Early Childhood Development

Early Childhood Development
Jeffrey Trawick-Smith
Sixth Edition
2014, 2010, 2006, 2003, 2000
Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
A Multicultural Perspective
Trawick-Smith
Early Childhood Development: A Multicultural Perspective, 6e
2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Theories of Child
Development
Chapter 3
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Trawick-Smith
KEY QUESTIONS
What is a theory?

How can theories be useful in
working with young children?

What are the key tenets, applications,
criticisms, and limitations of the
major child development theories?

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MAJOR DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
1. Maturationist
2. Behaviorist
3. Psychoanalytic
4. Cognitive-developmental
5. Sociocultural
6. Information processing
7. Ecological systems
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KEY QUESTIONS
In what ways does new
research on the brain help
professionals apply each
theory of development in
the early childhood
classroom?
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ABOUT CHILD DEVELOPMENT
THEORIES
No single, universally accepted
theory exists.

Each theory is based on:
research
a set of assumptions and human nature
Some theories are:
interrelated and complementary
contradictory
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A theory of child development
is a belief system about how
and why children grow, learn,
and behave as they do.
Theories are very practical;
they can guide adults in making
decisions about teaching and
caring for children.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #1
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PRACTICAL APPLICATION
Clarify your own theories about
children and how they develop.

A clearly articulated theory leads
to thoughtful and consistent
parenting and teaching.
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HOW ARE THEORIES USEFUL?
Theories can provide child care
professionals with:
Purpose for routines and rules
Consistency in practice
Strategies for solving problems
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Seven predominant theories of
child development can be
identified in the literature. All
hold some value in resolving
classroom dilemmas. Each
provides useful guidance to
parents and teachers.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #2
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Become familiar with
alternative theories of child
development.

Borrow critical concepts and
strategies from each theory in
your professional practice.
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MATURATIONAL THEORY
Childrens development is
determined primarily by genetics.

Characteristics and abilities unfold as
children mature.
Assigns relatively little importance to the
environment, BUT:
Developmental problems can occur if the
environment restricts normal growth.
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VALIDATION OF MATURATIONAL
THEORY
Research supports a strong genetic
influence on SOME developmental traits:
Some developmental characteristics emerge in a
fixed order at about the same age, even when
environmental conditions are very different!
e.g. walking

Some personality characteristics seem to be
strongly influenced by genetics
e.g. temperament, attention span, schizophrenia
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CRITIQUE OF
MATURATIONAL THEORY
Some research does NOT support
maturational theory

Example:
More than of intelligence can be
accounted for by environmental factors

heritability ratio
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CONCERNS ABOUT
MATURATIONAL THEORY
A wait-and-see approach to
developmental delays inaction
buy a year = lose a year ?

Genetic determinism cultural bias
Racial and cultural differences =
variations derived from social experience
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The maturationist theory holds that
most of what children become is
inherited at birth.

Behaviors and abilities simply unfold
as children mature.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #3
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Recognize that some characteristics of
children are genetically determined at
birth.
Appreciate and accept diverse
interpersonal styles and temperaments
that are part of childrens biological
heritage.
Adapt classrooms to meet the unique
inborn traits of individual children
instead of expecting them to adapt to
classrooms.
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BEHAVIORIST THEORY
Childrens development depends
entirely on their experiences with
the environment.
Children are blank slates.

Adults must purposefully shape childrens
growth.

All learning is observable behavior.
Learning occurs in small incremental steps.
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CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
Learning to respond to a neutral
event with the same behavior as
to a naturally pleasurable (or
unpleasurable) one
Adults can use this process to
shape childrens behavior.
Watson conditioned Little Albert to be afraid
of rats by associating them with a startling
noise
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OPERANT CONDITIONING
Learning of desirable behaviors
by being systematically rewarded
for them.
Behavior can only be shaped
gradually in small steps.
Skinner recommended:
Rewarding good behavior with
reinforcers such as praise and
tangible rewards
Ignoring undesirable behavior
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SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Children learn new behaviors just
by observing others.
Imitation is more likely if children see
behavior being rewarded.

Children will repeat imitated behavior if they
are rewarded for it.

Major researcher = Bandura
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LIMITATIONS OF
BEHAVIORIST THEORY
Reinforcement and modeling do not completely
explain some kinds of learning.
Examples:
New utterances and words.
New ways of thinking.

Does not take into account the development of
internal, mental states and their role in learning.

