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KAGUMO TEACHERS’ TRAINING COLLEGE
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
UNIT: PSYCHOLOGY OF HUMAN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
BY: J.THEURI
DURATION: 2 TERMS
COURSE OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
- Definition of Psychology, human growth, development, maturation, Educational Psychology,
- Branches of Psychology
- Principles of human growth and development
- Importance of educational psychology to teachers
- Factors that influence human growth and development. AREAS OF DEVELOPMENT
- PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
- EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
- MORAL DEVELOPMENT
- COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
- Theories of cognitive development by J. Piaget, J. Bruner and others.
- Implication of theories of cognitive development to learning.
- Concept of intelligence and creativity.
- LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
- PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT
- Definition of personality.
- Theories of personality development by S. Freud, E. Erickson and others
- Implication of the theories to education.
- Factors that influence personality development.
A DOLESCENCE
- Meaning of adolescence.
- Changes during adolescence.
- Adolescent needs, problems and challenges.
- Helping the adolescent cope with challenges. LEARNERS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
- Categories of learners with special needs giving their characteristics
- Mentally gifted and talented child
- Visually impaired
- Hearing impaired
- Physically challenged
- Mentally challenged
- Children with emotional behavioural problems
- Multiple handicapped
- Children with communication difficulties
- Children with special learning difficulties
- Children with chronic health problems such as asthma
- Children living under difficult circumstances and others.
- Causes of special needs: Environmental causes, Genetic factors, Medical factors.
- Intervention measures and referrals INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Definition of terminologies Psychology The word Psychology comes from two Greek words "psyche" which means mind or soul and "logos" which means to study. According to one of the latest views psychology is defined as the scientific study of human and animal behavior and mental processes .(Santrock,2000)
that emerge at different age levels in order to provide effective guidance for harmonious development of children
- To give the teacher an appreciation of learner individual differences.
- To ensure continuity from the past to the present, the teacher needs to understand past aspects of development. What students are is as a result of what they have been through.
- The teacher is an agent of socialization and there is need to know those whom he will socialize in order to facilitate their development as good citizens.
- The teacher needs to know and understand the basis of development and what is abnormal so as to improve the quality of learning and teaching.
- The teacher will be able to understand himself/herself better. Growth Refers to a series of changes in the physical structure of an organism. Growth is any quantitative change in an individual. Development Refers to qualitative changes in an individual leading to maturity of improvement in functioning. e.g. arms grow large (growth) but also they develop by undergoing certain changes which equip them for better work Maturation Maturation refers to readiness or the point at which a child is biologically prepared to undertake a specific task. The timing and the sequence of the unfolding of these biological potentials are pre-wired genetically. General principles of growth and development ➢ The process of development follows a definite orderly sequential and predictable pattern in all individuals. ➢ Development proceeds from general to specific responses. ➢ There are individual differences and variations in development
➢ Growth and development are continuous. ➢ Developmental changes are inter-related and proceed at different rates. ➢ Development follows two directional trends: a)Proximodistal trend-here development starts from the centreline of the body to outer parts more distant from it. b) Cephalocaudal trend-develoment starts from the head and proceeds towards the heel_._ ➢ Development is cumulative ➢ All development changes are a product of two basic processes- maturation and learning(Environmental influence) ➢ Development is shaped by historical/cultural context Factors that influence Human Growth and development They are divided into two: I. Hereditary factors ➢ Rate of maturation: Growth and development have to wait for their time ➢ Rhesus incompatibility: when mothers blood and that of the foetus are not compatible ➢ Chromosomal disorders: Accidents that may happen during cell division leading to disorders such as: Down Syndrome, Turner Syndrome, Klinefelter Syndrome ➢ Genes: e.g genes of tallness, IQ etc II. Environmental factors
- Expectant Mother’s diet.
- Maternal age Maternal use of drugs and medication
- Maternal diseases
- Mother’s emotional state
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Emotional Attachment
- This is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space. Bowlby (1969) defined attachment as a “lasting psychological connectedness between human beings”. Children come into the world biologically pre-programmed to form attachments with others, because this will help them to survive. The infant produces innate ‘social releaser’ behaviours such as crying and smiling that stimulate innate caregiving responses from adults. The determinant of attachment is not food but care and responsiveness. The attachment relationship between the child and the caregiver acted as a prototype for all future social relationships, so disrupting it would result to severe consequences. There is a critical period for attachment development at (about 0 - 5 years). If an attachment would have not developed during this period then the child would suffer from irreversible developmental consequences, such as reduced intelligence and increased aggression. Qualities of attachment (a) Secure attachment
- Securely attached babies use the caregiver as a secure base from which to explore the environment.
