UNDERSTANDING THE CHILD IN
EARLY CHILDHOOD
Dr. Kanwal Kaisser
Contents
Learning and Early Experiences
Understanding Development
Cognitive and Social Development
Building Positive Teacher-Child Relationships
Helping Children Learn to Manage Their Own Behavior
Using Environmental Strategies to Promote Positive Social
Interactions
Learning and Early Experiences
Two processes that bring about
change
Maturation
Learning
Learning


A permanent change in behaviour that occurs as
a result of experience
Learning is dependent on a person’s environment
Critical periods for learning

If miss out – can still achieve but not as
efficiently or effectively
How important are early
experiences?

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Early experience is important
Most children who have a poor start
in life often do not reach their
potential
Changing the environment

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Poor environment can retard development
Later experience can partially change the course
of development
Predicting development

Be careful about making generalisations or
predicting future development
Understanding Development
Domains/Areas of Development
Traditionally: Frameworks:
Physical/Motor
The child’s sense of self
Social/Emotional
The communicating child
Cognitive
The thinking child
Language
The physically active child
The social child
The feeling child
The creative child
Principles of Development



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Development is orderly, not random.
Development is a continuous and gradual
process.
Development is most rapid during the early
stages of infancy and the adolescent years.
Not all children develop at the same pace.
Not all children possess the same temperament.
Development is a multi-faceted concept.
Who and/or what influences a
child’s growth and development?
Parents
Caregivers
Teachers
Peers
Extended Family
Community
Media
Heredity
Environment
Cognitive and Social Development
Important Factors That Impact the
Developing Child


Biological Development
Environmental Influences
Biological Development

A child’s abilities coincide with the development
of his/her central nervous system (CNS),
particularly the brain.
Environmental Influences

Understand the balance between developmental
limits and adult expectations (i.e. 2 year-old
children cannot be taught how to read, but their
language development can be enhanced by
reading to them).
Four Major Stages of Cognitive
Development
Sensorimotor
• (0-2 years)
Preoperational
• (2-7 years)
Concrete
Operations
• (7-11 years)
Formal
Operations
• (12+ years)
Five Major Stages of Psychosocial
Development
Trust Vs. Mistrust
• (0-1 Year)
Autonomy Vs.
Shame/Doubt
• (1-2 Years)
Initiative Vs. Guilt
• (2-6 Years)
Competence/Industry
Vs. Inferiority
• (6-12 Years)
Identity Vs. Role
Confusion
• (12-20
Years)
Preoperational Stage : (2-6/7 years)

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Developing ability to manipulate images and
symbols, especially language.
Play becomes key in learning.
Begin to see use of symbolism in pretend play
Child’s view of the world is egocentric.
Logical organization of thoughts remains
undeveloped
Initiative Vs. Guilt (2-6 Years)

Description:


Positive outcome:


Children begin to interact with environment in more “adult
like” manner as motor and language skills develop. They
learn to maintain an eagerness for adventure and play,
while learning to control impulsive behavior.
If adults are encouraging, but consistent in discipline,
children will learn to accept concept of right/wrong without
guilt, and not feel shame when using their imagination and
engaging in fantasy play.
Negative outcome:

If not, children may develop a sense of guilt and may come
to believe that it is wrong to be independent.
Ages 2-6/7
Preoperational



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Language development is
prominent.
Fantasy/imaginary play
becomes key in learning
about and expressing their
understanding of the world.
Child’s view of the world is
egocentric.
Formal logic is not a part of
their thinking.
Initiative Vs Guilt



Children begin to interact
with environment using
motor and language skills.
Impulse control is initiated
by external structure.
Guilt can often stem from an
egocentric understanding of
the world around them.
At 4 yrs

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Enjoys jokes and silly games and loves showing
off
Play still very important
Can still demonstrate stubbornness, aggression,
and blaming others
A sense of past/future developing
At 5 yrs

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Becoming more independent and can be serious
and realistic at times
Friendly & talkative to strangers
Becoming less frustrated and less angry
At 6 yrs