Praise and rewards can be excessive and limit
learning, creativity, and self-esteem.
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CRITIQUE OF
BEHAVIORIST THEORY
Positive reinforcement is not useful for
children in some cultural groups.
Ex: Asian cultures value modesty

Problems can occur when adults reinforce
behaviors not valued by some cultural
groups
confusing socialization signals
Ex: eye contact is negative in some
cultures
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CRITIQUE OF
BEHAVIORIST THEORY
Longitudinal studies have shown
that behavioristically based
programs do not work well for
some children.
Historically underrepresented groups
Low SES families
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Behaviorist theory holds that the
child is a blank slate at birth and
is filled in over time by
experience.

From this perspective, adults can
use rewards, praise, modeling,
and other tools to shape
childrens development in any
desired direction.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #4
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Use positive feedback and
other rewards to influence
childrens behavior.

Behave as you want children
to behave they will imitate
what you do.
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PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Personality develops through resolving
conflicts between
internal desires and impulses
and
outside pressures
Learning = developing self-regulation
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FREUDS PERSPECTIVE
Id
Instinctual drives and
desires (primarily
sexual)
Present at
birth
Ego
Rational self that
regulates Id
Develops
throughout
childhood
Superego
Cultural values and
mores (conscience)
End of
childhood
Personality develops through resolving conflicts
between pressures from inner and outer worlds.
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ERIKSONS PERSPECTIVE
Personality develops through resolving inner conflicts
between opposite emotional states as we progress through
stages.

Infancy Trust vs Mistrust
Basic needs met
Sense of security
Toddler
Autonomy vs.
Shame and Doubt
Independence
Individuality and
uniqueness
Preschool Initiative vs. Guilt
Taking action
Assertiveness and
creativity
School Years
Industry vs.
Inferiority
Accomplishment
Competence
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LIMITATIONS OF
Explains only emotional
development personality.
Ignores interrelatedness of physical,
intellectual, emotional, and spiritual.
Theory is based on small sample of
observations.
Freud: upper-class Viennese women
Erikson: small samples of children
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CRITIQUE OF
Some stages reflect Anglo-Saxon
cultural values.
Ex: autonomy and individualism less valued in
collectivistic cultures

Males are considered normal females
are considered deficient.
Autonomy is male value and attachment and
intimacy are morefemale,but the latter is
viewed as a sign of overdependence.
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Psychoanalysts focus on
personality formation,
characterizing growth as
resolving conflicts between
inner desires and demands of
the outer world.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #5
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Be nurturing and responsive to the
needs of infants and toddlers so
children will learn to trust.

Encourage autonomy by allowing
exploration and self-expression
without punishment and over-
restriction.

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Promote a sense of initiative by
encouraging children to assert
themselves, be creative, take
risks, and reach out to peers.

Promote a sense of industry a
feeling of competence by
providing experiences with
success.
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COGNITIVE-
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
Intellectual growth is the most
important aspect of development.

Almost all aspects of life directly
influenced by thinking and
language.

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PIAGETS PERSPECTIVE
Knowledge is actively
constructed through the action
of the learner.

Learning involves action.

Constructivism
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PIAGETS PERSPECTIVE
Learning process = assimilation
+
accommodation

Assimilation: New information is integrated
into what we already know

Accommodation: What we already know is
changed to make room for
new information
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Trawick-Smith
PIAGETS STAGES OF
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Birth
18 mos.
Sensorimotor
Experience through
movement and senses
18 mos
6/7 yrs.

Preoperational
Mental symbols that reflect
appearance
8 12 yrs.
Concrete
Operational
Symbols and logic based in
concrete experience
12 yrs
Adult
Formal
Operational
Abstract and hypothetical
thinking.
AGE STAGE DESCRIPTION
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LIMITATIONS OF COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORY
Research indicates children may be more
intellectually competent than Piaget
thought.
Ex: Mexican children with pottery experience
understand quantity at an earlier age than Piaget
would predict
Piagets observations reflect
development in only one culture.
Focus on PROCESSES could make this theory
applicable to a variety of cultures.
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SOCIOCULTURAL THEORY
Focuses on the influence of
language, social interaction,
and culture on intellectual
development

Most prominent figure: Lev Vygotsky
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VYGOTSKYS PERSPECTIVE
Knowledge is actively constructed.

