Lecture 6.1 - Child Development, Developmentalism & Difference Flashcards
What is meant by modern childhood?
A socially motivated notion of childhood as being “innocent” or “carefree” that has developed since the Renaissance
What are the dominant notions of childhood development according to the Harvard Center on the Developing Child?
- Child development is a foundation for community and economic development
- Brains are built from the bottom up and increasingly complex circuits build on simpler ones. Good foundations support capacity later.
- A serve and return process is fundamental to the wiring of the brain
- Cognitive, emotional, and social capacities are inextricably intertwined
- Toxic Stress can damage developing brain architecture and lead to learning and behavioural problems, as well as susceptibility to physical and mental illness
- Brain plasticity and the ability to change behaviour decrease over time.
- Effectiveness factors can be measured and can inform wise investments in effective policies and programs
What is meant by a “serve and return” process?
The process of responding to children’s curiosity and inquiries to build a foundation of knowledge during key developmental years
What is toxic stress? How does it effect brain development?
Constant stress activation
–> Occurs without caring and nurturing response from adults/caregivers
Weaker/less connections in areas of brain responsible for learning and reasoning
Why must we use caution when imaging the developing brain and interpreting images to understand development?
The interpretation of these images and models are likely influences by social expectations and not based in biological foundation
–> “The crafted story of child development”
Where did the notion of promoting childhood development and achieving of milestones originate?
Politically motivated as a strength of children as uplifting or representing the strength of the nation
Children viewed as representations and having potential to generative power
What is problematic about the systematic creation and monitoring of “milestones” in childhood development?
Imposes responsibility on parents to address issues that have been closely monitored
–> funding and research efforts go towards monitoring and not actually on supporting development through creation of programs such as housing, breakfasts/lunches, childcare, tax reform
Why can the the use of growth charts as an ideal to monitor growth of a child be problematic?
Authoritive claims about nature/biology
–> Based on affluent, healthy children from non-smoking families
Recognize growth charts as biased averages
What is meant by the “Normal Child”?
The normal child is an ideal type constructed by virtue of its gaze.
“The normal child, the ideal type, distilled from the comparative scores of age-graded populations is therefore a fiction or myth. No individual child lies at its basis. It is an abstraction, a fantasy, a fiction, a production of the testing apparatus that incorporates, that constructs the child, by virtue of its gaze. This production, rather than description, of the child arose form the technologies of photography by which hundreds of children doing the same tasks could be juxtaposed, compared and synthesized into a single scale of measurement, from one-way mirrors though which children could be observed” Burman, 2008, p.22
What is the Early Development Instrument?
A reporting of pre-school children’s (0-5) readiness for school that has been co-opted as a surrogate to measure the brain and biological development of children, and then used to offload blame of poor school performance back onto parents.
–> Lowest 10% were said to be vulnerable, lowest 10-25% were said to be at risk
What is problematic in viewing early childhood development as a social determinant of health? Why is it occasionally viewed as such?
Social determinants of health are deeply embedded in economic processes, whereas ECD is easily modifiable and not systemically and historically embedded
–> Easier to report that it has improved over time than to address actual SDH that will affect childhood development (like poverty)
Piaget’s cognitive development theories are an example of which kind of traditional developmental theory?
Organicism
What are the three kinds of temperament according to Chess and Thomas (1990s)?
Easy (flexible) children - 40%
Difficult children - 10%
Slow to Warm (Fearful) children - 15%
Roughly 35% of children have some, but not all of the characteristics and may display a wide range of behavioural patterns.
Example of biophysical organicism
What is the main idea of Gesell’s (1940s) maturational model?
Children move through predictable stages of development (such as learning to speak, sit, walk, stand) at their own rate. Emphasized that while environmental factors play a role in development, fundamental patterns are genetically determined.
Example of biophysical organicism
What is Kohlberg’s (1968s) model of moral development?
The idea that children develop a sense or morality through stages
Preconventional + Self Interest - bad/good based on consequences
Conventional - the following of conventions and maintaining order
Conformity and Relationships - Concerned with gaining approval and maintaining positive relationships
Postconventional - Universal ethical principles and personal values. Understanding that maintaining social order and promoting individual rights through questioning status quo and laws.
Example of moral developmental organicism
How does Gilligan’s moral development theory criticize Kohlber’s?
She argues that while men prioritize an “ethics of Justice,” women prioritize an “ethics of care” which is morally centered on relationships and context dependent.
