Child
Development
Theorists
Complete the Front of the
worksheet
• Worksheet can be found on brown table
under the bulletin board
• On the back, identify and explain the five
areas of development.
Sigmund Freud (1856-1939)
• Findings & Ideas
– Believed that
personality develops
through a series of
stages
– Experiences in
childhood profoundly
affect adult life
• Significance
– Childhood is much
more important than
previously thought and
its effects are longer
lasting
Jean Piaget (1896-1980)
• Findings & Ideas
– The first to study
children scientifically
– Focused on how
children learned
– Believed that children
go through four stages
of learning
• Significance
– Children must be
given learning tasks
appropriate to their
level of development
Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934)
• Findings & Ideas
– Wrote that biological
development and
cultural experience
influence children’s
ability to learn
– Social contact is
essential to intellectual
development
• Significance
– Children should be
given the opportunity
for frequent social
interaction
Eric Ericson (1902-1994)
• Findings & Ideas
– Like Freud, said that
personality develops in
stages
– Thought that each
stage includes a
unique psychological
crisis
– If that crisis is met in a
positive way, the
individual develops
normally
• Significance
– Parents and
caregivers must be
aware of, and
sensitive to, children’s
needs at each stage of
development and
support them through
crises.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
• Findings & Ideas
– Argued that when a
child’s have positive
results, they will be
repeated.
– Negative results will
make the actions stop
• Significance
– Parents and other
caregivers can affect a
child’s behavior
through the use of
negative and positive
feedback
Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)
• Findings & Ideas
– Outlined layers of
environment that affect
a child’s development,
such as the child’s
own biology,
family/community
environment, and
society.
• Significance
– Child’s primary
relationship with a
caregiver needs to be
stable, loving and
lasting
Albert Bandura (b. 1925)
• Findings & Ideas
– Said that children
learn by imitating
others
– Disagreed with
Skinner.
– Pointed out that
although the
environment shapes
behavior, behavior
also affects
environment
• Significance
– Caregivers must
provide good
examples for children
to follow
Educational Video
What are the four observation
records?
Why observe children?
• Offers you the chance to see children as
individuals
• Meeting the challenges of development in their
own way & in their own time
– See a child’s personality
• Adapt activities to a child’s needs
• Identify children who may have disabilities or
require extra care
• Research – early intervention – do better over the
long term
How to Observe Young Children
• Knowing what to observe & how to
analyze it
• Observing – more than just watching
• Written record – analyze
• Separate fact (objective (seen & heard))
from opinion (subjective)
– Assumption – fact taken for granted
– You think you know, but do you really??
– Do not make judgments
• Smiling does not mean happy
Observations
• What down what you see when you see it
• Wait – forget
• Write down:
– Date, time, # of children, # of adults,
names and ages
• Wait down exact ages
• 2 year old (is she 2 years and 1 month, 2 years
and 10 months = BIG difference)
Running Record
• Record of everything for a set period of
time
• Useful
• Just getting to know the child/children
• Concentrating on a certain type of
development/area
Anecdotal Record
• Report of a child’s actions that
concentrates on a specific behavior or
area of development
• Ex: adjustment to a new child care center.
Every morning (two weeks) the observer
could record how a child behaves upon
arriving at the center
Frequency Count
• A tally of how often a certain behavior
occurs
• Useful: when trying to change unwanted
behavior
• First – observer find a baseline – a count
made before any steps are taken to try to
change behavior
• After attempts to change behavior –
additional frequency counts – is it
working?
Developmental Checklists
• List of skills children should master or
behaviors they should exhibit at a certain
age
When observing
• Must keep everything CONFIDENTIAL –
protection of another person’s privacy by
limiting access to personal information