- When in the presence of their caregiver, securely attached infants explore the room and examine the objects placed in it.
- When the caregiver departs, securely attached infants might mildly protest
- When the caregiver returns these infants reestablish positive interaction with her
- The child is outgoing with strangers when the mother is present. b) Insecure attachment(avoidant)
- Uninterested in exploring when alone with their mothers/caregivers.
- Shows little distress when separated from their mother
- Avoids contact when the mothers returns, and may even turn their back on her at this point. If contact is established, the infant usually leans away or looks away.
c) Insecure attachment(resistant)
- Anxious and does not venture off to play even when his mother is present thus the mother does not serve as a secure base for exploration.
- Ironically the infant becomes distressed when the mother departs.
- When reunited with the mother the infant is ambivalent (he may try to remain near his mother, and at the same time may resist if she makes a physical contact) and may even hit kick her in anger. d) Disorganized disoriented Attachment
- Reflects confusion on the side of the infant about whether to approach or avoid the mother.
- Reunited with their mothers after a separation, these infants may act dazed and freeze or lie on the floor or they may seek contact, but, then abruptly move away as their mothers approaches them, only to seek contact again. Effects of attachment on later development a) Securely attached
- Become curious
- Interested in learning
- Cooperative
- Friendlier toward adult
- Independent
- Better at problem solving
- Likely to become leaders in school
- Show initiative
- Are sensitive to needs and feelings of others Insecurely attached
- Show anxiety
- Too dependent
- May show aggression
- Are emotionally withdrawn
SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
Social processes focus themselves on the whole concept of an individual’s relationship with others and are reflected in behaviours such as an infant’s smile to the mother’s touch, adolescents’ attraction to the opposite sex, affections of elderly couples, learning of gender roles and formation of gender identity, understanding of others’ feelings etc. Young people should be assisted in developing appropriate interpersonal skills to make them important social beings. The following are considered essential. (a) Assertive skills (b) Negotiation skills (c) Decision making skills (d) Problem solving skills (e) Linguistic skills (f) Transfer skills (g) Reflection skills- ability to learn from our mistakes (h) Politeness and calmness (i) Self confidence Factors influencing the learning of social skills (i) Examples set by adults (ii )Individual personality. This is an individual’s normal pattern of reacting in new situations. introverts (reserved) VS extroverts (outgoing, outwardly warm).. (iii) Family socio-economic background (iv) Learner intellectual development (v) Individual motivation (vi) Biological or physical state of the individual Developing Social Skills in Class/School
(a) Encourage healthy competition among learners (b) Allow learners to elect their own leaders (c) Provide opportunities for learners to engage in debates (d) Encourage learners to participate in manual work (e) Establish rational rules and regulations (f) Provide opportunities for field trips (g) Promote language development (h) Counselling unsocial learners and those with anti-social behavior. (i) Teacher acting as good role model (j) Encourage learners to participate in drama, music clubs and societies and other extra- curricular activities. (k) Encourage formation of study groups. (l) Encourage participation in community service activities e.g. cleaning, planting trees, visiting the sick, old,etc (m )Rewards and punishments for appropriate and inappropriate behavior. (n) Immediate and regular feedback to guide learners’ attempts. MORAL DEVELOPMENT Moral development is the process by which individuals acquire a sense of right and wrong, to use in evaluating their own actions and the actions of others (Turiel, 1998). It is the process through which an individual acquires the ability to distinguish between bad and good or right and wrong. KOHLBERG’S THEORY OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT Kohlberg’s six stage theory of moral development. He grouped these six stages into three levels. According to Kohlberg’s theory, moral development proceeds gradually from one stage to the next, in a predictable, ordered sequence. Level 1: Preconventional Morality/ premoral level.