Language and thinking are separate
processes for infants:

Non-verbal thought = infants think
through senses and action
Non-conceptual speech = making
sounds that dont have meaning
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Toddlers learn to connect language and
thinking by associating meaning with
sounds.
Preschoolers and primary-aged children
use language and thought together:

Verbal thought: Concepts are
understood by using words.

Self-directed speech: Using language to
guide learning
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Goal is for children to learn to solve
problems independently.
Learning occurs when challenge is just
slightly above childs ability level.

Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Zone in which children can learn with indirect
help.
Scaffolding
Using language and interaction to guide
childrens thinking.
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LIMITATIONS AND
MULTICULTURAL PERSPECTIVE
Vygotskys work is sketchy and
incomplete.
BUT: Much subsequent research
supports this theory.
Collaborative approach to joint problem-
solving reflects non-Western collective
culture.
Appreciates the influence of culture on
development.
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Cognitive-developmental and
sociocultural theories focus on
the critical role of intellectual
functioning in development.

Development is an active,
internal construction of
knowledge.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #6
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Trawick-Smith
Sociocultural theorists view
language and social interaction as
an integral part of mental growth.
Intellectual development is seen
as an active and internal
construction of knowledge.
Sociocultural theory is viewed as
one of the more culturally
sensitive perspective on child
development.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #6 (cont).
3-46
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Provide interesting experiences,
ask questions, and pose
challenges that lead children to
actively solve problems and
construct their own knowledge
of the world.

3-47
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Scaffold childrens learning by
asking questions, prompting, or
giving hints when a child is
within the zone of proximal
development.
3-48
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INFORMATION PROCESSING THEORY
Focus is on intellectual development and
learning by active construction of meaning
from the world.
Focus is on the roles of specific processes in
learning:
Previous knowledge and thinking skills
Attention
Remembering
Thinking changes gradually over time.
Computers provide an analogy for thinking
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Trawick-Smith
CONCEPTS FROM
INFORMATION PROCESSING

To learn, children must pay
attention to the important
aspects of a learning task and
ignore irrelevant information.
Children gradually learn how to focus their
attention on what is most important.
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Trawick-Smith
CONCEPTS FROM
To learn, children must actively choose
learning strategies to store the
information they want to remember.
Rehearsal = repetition
Organization = grouping like ideas
together
Children gradually learn how to use
these strategies.
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CONCEPTS FROM
Children gradually learn what the word
remember means and how to gain
control over the learning process.

Social information processing
theorists apply these principles to helping
children learn social skills.
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STRENGTHS OF
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
THEORY
Compatible with cognitive-
developmental and sociocultural
developmental theories

Useful in explaining how children learn
in specific social situations

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LIMITATIONS OF
THEORY
Focus is on specific learning situations
rather than broader cognitive
processes.
Little detail is provided about the nature
of stored memories.
Research has been done on Euro-
American children without considering
cultural differences.
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Trawick-Smith
The information processing theory
describes how children use memory,
attention, and other specific learning
processes to learn in new situations.
Social information processing theorists
show how the theory is useful in
helping children process and resolve
social problems, using previously stored
experiences to guide them.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #7
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Trawick-Smith
Help children become aware of and
use attention and memory to solve
problems by pointing out the things
that are most important for them to
attend to or remember.
Guide children in social situations by
helping them pay attention to social
cuessmiling, crying, shoutingof
peers and to reflect on past
experiences in resolving conflicts.
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ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY
Development is embedded within
and influenced by cultural
community
Leading proponent: Urie Bronfenbrenner
Ecology = the settings and institutions that
influence the growing person

Ecologies lie in interacting system layers
around the developing person
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Trawick-Smith
BRONFENBRENNERS
ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS
Listed in the order they most directly influence the child.
SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS
Microsystem
Direct: Family, school, day care center,
pediatrician, church, playground
Mesosystem
Interconnections among people and
institutions in microsystem, e.g. parent-
teacher communication.
Exosystem
Indirect: Extended family, family
friends, neighbors, legal system,
workplace, mass media
Macrosystem
Values, attitudes, laws, customs of
society or culture
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Trawick-Smith
STRENGTHS OF ECOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS THEORY
Very useful in identifying social issues
concerning children in poverty or in
historically underrepresented groups

Emphasizes the important of family and
cultural influences on individual
development
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LIMITATIONS OF ECOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS THEORY
Little research has been done from this
perspective very time-consuming and
challenging
Rather, research has focused on specific
microsystem and exosystem factors that
influence childrens health and risk:
Risk factors = conditions leading to poor
development
Protective factors = conditions that may
insulate children from harm
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RESEARCH FINDINGS
Risk factors:
poverty lack of social services violence in
the community poor housing family
disharmony child abuse

Protective factors
positive home environment attachment to
parents adequate housing safe
neighborhoods positive preschool
experience
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Ecological systems theories hold that
developmental processes do not occur
in a psychological vacuum but rather
that individual child development is
influenced by factors in the immediate
environment as well as society and
culture as a whole.

