Theories of Childhood ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Childhood is generally considered to be either a natural biological stage of development or a modern idea or invention. Theories of childhood are concerned with what a child is, the nature of childhood, the purpose or function of childhood, and how the notion of the child or childhood is used in society. The concept of childhood, like any invention, was forged from a potent relationship between ideas and technologies within a frame of social, political, and economic needs. Theories of childhood as a concept are often highly colored or emotive, that is to say, they deal with stark contrasts revealing the development over time of the psychological or emotional significance of childhood as viewed from the state of adulthood. Up until the 1990s, theories of childhood tended to be determined in a "top-down" approach which some have described as "imperialistic."
The pinnacle point of this essay will be to explore children’s experiences of family life and show what it is like for different types of families such as lone parents and step families. In addition, this essay will look at the ideas which shape the constructs of childhood in considering what role the family play in shaping a child’s experiences. Before childhood and the family at present can be examined, it is important to recognise when childhood was discovered and began. Before the 1600’s children were seen as miniature adults, and it is only through time and change of society that childhood has been recognised as a separate stage of life and development. The Aries thesis is studied as the discovery of childhood.
Family Dynamics and Child Development Author Institution Family dynamics refers to a particular way of living within a family, their relation to one another and how their interactions lead to development of a given behavior later on in life. Child development occurs right from the onset of birth, therefore the is need for viewing children as small adults and paying attention to the development of cognitive abilities, physical growth and use of language occurring during childhood and adolescence stage. The importance of understanding child development is crucial since it allows a person to appreciate the physical, social, emotional, cognitive and educational growth that a child goes through in order to be a mature being (Khasgiwala, 1993). Some important theories of child development are referred to as grand theories: these describe all aspects of development by use of stage approach. Others are called mini theories; these on the other hand deals on a limited aspect of development for instance social and cognitive growth.
To what extent is childhood a social construct? Social construct = a socially created aspect of life. Social constructionalists argue that human beings actively and creatively produce society. Childhood is an example of a social construct as it is not a natural or a biological state therefore being socially constructed. The understanding of children is that they are not the same everywhere and they are different from adults, how they are different, and the expectations placed on them differ depending on the society they live in.
Children are no longer children. Discuss. Childhood is generally considered to be either a natural biological stage of development or a modern idea or invention. Theories of childhood are concerned with what a child is, the nature of childhood, the purpose or function of childhood, and how the notion of the child or childhood is used in society. The concept of childhood, like any invention, was forged from a potent relationship between ideas and technologies within a frame of social, political, and economic needs.
All these institutions have a purpose. The purpose is served by individuals coming together becoming an organised group (Mike O’Donnell 1997) We as humans do not know how to behave when we are born. We learn this through a process of socialisation. Socialisation is a lifelong process in which we are always learning the most considerable part is in early childhood this is known as primary socialisation. An example of primary socialisation would be if a child grew up where prejudices were oblivious and apparent the child would then learn these prejudices as part of their norms believing their prejudices was acceptable.
When we take care of children, we are also helping the human species find the truth and understand the world. (Gopnik et al. 1999: 211) This chapter begins by looking at what elements need to be in place to ensure that children develop to their full potential and have opportunities to explore and extend all their capacities and capabilities. It will further explore the generalized impact on children’s development of social breakdown because of war and conflict – looking in detail at the developmental processes of early childhood, and noting what happens when that progress is interrupted. The major theories of play will be outlined, with the emphasis here on play not only as a necessary feature of childhood and essential component of development, but also as a means to regain ‘lost childhoods’.
Piaget, 1934 (Gross, 2000 pg.550) assumed that this structure was unique within each child and proceeded through a precise sequence or order. According to Piaget the early stages focus on what the child can see and hear, whereas the later stages involve the ability to sense in a non-figurative way about possible events that would never occur. Piaget believed that children build their own framework of moral and judgmental constructs centred on their sense of justice. Piaget began to develop his ideas
Social Learning Theory and Child Development Name: Institution: Social Learning Theory and Child Development Albert Bandura is the theorist who proposed the social learning theory, which has become one of the most significant theories of human learning and development. He believed that direct reinforcement cannot explain all categories of learning. This theory added a new component, holding that individuals can learn new behaviors, values, and information through watching other individuals. Modeling or observational learning can be utilized in explaining a range of human behavior (Akers, 2009). Bandura holds that behavior is learnt through observational learning process from the environment.
According to Piaget, morality develops with age meaning that as the child’s theory of mind develops they also develop the ability to make judgement on moral behaviour. Piaget’s theory is centred on stages on what he termed as developmental stages, but in relation to moral development he introduced new concept he termed moral orientation which he divided into two types. He called them the heteronomous and autonomous morality. During the heteronomous period a child follows set rules and they believe that these rules cannot be changed and during the autonomous period the child will start to believe that laws or rules can be changed and they will go on to set their own rules which they can follow and change them if need be (Gross, 2010. The results of the case study in Gross (2010) showed that in pro-social settings, Chinese children regard truth telling less positively and lying more positively in pro-social environment than children from Canada.