Identity can be seen superficially as a name or a date of birth of an individual, a sense of formally providing evidence of who you are. When you think about identity more broadly it becomes a more complicated question to answer. Identity therefore can be seen as a collection of life experiences which stem most significantly from our early life experiences as children. These can continue to influence what we do what values and beliefs we hold through our lives. When thinking of factors that influence an individual’s identity there can be many such as parents or carers the individuals race, nationality, cultural and religious beliefs make us who we are and what’s important to us.
I will be looking at the causes of discrimination and the effects on children’s identity. I will concentrate mainly on gender and cultural inequalities. I will be researching the concept that children are naturally more accepting of difference than adults, whose prejudices have had more time to develop. Also the effects of lateral thinking which may possibly help children to use more accurate vehicles of thought and judge situations with a more open mind. I will start by researching equality concepts, international/ national legislation and its application in the childcare setting.
“Discuss the extent to which gender schema theory can account for gender development” (24 marks) Gender Schema theory explores the theory that through an organised set of beliefs and attitudes (schemas) stored in the memory out behaviours concerning our gender stem from these beliefs. Gender schema theory suggests that we develop these beliefs and views about what is appropriate and inappropriate behaviour from our interactions and observations with others and the outside world. it is theorised that we begin to develop these schemas from age 2 and after our basic gender identity is established we begin to focus on schemas that match out own in group gender identity and avoid those that do not. Gender schemas are the foundation for what we perceive to be acceptable and unacceptable behaviours and roles in society regarding our gender. These schemas are subject to change and as a child develops and matures cognitively these schemas become more flexible.
Developmental Profile Early to middle childhood development is defined as principles, facts, and concepts that describe, explain, and account for involved processed in a child’s change from immaturity to a maturity status and function (Katz, 1996, p. 137). The three main categories that development is divided into are physical, cognitive, and social and emotional development (Berk, 2000). Changes from the way a child grow, move, and perceive their environment is physical development. Children use memory, language, and problem solving to acquire knowledge, and these are the mental processes of cognitive development. How children understand their feelings and handle relationships with other is addressed through emotional and social development.
March 9, 2010 The purposes of observations have become the most dominant method for learning children’s development as they are young. It requires a much more focus on the child’s behaviors, observation allows the teacher to get to know the child as a unique individual, rather than as a member of a group. Young children need to have models from a teacher in order to understand appropriate behaviors when being observed. Learning the importance of observations important, as is developing the skills of how to observe. Observation can be used for three major purposes: (1) to understand children’s behavior, (2) to evaluate children’s development, and (3) to evaluate learning progress.
Young Adult Identities and Their Pathways: A Developmental and Life Course Model In this article we review several studies on how young adults identify themselves in modern world and how our society and their own experiences shape their adulthood. It focuses on the variations between gender, socioeconomic status, and race-ethnicity, psychological adjustment, and family. Several studies have shown that developmental model of a young adult’s identity can be divided in two strands: sociological and psychosocial. In order to see the whole picture of a young adult’s identity and fully understand how the transformation to adulthood happens, we need to bring the two processes together. In the first process young adults’ identity is shaped by the social norms which dictate what is appropriate or not for a certain age, and what does society expects from and individual.
Multicultural Theme Unit Children are mindful of differences in color, language, gender, and physical ability at a very young age. Various research studies about the process of identity and attitude development determine that children learn by observing the differences and similarities among people and by taking in the spoken and unspoken messages about those differences. The biases and negative stereotypes about different aspects of human diversity established in our society undercut all children's healthy development and ill-equip them to interact effectively with many people in the world. Subsequently, anti-bias curriculum seeks to foster the development of every child's fullest potential by actively addressing issues of diversity and fairness in the classroom. Certain curriculum goals of anti-bias curriculum are to foster each child's: *building of a well-informed, confident self-identity; *comfortable, empathic interaction with people from diverse backgrounds; *critical thinking about bias; * capability to stand up for themselves and for others in the face of unfairness.
The word gender has been used to refer cognitive and social differences between males and females and sex refers to biological and physical differences. The process in which children acquire the values, motives and behaviors viewed as appropriate for males or females is referred to as gender typing. Children begin by developing gender based beliefs about what behaviors are appropriate, these beliefs are derived largely from gender stereotypes which are beliefs that members of entire culture hold about the attitudes and behaviors acceptable and appropriate for each sex they say the way male and female should act and should be. Gender roles are composites of distinctive behaviors that males and females in a culture actually exhibit and thus are essentially the reflections of a culture’s gender stereotypes, Gender identity is also developed early in life a perception of themselves as either masculine or feminine and having the characteristics and interest that are appropriate to their gender. There are few gender differences in aggression in infancy, boys are more likely than girls to investigate and be involved in aggressive incidents by the time they were toddlers.
Rachel Rosenfeld Intro to Sociology Professor Miller Children should have the opportunity to play with a large variety of toys of all types. Although, there are different characteristics between boys and girls and it is important for their parents to treat them as individuals, they should provide equal options and choices for them. From the day babies are brought home and cradled in their pink or blue blankets, implications have been made of how they are suppose to behave, either feminine or masculine . However, why does color preference draw generalizations about identity? Young children are interested in playing with many of the same things and not just gender specific toys.
Gender, a social construct, is predominant from the moment a child is born, whether it is from parental influence, the media, clothing, or even children’s toys. These influences can affect the way a child learns how to “do gender”. The various toys, such as Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe action figures, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Bratz Dolls, Power Rangers and most action figures that companies market to children of different genders reinforce stereotypical gender norms and perpetuate conventional gender roles. Parents should be conscientious when choosing their children’s toys because some toys can shape the overall learned gender norms of those children.