Very few people reach the last stage. Examples of people who attained this level are people such as, Martin King Luther Junior, and Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela Jesus Christ, the prophets among other heroes. FACTORS INFLUENCING MORAL DEVELOPMENT 1.Cognitive development For instance, with the decline of centration in middle childhood, children are able to consider simultaneously both consequences and intentions when judging morality of an act.
- Increased social experience with peers.
- The family 4.Religious organization
- Mass media
- Culture/community
- Encouraging Independence of adult constraint How the school can enhance moral development among learners (a)Implementation of rational rules and regulations to promote discipline. (b)Provision of leadership positions to learners e.g. through prefects. (c)Teachers act as perfect role models. (d)Involving sponsors and other stakeholders in the management of schools. (e)Establishing and strengthening of guidance and counseling services. (f)Rewarding and motivating well behaved learners. (g)Teaching of subjects like Religion and History which promote nationhood and patriotism. (h)Introduction of lifeskills eduation i n the syllabus_._ (i)Encouragement of healthy competition among learners. (j)Punishment meted out to those with deviant behavior. (k)Establishment of family units in schools where teachers are assigned to a manageable number of learners for guidance.
Give five factors that undermine the efforts of the school in training learners in good morals ➢ Peer influence ➢ Shortage of role models in the society ➢ Influence from mass media ➢ Lack of support/ cooperation from parents ➢ Young people are affected by drugs ➢ Interference by high ranking officials in school disciplinary efforts COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT Cognitive Development: Refers to the changes that occur in children’s mental skills and abilities over time. Cognitive abilities refer to a wide range of mental abilities such as attending (attention), perceiving, learning, thinking and remembering , reasoning, interpreting information etc. Piaget’s theory of Cognitive Development Piaget’s theory covers how our thinking develops as we move from being a baby to being an adult. Because it covers the development of thinking, it is called a theory of “cognitive development Main Elements of Piaget’s Cognitive Development Theory Schema/ Schemata I Cognitive Structure A schema is the basic building block of intelligent behaviour, a form of organizing information that a person uses to interpret the things he or she sees, hears, smell, and touches. We use schemas to understand and to respond to situations.
Reflexive Behaviours of a newborn 1.Rooting reflex This reflex begins when the corner of the baby's mouth is stroked or touched. The baby will turn his/her head and open his/her mouth to follow and "root" in the direction of the stroking. 2.Sucking reflex The baby shows rhythmic sucking when anything e.g. a finger or nipple is inserted in the mouth. 3.Grasping reflex
- If the baby is touched across the foot or palm, the fingers or toes close tightly over the object in a very firm grip such that the baby can hang on it. 4.Babinski reflex
- If the baby is stroked on the bottom of the foot, it will first spread out the toes, then curl them in. 5.Stepping reflex
- When newborns are held vertically, with their feet against a hard surface, they lift one leg away from the surface, and if tilted slightly from one side to the other, they appear to be walking. 6.Moro reflex
- The Moro reflex is often called a startle reflex because it usually occurs when a baby is startled by a loud sound or movement. In response to the sound, the baby throws back his/her head, extends out the arms and legs, cries, then pulls the arms and legs back in. A baby's own cry can startle him/her and begin this reflex. NB/ Reflexive behaviours taught out of a need but are not part of Piaget’t work Substage 2: Primary Circular Reactions (1–4 Months) Infants’ behaviors focused almost exclusively on their own bodies (in Piaget’s terminology, the behaviors are primary ) and are repeated over and over again (i.e., they are circular ). Substage 3: Secondary Circular Reactions (4–8 Months) Infants become more aware of and more responsive to the outside world (their behaviors become secondary ), and intentionally repeat an action in order to trigger a response in the environment. Substage 4: Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions (8–12 Months) After repeatedly observing that certain actions lead to certain consequences, infants gradually acquire knowledge of cause-effect relationships. Accordingly, they begin to engage in goal directed behavior : They behave in ways that they know will bring about desired results
Substage 5: Tertiary Circular Reactions (12–18 Months) Children begin a period of trial-and-error experimentation during the fifth substage. They show increasing flexibility and creativity in their behaviors, and their experimentation with objects often leads to new outcomes. Substage 6: Mental Representation (18–24 Months) Children begin to develop symbols ( symbolic thought ) to represent events or objects in the world in the final sensorimotor substage. During this time, children begin to move towards understanding the world through mental operations rather than purely through actions. One of the more notable achievements of the sensori motor period is the development of object permanence- the idea that people, places and things continue to exist when they are no longer visible or detectable through our senses. By 18-24 months object permanence is complete. Pre - Operational Stage (2- 7 YEARS) Mental operations is Piaget’s term for actions that take place in the mind rather than in the physical environment. Piaget named this stage of development the preoperational stage because children are not able to perform mental operations , or mental problem-solving activities. Sub- stages of the preoperational stage ➢ Symbolic Function/Pre-conceptual sub-stage (2-4 years)
- The young child gains the ability to represent an object that is not present. This is done by scribbling designs to represent people, houses, cars, clouds etc. - Pretend play blossoms at this stage e .g. to pretend to be mum, dad, doctor, teacher etc. Deficiences in pre-conceptual reasoning
- Animism : This is attributing life to inanimate objects
- Children do not separate fantasy from reality e.g. dreams are considered real.