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Speech becomes more social, less egocentric.
Wants to be the "best" and "first."
Grasp of logical concepts in some areas.
Concepts formed are crude and irreversible.
Perceptions dominate judgment.
In moral-ethical realm, only uses simple do's and don'ts imposed
by authority.
Has boundless energy.
May be oppositional, silly, brash, and critical.
Cries easily; shows a variety of tension-releasing behavior.
Is attached to the teacher.
Has difficulty being flexible.
At 7yrs
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Begin to calm down a bit.
Begin to reason and concentrate.
Worry, are self-critical, and may express a lack of
confidence.
Demand more of their teacher's time.
Dislike being singled out, even for praise.
Building Positive
Teacher-Child Relationships
Why…for success in school

They result in:
 Good
peer interactions
 Positive relationships with teachers
 Lower levels of challenging behaviors
 Higher levels of competence in school
Activity 1: Greeting Children

Amna
 Most
days Amna has a difficult time
entering the classroom. She clings to her
mother and cries. The teacher often has
to stop what she is doing and physically
take Amna from her mother’s arms. After
Amna’s mother leaves, Amna often sits in
her cubby and watches as others engage
in activities within the bustling classroom.
Techniques to develop positive
teacher-child relationships
One-to-one interactions with children
Get on child’s level, face-to-face
Use pleasant, calm voice
Use simple language
Provide warm, responsive
physical contact
How can teachers develop positive
teacher-child relationships?
Help children understand classroom expectations
Redirect to divert from challenging behavior
Listen to children
Encourage children to listen to others
Acknowledge children for their accomplishments and effort
Developing Relationships
with Children

Keep in mind:
 Cultural,
linguistic, and individual needs
 Adapt strategies to unique child and family
characteristics
Challenges to developing positive
Teacher-Child relationships
Not enough time
Too many curriculum requirements
Expectation that children will wait quietly in line
Noise level in classroom
Maintenance duties
Adherence to lesson plans
Activity 2: What Could You Do?

Ahmed is a 3-year-old who has
recently been to the zoo. He crawls
around the classroom roaring and
pretending to claw at other children.
Yesterday he scratched one of the
other children on the arm. Ahmed
ignores the teacher’s attempts to
involve him in the class, even though
the teacher has prepared many
interesting activities.
Activity 3: Gallery of Ideas

Directions: Identify as many ideas as you can that will help
teachers to develop positive teacher-child relationships in the
following situation or classroom area. Continue brainstorming
until you hear the signal. Switch sheets with another group. Write
with the same color that you have been using.
During Arrival Times
During Story Time
On the Playground
In the Dramatic Play Area
At Circle Time
In the Art Area
At meal or snack time
Helping Children Learn to Manage
Their Own Behavior
What is Self-Management?
 Pay
attention to their own behavior.
 Use appropriate play and social interaction skills
 Participate in classroom routines
 Engage in instructional activities
Steps to Self-Management
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Assess child’s current level of self-management
Identify behaviors you want the child to learn to
self-manage
Visually display behavior for the child
Guide the child to learn the desired behaviors
and self-management system
Provide positive attention for using the selfmonitoring system correctly
Activity 1: Developing a SelfManagement System

Saima asks the children in her class to put the art
supplies away, put their art work on their tables,
and gather together on the rug for story time.
Haroon, a 4-year-old in her class, often leaves
everything on the table and wanders around the
room instead.
Using Environmental Strategies to
Promote Positive Social Interactions
Ms. Rabia and Ms. Sadia’s
Classroom

The 20 preschoolers in
Classroom are busy during
choice time. They are washing
toys in the sensory table,
playing with play dough,
listening to books on tape, and
making art projects. Five
children are seated in bean bag
chairs listening quietly to
different books, while another
5 children are making paper
cars with individual glue sticks,
scissors, and boxes of crayons.

The 5 children at the sensory
table are arguing over the
two bottles and one
multicolor water wheel. The
remaining 5 children are
fighting for the 3 plastic
knives to cut the yellow play
dough. The two teachers
look around the room
wondering why half the
room is so quiet while the
other half needs constant
monitoring.
Teaching tools/aids
Visual aids
• 40%
• Picture is worth a thousand words
• Picture books, drawing, videos
• Majority are boys
Auditory aid
• 20-30%
• Children love the sound of voice
• Songs, rhymes, storytelling
• Majority are girls
Kinesthetic/tactile aid
• 25%
• For those who enjoy action/activity
• Building blocks, sand castles
• Evenly split between boys and girls