Adolescence: Moral development. Piaget. Move from Heteronomous morality to Autonomous. Kohlberg: Preconventional (external). 1.
Punishment and obedience…fear of authority and avoidance of punishment. 2. Instrumental purpose orientation…different perspectives /
concrete / reciprocity…self-interest. Conventional (order). 3. Interpersonal cooperation. Want approval and affection so be good. 4. Social
order maintaining. Larger perspective of societal laws / Black and White mentality. Post conventional. 5. Social contract orientation…law
flexible in line with common good. 6. Universal ethical principle. Self-chosen ethical principles…more abstract not concrete.
Identity. Erikson major personality achievement. Who am I, what I value and direction. Crisis (Erikson) or exploration followed by
commitment. Marcia. 1. Identity achievement…explored options…clear sense. 2. Identity moratorium. In the process of exploring. 3.
Identity Foreclosure. Committed to early without proper exploration. Identity diffusion. Lack clear direction not committed.
Peers. Spend more time than family, opportunities to explore self. The peer group is a source of affection, sympathy, understanding, and
moral guidance; a place for experimentation; and a setting for achieving autonomy and independence from parents.”
Enter Piaget’s formal operation stage.
Middle Childhood: 6-11yrs. Peers. Strong desire to for group belonging. Social skills are learnt…cooperation, leadership, loyalty, trust.
Challenges: transition to school environment from family…20-30 others in class. Erikson’s Industry vs. Inferiority. Social and ability
comparisons / Bullying. Vygotsky’s…knowledge is co-constructed. Facilitated by older children/adults/more competent peers. Heavily
influenced by training, context and cultural conditions. Provide scaffolding to assist in transition. Discontinuity between
home/kindergarten and school. Piaget…children gain ability to conserve/classify/perform Seriation/ Spatial reasoning…Concrete
Operational Thought. They overcome earlier egocentrism. Grounded in the here and now. Motivation =effort. Intelligence fixed? Bullying:
U.N Convention on the rights of the Child…schools need to provide a safe physical & emotional environment. Tools to counter: raise
awareness, how to communicate, conflict resolution, and self-worth study. Role of culture in literacy development: children learn in
community and social settings. Literacy emerges from cultural practices…listening, speaking, telling stories. Emphasis on education? What
pedagogical practices?
Early Childhood: Influence of the environment? Empirical research states that nutrition, disease, psychological disturbance,
socioeconomic statuses have significant effect on development in this period apart from hereditary or genetic influences. Culture…value it
places on the child, parenting style (dominant, authoritarian, passive) Tools necessary for survival…i-pad or machete. Skills needed…swim,
hunt, surf the web? Language: acquisition ‘blooms’. Language provides a medium for thought / Vygotsky. Play: avenue to explore and
learn / Aid assimilation and expansion of schemas / Aides language and socialization skills / development of fine and gross motor skills /
Communicate emotions / creative outlet / problem solve. Attachment: an affectionate and emotional bond with at least one primary
caregiver that promotes healthy social and emotional development. Safe base to venture / explore / play. Inward Working Model…set of
expectations to refer to. Culture and attachment: attachment still necessary, however the context of the culture determines the pattern.
Inclusion: The Te Whare Tapa Wha model demonstrates the Maori holistic worldview and the connection between four main dimensions
(four walls of a house): te taha hinengaro (psychological health); te taha wairua (spiritual health); te taha tinana (physical health); and te
taha whānau (family health). The model recognises that if one ‘wall’ is weak, the others are affected too, e.g. if someone has a physical
disability, their family, spiritual beliefs and psychological health will also be impacted on. Tom Shakespeare: A body deficiency made a
disability by society’s lack of facilities to enable the person to function and contribute in spite their impairment. Enable participation:
promote equality, increase public awareness, funding, access. Connor & Stalker: Barriers to Doing-external things, physical inaccessibility.
Barriers Being- people’s attitudes (impinge on self-worth). Term disability is seen now as a social construction. People first
Children with impairments perspective: Matter of fact / pragmatic. Tend not to focus on the differences. Frustration comes from negative
response of others. NZC / Inclusion: valuing all students / staff in all aspects of school life. Removing barriers to presence, participation
and achievement. Why: success for every child. Promote equal opportunity. Disability is a social construction…through lack of accessibility
and awareness, society ‘disables’ people with impairments / human being first and foremost.
