Child Development CLDDV 104

Conception Through Early Childhood

Outline for First Class

Introductions/Attendance Review Syllabus Classroom Policies Classroom Exercise Begin Lesson, Chapter 1 Review

Introductions
Name First Class? Second Class? Last Class? Recall a specific event rather than a general behavior when you were a small child.

Purpose for taking this class.

Social or Behavior Science Education Nursing Understanding own children Foster Parent Contd Educational Credits Requirement Other

Human Development
Definition: The study of people, all kinds of people and why they change or remain the same over time.

Crucial Elements of Human Development

Empirical Science

Change

All Groups of People

Empirical Science
Based on Data Based on Experiences/Observat ions Based on Actual Facts Ex. Drunk Driving, Seatbelts, Second Hand Smoke

All Groups of People

Young or old Rich or poor Different Ethnic Groups Different Cultures

Change
Continuity: stable over time (unchanging) Example-biological sex Discontinuity: changes unlike before (changing) Example-Brain Development (Psychologist Ross Thompson by far the most complex structure in the known universe

Life Span Approach to Development

According to developmentalists, Baltes, Smith & Bates and Staudinger & Lindenberger, the understanding of any age group evolves around five principles of development.
Plasticity Multidirectional

Multidisciplinary

Multicontextual

Multicultural

Multidirectional
Any direction or path. Consistency is very rare and developmentalist have learned that human development is not linear. (Refer to figure 1.1, p. 7)

Multidirectional
Edward Lorenz, weather expert, in 1972 described what happens when change is influenced by a significant power source the Butter Fly Effect Butter Fly Effect: Idea that a small event or thing can have a large impact if it happens to tip the balance, causing other changes that create a major event. Examples ?

Multidirectional
Opposite of the Butter Fly Effect. Large event that has a small or insignificant impact. For example, Ragnhild Dybdahl (2001) studied preschoolers who had experienced fleeing from their homes with their mothers during war time. Despite the tragedy of war the bond between mother and child helped them cope and no significant change in behavior, socially or emotionally was observed. What about Hurricane Katrina?

Multicontextual
Consider how different backgrounds may influence our development. Physical Surroundings and Family Situations. Social Contexts: Historical and Socioeconomic

Multicontextual
Historical Context: Events that happened during a specific time with a group of people that lived in that era. This group of people would be called a cohort.

Multicontextual: Cohorts
Do you know of any important events that occurred at the time of your birth? What important events do you remember as having affected you and your classmates during your school years( for example, assassinations, wars, natural disasters) ? Describe, if you can, how these events influenced your development. When you were in the 6th grade, what attitude did most of the people you knew have toward the following? A. mothers who worked outside the home B. Fathers roles in child rearing C. Senior Citizens D. People of other ethnic groups E. Children with Disabilities F. Birth Control

Multicontextual-Socioeconomic
The second context that is studied and observed in numerous articles and research is socioeconomic status (SES). SES is a classification system to identify poor, middle class and the rich according to income, educational level, occupation, and other factors. Many programs offered to families with young children have qualifying criteria in order to receive services. For example, the Parent Child Home Program (PCHP) main priority is the SES disadvantage families living in low performance school areas. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study of 1962 by David Weikert studied children living in poverty while attending a high quality preschool program.

Multicultural
Definition: Belonging to different groups that share the same values, experiences or customs. College Community Age groups Neighborhood People with Disabilities Ethnic Groups

Multidisciplinary
Human development occurs through many different domains or categories. These different domains or disciplines of development which interrelate in order to produce cause and effect are:
Biosocial = brain and body Cognitive = thought processes, perceptual abilities, language Psychosocial = emotions, personality, interpersonal relationships What task or skill is learned by using the domains listed above and how?

Multidisciplinary

Berger. The Developing Person through childhood adolescence,7th edition, chapter one

Multidisciplinary
It is essential to include all the domains when learning how ones development. As educators, parents, professionals, nurses and human beings we must consider the whole person. We are diverse in culture, contexts, and are ever changing based on our environment and internal experiences.

Multidisciplinary
Child Psychopathology (disorders of the mind. For Example: Autism, Depression, Phobias (fear) and Anxiety. These disorders tend to be inherited traits of environment or family members.