- Transductive reasoning: the child assumes that things are causally related e.g. if a child hears the dog bark and the balloon burst the child would conclude that because the dog barked, the balloon popped/ burst. If a child misses a nap in the afternoon then it’s not afternoon.
➢ Ability to think in an abstract manner i.e. they can manipulate ideas in the head without any dependence on concete manipulation. ➢ Hypothetical deductive reasoning-the ability to develop hypothesis ( best guesses), about ways to solve problems e.g. Algebraic equation and then systematically deduce or conclude, which is the best path to following in solving the problem. IMPLICATIONS OF PIAGET’S THEORY TO LEARNING (i) Teaching/learning should be at learners cognitive growth level; (ii) Avoid teaching children something before they are ready to learn it. (iii) Teachers should provide an environment rich in physical concrete experiences for the child’s manipulation. (iv) Teachers should present the child with those experiences and materials that are relevant to what the child knows and then expose him gradually to novel or new siruations i.e. build on schemas or teach from known to unknown. (v) Provide a stimulating environment that will provide disequilibration thus forcing the mind to assimilate new information and formulate new skills.
- (vi) Understanding of equilibration process explains to teachers that they should not provide children with information and expect an immediate change in behaviour. Factors that influence Cognitive development ➢ Biological maturation: Maturation is the unfolding of the biological changes that are genetically programmed. To Piaget development follows a predictable pattern of maturation as determined by biological/hereditary factors. ➢ Activity: activities such as exploration, discovery, observation and organising of information from the environment stimulate our thinking processes. ➢ Equilibration: Equilibration follows disequilibrium - a state of imbalance that a child experiences when encountering information that requires him to develop new schema or modify existing schema (i.e., accommodate). A child will not move to the next stage of thought until disequilibration is resolved. Equilibrium keeps the infant moving along the developmental pathway, allowing him or her to make increasingly effective adaptations which normally occur on a higher thinking level.
➢ Social experiences: According to Piaget cognitive development is influenced by learning from others, that is social transmission. Social interactions allow for multiple perspectives, opinions and introduction of new ways to approach a task or event. THE CONCEPT OF INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY INTELLIGENCE Definition of intelligence The term intelligence can take on many different meanings: ❖ Power of adaptation or adjustment to one’s environment. ❖ The capacity to understand the world, think rationally, and use resources effectively ❖ when faced with challenges. ❖ The ability to solve problems and to adapt to and learn from life’s everyday experiences ❖ Ability to carry on abstract thinking ❖ General mental ability to learn Intelligence is not merely book learning, a narrow academic skill, or test-taking smarts. Rather it reflects a broader and deeper capability for comprehending our surroundings/“catching on,” “making sense” of things, or “figuring out” what to do. Intelligence and learning Studies repeatedly show that performance on intelligence tests is correlated with school achievement. On average, children with higher IQ scores do better on standardized achievement tests, have higher school grades, and complete more years of education. In other words IQ scores often do predict school achievement, albeit imprecisely. As a result, intelligence tests are frequently used by school psychologists and other specialists in their efforts to identify students with special educational needs. However, it is important to note that although students with high IQs typically perform well in school, the role of other factors in a students’ school score cannot be ignored. Such other factors as motivation, quality of instruction, family resources, parental support, peer group expectations etc may also be involved. Having said that, IQ tests are not the sole factor for determining how a person will eventually