Culture: Vygotsky: considered that culture had a stronger role than biology. Each culture had offered a different context and different
goals…a cultural curriculum. Cultural Goals: Depending on the environment, religious persuasion, values, expectations, survival
management. In response to the environment what tools exist that you would need to be proficient in…eg I Pad western / machete.
Religious practices/ rites of passage. Appreciating other cultures: Increasingly we are coming into contact and living side by side.
Ethnocentric we have a tendency to observe and judge other cultures through our own cultural lens or bias or viewing other cultures from
our own cultural perspective. Our culture ethos develops largely subconsciously and internalised (Vygotsky). Maori characteristics: H.D
incorporates physical, emotional, social and spiritual aspects…interlinked / holistic…exemplified by Te Whariki and Te
Wheke…independent but part of the whole….interlinked and cannot be separated / Empowerment for all. Differences: Secular / nuclear
individualistic, greater sense of belonging. Wellbeing more collective, whole considered above self, inclusive. Development is not centred
around an individual rather the family. Te Whare Tapa Wha: Health of Spiritual, physical, family, mind.
Bronfenbrenner: asserts that H.D is results from the bi-directional interaction between the individual and the multiple levels of
surrounding environments, in any given time. He provides a framework that defines and outlines where and how development takes
place. How / Why Unhappy with sectarian approach to study of H.D. he believed that an interdisciplinary approach should be adopted.
Other theorists studied behaviour in isolation not taking into account the influence of the environment-social and cultural context. He
questioned the validity of some research findings by famously quoting…” strange behaviour of children in strange situations with strange
adults for the briefest periods of time”. Nature v Nurture: He developed a unified theory around the Process, the Person, the Context and
the Time (PPCT) that acknowledged both the role of nature and the environment. Microsystem: “…pattern of…interpersonal relations
experienced by the developing person in a given setting…” (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, p.23) Such immediate settings include the individual’s
family, schools, peer groups / friends etc. The interaction that takes place within these immediate settings he maintained provides the
“engine” that can precipitate the development of an individual…Proximal Processes. Mesosystem: entails; connections between the
individual’s microsystems (Berk, L. 2010). Bronfenbrenner (1994) expands further, “The mesosystem comprises the linkages…between two
or more settings containing the developing person…In other words the mesosystem is a system of microsystems.” (p.1645). A microsystem
can be influenced by events occurring in the exosystem indirectly. An example of this indirect influence could be a parent having a rough
time at work and coming home frustrated and or tired. This could affect the relationship with their child due to lack of energy. The
frustration could also be taken out on the child. Macrosystem: This sphere is an overarching sphere. It features the attitudes and
ideologies of the culture in which the microsystem exists.
Chronosystem: Vygotsky / Bron. Culture / Environment is influenced by the age and tools available at any given time. Both theorists
maintained that the time context can have impact on development. Digital age we are experiencing now has impact in the home and
schools for example. Inextricable link not only between where we live and the context but the time in which we live.
Vygotsky: viewed development from a Social, Cultural, Historical (time) perspectives…all interlinked. He sided with the Nurture camp
giving culture a stronger role than biology. Importance of Culture…had its own curriculum to achieve cultural goals. Social context:
individuals do not grow up in isolation, he emphasized the importance of people surrounding the developing person and their interaction.
Society’s norms can become internalised. He argued that Language was the most important symbolic tool in development. He also
believed that language was a vehicle for thought. Peers / Knowledgeable others: stimulate learning and development. Help appropriate
ways of culture. ZPD difference between achievement at an independent level or unassisted as to the potential achievement with
guidance with more capable others. Asymmetric or Co-constructed learning. Modern theorists have picked up this line of thought and
developed the term scaffolding which represents the helpful interactions between adult and child that enable the child to do something
beyond his or her independent efforts. A scaffold is a temporary framework that is put up for support and access to meaning and taken
away as needed when the child secures control of success with a task .Criticisms too much emphasis on knowledge / understanding
transmitted through social interaction / importance of language over emphasised / theories are incomplete-died young / few studies to
substantiate his claims. P & V similarities: Child centred approach / development was progressive / importance of peers and social
environment / play / experimental or discovery learning. P & V Differences: P’s was a fixed theory, V’s more flexible and general / P
believed cognitive dvp universal, V dependant on social and historical contexts / P. development precedes learning, V. learning precedes
development. Application in classroom: Scaffolding pedagogy / mixed age classes to encourage peer sharing / teacher facilitated learning
/ co-constructing knowledge. Attractive elements: Importance and belief that potential exists…strategy to harness / Flexible and general
theory
Piaget: Approach: fused questioning & observational strategies into clinical interviews…open ended, conversational style / developed tests
or experiments to gauge progression. Intelligence most important human characteristic / helps the individual adapt to their environment.