Autism
According to the California Department Developmental Services: Autism is a disorder that severely impairs development of a persons ability to communicate, interact with other people, and maintain normal contact with the outside world. The disorder was first described in 1943 by American psychiatrist Leo Kanner. One of the most common developmental disabilities, autism affects approximately 1 in 500 to 1 in 166 children and appears before the age of three. It is about four times more common in males than in females. Research has shown a direct correlation between these disorders and the part of the brain that controls emotions, feelings and non-verbal communication. The Amgydala appears typical in most brain scans but with a special 3-D scan it is flatter.

Plasticity
Development can be shaped or changed while still maintaining ones identity, culture and upbringing. For example, a child with Down Syndrome may be more independent and confident in a household where they are:
treated the same as their siblings that dont have down syndrome. Parents encourage responsibility Parents dont use labels. Siblings allow the child to accomplish tasks without help. Neighborhood treats the child the same as all the rest.

The Life Span Approach to Development

This leads us to understand and appreciate that no one is exactly the same as his or her cohort, SES or culture. Complexity within these approaches exists. Examples:
Neighborhood (Collective) Efficacy
Residents of a particular area show concern and care for their hood environment as well as each other.
It takes a village to raise a child. African Proverb

Resiliency
Ability to overcome severe threats to development

Developmental Study as a Science

Scientific method: a general way to seek evidence to answer a question
Formulate a research question Develop a hypothesis Test the hypothesis Draw conclusions Make findings available

Scientific Observation
Observation: systematically observe and record behavior in an objective manner.
Can be laboratory or naturalistic Example: A study on childhood obesity found that only 5% of kids got physical exercise by walking or riding their bikes to school.

Experiment
Research method to establish cause-and effect
by manipulating one variable (independent v.) and then observing and recording the resulting changes in the other variable (dependent v.).

Experimental group: is given a particular treatment Control group: does not get the treatment Read example in text about experiment on activity and obesity (p. 19).

Experiment contd

Other Methods
Survey: questionnaire by phone, person or email in order to obtain data. Case Study: intensive analysis of one individual at a time.

Studying Changes Over Time

Design a study to answer the question: How much does reading comprehension improve between 4 and 6 years of age?

Measuring change over time

Cross-sectional: Differ in age but similar characteristics Longitutidinal: Same indviduals over time, assessing over and over again Cross-sequential: combination of studying groups of people who are different ages over the years.

Ecological System Approach

Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Model According to developmental researcher Urie Bronfenbrenner, each person is significantly affected by interactions among a number of overlapping systems. Microsystems intimately and immediately shape human development. The primary microsystems for children include the family, peer group, classroom, neighborhood, and sometimes a church, temple, or mosque. Mesosystems refer to interactions among the microsystems, as when parents coordinate their efforts with teachers to educate the child. Surrounding and supporting the microsystems are the exosystems, which include all the external exosystems, networks, such as community structures and local educational, medical, employment, and communications systems, that influence the microsystems. Influencing all three of these systems is the macrosystem, which includes cultural values, macrosystem, political philosophies, economic patterns, and social conditions. Bronfenbrenner has recently added a fifth system, the chronosystem, to emphasize the importance of chronosystem, historical time. Together, these systems provide the context of human development.

Cautions from Science

Correlation vs. Causation A correlation indicates the degree of relationship between two variables. Positive correlation: the variables increase or decrease together.
Example: The more hours you work, the more money you will be paid.

Correlation contd.
Negative correlation: as one variable increases, the other decreases.
Example: The more clothes you buy, the less money you will have in your checking account.

Correlations range from 0 to +/- 1.00 CORRELATION IS NOT CAUSATION

Quantity and Quality

Quantitative: easily summarized, compared, charted and expressed in numbers or rank. Qualitative: Open ended, not easily transferable into numbers particular conditions. A question that makes you say, HMMMMM?
Is the College admission process based on quantity or quality?

Ethics
Principles that members of a profession are expected to follow. General principles
Do no harm Secure informed consent Keep information of participants confidential Report research findings honestly and carefully Base generalizations on more than one study

Prepare the Child for the Path not the path for the child