. In
naturalistic observation, behavior is
observed in the real world like
classrooms, home in neighborhood.
2. Physiological Measures Certain indicators of children’s
development such as, among others,
heart rate, hormonal levels, bone growth,
 both weight, and brain activity are
measured.
3. Standardized Tests These are prepared tests that assess
individuals performance in different
domains. These tests are administered in
a consistent manner.
4. Interviews and Questionnaires - Involves asking the participants to
provide
information about themselves based on
the interview or questionnaire given by
the researchers.

- Gathering of data may be conducted

through a printed questionnaire, over the
telephone, by mail, in person, or on-line.

-Information is obtained by utilizing

standardized procedures so that every
participant is asked the same questions
in the same manner. It entails asking
participants for information in some
structured format.
5. Life- History Records These are records of information about a
lifetime chronology of events and
activities. They often involve a
combination of data records on
education, work, family, and residence.
These include public records or historical
documents or interviews with
respondent.

Ethical Principles

 Ethical principles provide a generalized framework within which particular ethical

dilemmas may be analyzed.

Details of these ethical principles are found in documents:

1. Ethical standards of the American Educational Research Association
2. Ethical Standards for Research with Children – Society for Research in Child
Development
3. Standards of the American Psychological Association Concerning Research

The following consideration for researches conducted with young children and other
vulnerable population National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Some key points are:

1. Research procedures must never harm children, physically or psychologically.
2. Children and their families have the right to full information about the research in
which they may participate, including possible risks and benefits. Their decision to
participate must be based on what is called “informed consent”.
3. Children’s questions about the research should be answered in a truthful manner and
in ways that children can understand.
4. There should be respect for privacy. Information obtained through research with
children should remain confidential.

Impact of Teachers’ Research Involvement on Teachers

1. Teachers who have been involved in research may become more reflective, more
critical and analytical in their teaching, and more open and committed to professional
development (Oja & Pine 1989; Herson 1996; Keyes 2000; Rust 2007).
2. Participating in teacher research also helps teachers become more deliberate in their
decision-making and actions in the classroom.
3. Teacher research develops the professional dispositions of lifelong learning, reflective
and mindful teaching, and self-transformation (Mills 2000; Stringer 2007).
4. Engaging in teaching research at any level may lead to rethinking and reconstructing
what it means to be a teacher or teacher educator and, consequently, the way teachers
relate to children and students.
5. Teacher research has the potential to demonstrate to teachers and prospective
teachers that learning to teach is inherently connected to learning to inquire (Borko,
Liston and Whitcomb 2007).

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

Theories of development provide a framework for thinking about human growth

and learning. But why do we study development? What can we learn from psychological
theories of development? If you have ever wondered about what motivates human
thought and behavior, understanding these theories can provide useful insight into
individuals and society.

Child development that occurs from birth to adulthood was largely ignored
throughout much of human history. Children were often viewed simply as small versions
of adults and little attention was paid to the many advances in cognitive abilities,
language usage, and physical growth that occur during childhood and adolescence.

Interest in the field of child development finally began to emerge early in the 20 th
century, but it tended to focus on abnormal behavior. Eventually, researchers became
increasingly interested in other topics including typical child development as well as the
influences on development.

Why is it important to study how children grow, learn and change? An

understanding of child development is essential because it allows us to fully appreciate
the cognitive, emotional, physical, social, and educational growth that children go
through from birth and into early adulthood.

Some of the major theories of child development are known as grand theories;
they attempt to describe every aspect of development, often using a stage approach.
Others are known as mini-theories; they instead focus only on a fairly limited aspect of
development such as cognitive or social growth.

There are many child development theories that have been proposed by theorists
and researchers. More recent theories outline the developmental stages of children and
identify the typical ages at which these growth milestones occur.

Freud’s Psychosexual Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory originated with the work of Sigmund Freud. Through his
clinical work with patients suffering from mental illness, Freud came to believe that
childhood experiences and unconscious desires influenced behavior.

According to Freud, conflicts that occur during each of these stages can have a
lifelong influence on personality and behavior. Freud proposed one of the best-known
grand theories of child development.

According to Freud’s psychosexual theory, child development occurs in a series of

stages focused on different pleasure areas of the body. During each stage, the child
encounters conflicts that play a significant role in the course of development.
 His theory suggested that the energy of the libido was focused on different
erogenous zones at specific stages. Failure to progress through a stage can result in
fixation at that point in development, which Freud believed could have an influence on
adult behavior.

So what happens as children complete each stage? And what might result if a child
does poorly during a particular point in development? Successfully completing each
stage leads to the development of a healthy adult personality.

Failing to resolve the conflicts of a particular stage can result in fixations that can
then have an influence on adult behavior.

While some other child development theories suggest that personality continues to
change and grow over the entire lifetime, Freud believed that it was early experiences
that played the greatest role in shaping development. According to Freud, personality is
largely set in stone by the age of five.

Erikson’s Psychosocial Developmental Theory

Psychoanalytic theory was an enormously influential force during the first half of the
twentieth century. Those inspired and influenced by Freud went on to expand upon
Freud’s ideas and develop theories of their own. Of these neo-Freudians, Erik Erikson’s
ideas have become perhaps the best known.

Erikson’s eight-stage theory of psychosocial development describes growth and change

throughout life, focusing on social interaction and conflicts that arise during different
stages of development.

While Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development shared some similarities with

Freud’s, it is dramatically different in many ways. Rather than focusing on sexual interest
as a driving force in development,
Erikson believed that social interaction and experience played decisive roles.

His eight-stage theory of human development described this process from infancy
through death. During each stage, people are faced with a developmental conflict that
impacts later functioning and further growth. Unlike many other developmental theories,
Erik Erikson’s psychosocial theory focuses on development across the entire lifespan. At
each stage, children and adults face a developmental crisis that serves as a major
turning point.
Successfully managing the challenges of each stage leads to the emergence of a lifelong
psychological virtue.

Behavioral Child Development Theories

During the first half of the twentieth century, a new school of thought known as
behaviorism rose to become a dominant force within psychology. Behaviorists believed
that psychology needed to focus only on observable and quantifiable behaviors in order
to become a more scientific discipline.

According to the behavioral perspective, all human behavior can be described in terms of
environmental influences. Some behaviorists, such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner,
insisted that learning occurs purely through processes of association and reinforcement.

Behavioral theories of child development focus on how environmental interaction

influences behavior and is based on the theories of theorists such as John B. Watson,
Ivan Pavlov, and B. F. Skinner. These theories deal only with observable behaviors.
Development is considered a reaction to rewards, punishments, stimuli, and
reinforcement.
This theory differs considerably from other child development theories because it gives
no consideration to internal thoughts or feelings. Instead, it focuses purely on how
experience shapes who we are.

Two important types of learning that emerged from this approach to development are
classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning
by pairing a naturally occurring stimulus with a previously neutral stimulus. Operant
conditioning utilizes reinforcement and punishment to modify behaviors.

Piaget’s Cognitive Developmental Theory

Cognitive theory is concerned with the development of a person’s thought processes. It

also looks at how these thought processes influence how we understand and interact
with the world.

Theorist Jean Piaget proposed one of the most influential theories of cognitive
development.

Piaget proposed an idea that seems obvious now, but helped revolutionize how we think
about child development: Children think differently than adults.

His cognitive theory seeks to describe and explain the development of thought processes
and mental states. It also looks at how these thought processes influence the way we
understand and interact with the world.

Piaget then proposed a theory of cognitive development to account for the steps and
sequence of children’s intellectual development.

 Sensorimotor Stage: A period of time between birth and age two during which
an infant’s knowledge of the world is limited to his or her sensory perceptions and
motor activities. Behaviors are limited to simple motor responses caused by
sensory stimuli.

 Pre-Operational Stage: A period between ages 2 and 6 during which a child

learns to use language. During this stage, children do not yet understand concrete
logic, cannot mentally manipulate information and are unable to take the point of
view of other people.

 Concrete Operational Stage: A period between ages 7 and 11 during which

children gain a better understanding of mental operations. Children begin thinking
logically about concrete events but have difficulty understanding abstract or
hypothetical concepts.

 Formal Operational Stage: A period between age 12 to adulthood when people

develop the ability to think about abstract concepts. Skills such as logical thought,
deductive reasoning, and systematic planning also emerge during this stage.

Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

There is a great deal of research on the social development of children. John Bowbly
proposed one of the earliest theories of social development. Bowlby believed that early
relationships with caregivers play a major role in child development and continue to
influence social relationships throughout life.

Bowlby’s attachment theory suggested that children are born with an innate need to
form attachments. Such attachments aid in survival by ensuring that the child receives
care and protection. Not only that, but these attachments are characterized by clear
behavioral and motivational patterns.

In other words, both children and caregivers engage in behaviors designed to ensure
proximity. Children strive to stay close and connected to their caregivers who in turn
provide a safe haven and a secure base for exploration.

Researchers have also expanded upon Bowlby’s original work and have suggested that a
number of different attachment styles exist. Children who receive consistent support and
care are more likely to develop a secure attachment style, while those who receive less
reliable care may develop an ambivalent, avoidant, or disorganized style.

Bandura’s Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory is based on the work of psychologist Albert Bandura. Bandura
believed that the conditioning and reinforcement process could not sufficiently explain all
of human learning.

For example, how can the conditioning process account for learned behaviors that have
not been reinforced through classical conditioning or operant conditioning. According to
social learning theory, behaviors can also be learned through observation and modeling.

By observing the actions of others, including parents and peers, children develop new
skills and acquire
new information.

Bandura’s child development theory suggests that observation plays a critical role in
learning, but this observation does not necessarily need to take the form of watching a
live model.

Instead, people can also learn by listening to verbal instructions about how to perform a
behavior as well as through observing either real or fictional characters displaying
behaviors in books or films.

Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory

Another psychologist named Lev Vygotsky proposed a seminal learning theory that has
gone on to become very influential, especially in the field of education. Like Piaget,
Vygotsky believed that children learn actively and through hands-on experiences.

His sociocultural theory also suggested that parents, caregivers, peers and the culture at
large were responsible for developing higher-order functions. In Vygotsky’s view, learning
is an inherently social process. Through interacting with others, learning becomes
integrated into an individual’s understanding of the world.This child development theory
also introduced the concept of the zone of proximal development, which is the gap
between a person can do with help and what they can do on her own. It is with the help
of more knowledgeable of others that people are able to progressively learn and increase
their skills and scope of understanding.