Piaget believed children’s intelligence develops through them observing, investigating and experimenting. Scheme cluster of ideas /
elements / memories or cognitive structures…basic structure for storing and organising information. Adaptation how we process new
information and advance development. Driven by need / desire of equilibrium or move from cognitive conflict / disequilibrium we either
assimilate (expand) or accommodate (form new). 1. Sensorimotor (0-2): use senses to navigate. Begin to understand cause and effect form
mental representations. 2. Pre-operational (2-7): think symbolically to represent former discoveries. Characteristic is egocentric thought.
Concrete or one-dimensional thinkers, inability to conserve. 3. Concrete operational(7-11/12). Can conserve volume and quantity,
serration possible. Think logically and two dimensional. Metacognition. 4. Formal operational (11/12+) Has capacity for abstract thought,
can think theoretically able to hypothesise and deduce / evaluate. Experiments : -Hiding object – sensorimotor stage. -Liquid in glass
experiment - preoperational and concrete operational stages. Egocentric tests. Pendulum tests concrete operational and formal
operational stages…effectiveness: good gauge however with different approach to the problem children could grasp the problem.
Limitations / Challenges: Underestimated children’s abilities / did not take into account social and cultural influences…thought his stages
were universal…knowledge can be socially mediated depending on needs of culture / interpretation of data…Bronfenbrenner quote.
Education: Child centred approach-discovery or active learning / not passive recipients of knowledge / tasks personalised to the
individual’s level…not a one size fits all philosophy / stimulate motivation.
Q.10: Macmillan (1990) argued that the term for development is often taken for granted. With the benefit of a semesters introduction
under my belt, looking back prior to enrolment I have indeed taken human development for granted. The depth of my understanding was
limited to the basic concept of natural growth between conception and death with limited acknowledgement of the forces of nature and
nurture. The diagram representing H.D that resonated with me at the start of the course was a continuum beginning at conception with
discontinuous stage sections ending at death. The representation that best represents my understanding now would be a very abstract
looking house based on theorist Mason Durie’s concept that development is subject to spiritual, family, physical and psychological spheres
of influence.
There is no universal theory of development all ideas are contested, the field of study is too broad and intricate, spanning the disciplines of
psychology, sociology, anthropology, biology and lately neuroscience. All theories contain some of the elements contributing to our
understanding of H.D, but in my opinion cannot stand alone as there are too many variables and its nature too dynamic. Theorists that
adopt a non-sectarian, interdisciplinary approach that acknowledges the physical, mental, emotional and social factors appeal to me.
Durie’s model has the unique ability to transcend culture and time as all human beings are subject to the afore mentioned factors and
acknowledges that they are closely interlinked and interdependent.
Attempting to counsel, guide or educate without some understanding of the factors contributing and influencing H.D would be futile and
counterproductive. Valuable insight into creating effective pedagogy or counselling strategies is gained from the study of H.D hence its
relevance for professional development. The study of H.D aides understanding of self and others, a pity it is not more widely taught
especially from a young age. Understanding can promote empathy, the more empathy the less conflict within and without.
Q.11 Reflecting during and after working in collaboration with others in a learning situation has revealed benefits, possible pitfalls, how I
like to learn and revealed personality traits of others and my own. Lone ranger jobs and activities are few and far between today, working
in teams is now predominant. Working in a team environment has obvious benefits over tackling the problem or workload alone. Synergy,
accountability, motivation, expediency, a broader perspective can all be tapped working together.
Emphasis on creating right environment is necessary I have found as the group can be counterproductive if no sense of collective
responsibility is fostered, if members are not equably motivated or on the ‘same page’. Learning each other’s and our own strengths,
weaknesses and learning style has been beneficial to the group’s success as tasks and workload can be allotted accordingly.
Going forward into the next group learning situation I will be keen on getting to know group members so the group can benefit from their
skillset and preferences. Gauging and fostering motivation will also be a key element to ensuring success.