Ecological systems theories are thought
to be most useful in defining social
issues and guiding social policy
decisions.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #8
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Trawick-Smith
Realize that classroom intervention
alone will not ensure positive child
development.

Family, community, and societal factors
must also be optimal for children to
learn and be healthy.

Help parents and families access
community resources.

Expand your role as a professional to
include advocacy.
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In what ways does new research
on the brain help professionals
apply each theory of development
in the early childhood classroom?
3-64
Trawick-Smith
NEUROSCIENCE AND THEORIES
OF DEVELOPMENT
The investigation of the structure and
mechanisms of the brain and how they
affect development
Methods include:
MRI: Magnetic scanner used to take pictures of
tissues in the brain, connections between them,
and brain activity (as indicated by blood flow)

ERP: Measures electrical activity in the brain in
response to actions and stimuli
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NEUROSCIENCE AND
MATURATIONIST THEORY
Normative growth of critical brain regions
occurs during development. Parents
and teachers should reduce stress on
children to allow these important
developments to occur.

Changes in brain chemistry over time are
related to maturation of temperament
and other factors.
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NEUROSCIENCE AND
BEHAVIORIST THEORY
Neuroscientists have identified a reward
center in the brain:
Allows humans and other animals to respond to
and be reinforced by reward
Children particularly responsive to reward,
including social reward from positive teacher
and peer responses
Childrens brains are more responsive to positive
feedback than negative feedback

Parents and teachers should be aware of the importance of
social rewards in structuring learning!
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NEUROSCIENCE AND
PYSCHOANALYTIC THEORY
Certain brain regions have been associated
with Freud and Eriksons concepts:
Frontal lobe: Responsible for regulation of emotions and
behavior, much like the ego and superego
Fusiform face area: Activated by human faces at birth,
suggests a potential innate tendency to connect with
other humans and promote trust

Research suggests children may benefit from exposure to
some stressors. Schedule changes, meeting new
people, and gaining increased responsibility promote
healthy brain growth.
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NEUROSCIENCE AND COGNITIVE
DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
Social interaction activates various neural
areas, leading them to become more
connected over time
Social interaction during learning leads to
greater neural activation than learning
alone

Implication: To promote cognitive growth, children
should be exposed to a variety of types of social
interactions. Language and social interaction play
an important role in scaffolding learning.
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Trawick-Smith
NEUROSCIENCE AND
THEORY
Neuroscientists have identified regions of
the brain that regulate attention and
memory.
Some regions that are involved in social
processing also regulate attention and
memory.
-Highlights the interrelatedness of social
and cognitive processing
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NEUROSCIENCE AND ECOLOGICAL
SYSTEMS THEORY
The brain is influenced by each layer and
system.
-Ex. Government cuts in nutrition programs for
pregnant mothers (macrosystem) negatively
influence brain development of the growing fetus
Children in poverty more susceptible to
harmful influences of various systems.
- Neural regions associated with self-control,
memory, and language negatively affected
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Trawick-Smith
New research on the brain allows professionals
to better understand why children think, learn,
and behave as they do.

This research does not answer, once and for all,
which theory of development is most accurate or
how professionals should address childrens
problems.

It does provide guidance to teachers on how each
theory can be applied and made more effective in
the classroom.
CRITICAL CONCEPT #9
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Promote healthy brain maturation
by providing nutritious snacks and
lunches and encourage parents to
provide good nutrition at home.

Before using praise and rewards,
observe children to determine
what experiences are rewarding
to them and whether children are
responsive to these strategies
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Use positive peer interactions as a
reward.

Reduce major classroom stressors but
provide some minor good stress such
as providing responsibilities and
challenging learning tasks.

Provide diverse challenges, including
social problems to solve, so that children
can use all parts of their brain.
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Ask questions, use language, and pose
attention and memory tasks.

Make the entire community of
professionals aware of how they can
help nurture and protect the brain;
engage school staff, family service
professionals, medical personnel,
families, and even political leaders in
performing their own unique roles to
ensure healthy brain growth.

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