Theories of Development

In the early 20th-century, interest in the field of child development emerged. Researchers and theorists studied the ways in which children grew, learned, and, in some instances, were shaped by societal influences (Weiland, 1993). The study of child development enables us to appreciate and understand the social, emotional, physical, educational, and cognitive growth that children go through from birth to early adulthood. Grand theories attempt to organize and arrange concepts and aspects of development using a step approach. Such as that of Erik Erikson’s theory, the Psychosocial Identity Development theory, in which he addresses the development of personal, emotional, and social progression in an individual through stages (Pretorius et al., 2015). Erikson’s model for the approach of development involves the focus of overcoming conflicts that individuals encounter over the span of their childhood that influence their ego identity, or the conscious sense of self that develops and constantly changes due to new experiences and information that is acquired through daily interactions with others and events. In Erikson’s theory, he believed that each person experienced a conflict that served as a defining moment in their development that essentially shaped who they would become later on in life; he believed that unresolved problems of adult life echoed unresolved conflicts of one’s childhood (Berger, 2011).

Theories of development and frameworks to support development are massively important to those working with children. They help us to comprehend children and understand how they react to different situations which affect their behaviour and in turn the way they learn. Theories and ways of working with children have merged to provide frameworks for children’s care, for example the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). This tries to ensure everyone works together, along the same lines. Some of the theorists and their theories have had a huge influence on current practice.

There are many different theories of development that help us to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and ways of learning. All equally important as they influence practice. To begin with there is Piaget’s constructivist theories which look at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they are active learners. He also suggested that as children develop so does their thinking. Piaget’s work has influenced early years settings into providing more hands on and relevant tasks for children and young people. In other words the children are ‘learning through play’. Teachers are working out the needs of children and plan activities accordingly.

Group B – saw the adult behaving aggressively towards the doll and then rewarded by sweets from another adult.

In this essay, I will be discussing the nature-nurture issue as well as the continuity-discontinuity issue. I will also briefly explain this concept towards fives specific theories of development. The fives theories are, Psychoanalytic Theories, Cognitive Theories, Behavioral and Social Cognitive Theories, Ethological Theory, and Ecological Theory.

There are many theorists that influence the way practitioners teach children in nursery settings as they all have different theories about how children learn best and develop. On of the theorists is Sigmund Freud. Freud suggested that personalities are made up of three parts. These three parts are the id, the ego, and the superego. All of these will develop when the child grows and will be controlled by what happens in the child’s life and the experiences that they have. Sigmund Freud focused on the id which is the instinctive part of our personality and the superego which is the conscience, this develops later in the childhood of the child.

9. A blend of autonomy, shame, and doubt give rise to ________, the knowledge that, within limits, a youngster can act on his/her world with intentionality.

Produce a report to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of different theorist of development. This report should identify how these theorists have influenced current practice.

This paper has presented an argument on how a child’s development is strongly influenced by environmental and cultural influences as well as parenting styles and education. Children begin to learn and experiment with social skills at school, allowing them to learn and understand social skills necessary for later life in life. Children who receive schooling at an early age perform better later in academics. I hope that by teaching in the ways that I described will help me accomplish this. I want my classroom of students to be excited to come to my class everyday to learn something that I hope will impact them for the rest of their lives. I want my classroom to be a very caring environment. I want my students to feel important and smart and to influence them to be the best that they can be. Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from

There is a plethora of child development theories that have a degree of influence over current practice. Each of which both have criticism and contrasting theories.

There are many different theories of development which we use to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and the way in which they learn.

A. Individuals suffer from great distress if what they did was not consider “perfect” for them B. The individual is highly competitive, yet has a low self-esteem

Theorists have studied people looking for answers to explain, how, why, what we are. “Briefly, the study of human development is how and why people change over time” (Berger, 1994, p. 4). Developmental scientists study development in six domains of human development: physical; cognitive; social; language; emotional and spiritual development.

Terrie Moffitt is a clinical psychologist that studied genetic and environmental risk. She determined how those two items work hand in hand in order to influence abnormal behavior and psychiatric disorders. Moffitt’s theory of development offered the suggestion that youth who are at a higher risk, are categorized into two different groups. These two groups are defined as 1) the adolescents, who are associated with the limited group and 2) the adolescents that are associated with the life-course-persistent group.

Understanding human development is considered the key towards maximizing the potentials of every student in the classroom. Developments in various fields, such anthropology, psychology, and biology have contributed largely to reinventing education in the last century. Research is given a central role in shaping “children’s education and experiences in schools” (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010, p. 4). The advances in related fields and the increasing support from research have prompted educators to be reflective and evaluative about pedagogy and curriculum in an effort to ensure that the best learning environment is provided. In short, teachers now have