Several prior developmental theories from Freud, Erikson, and Kohlberg present development toward the single ‘natural’ endpoint of independence and rationality. However, the multiculturalism approach opposes an unequivocal equation development with independence (New, 2010). This opposition simultaneously clarified and challenged my view of development. At the beginning of the course, it seemed quite natural to measure development by a degree of rational thinking and independent analysis. However, I had to reconsider what rational and independent truly meant and how much weight they held in evaluating development.
The older theories present a single sequential idea of how humans should develop, thus creating an arbitrary hierarchy of achievement. Such a hierarchy then easily becomes ethnocentric, dictating how a human should be (Gauvain et al., 2011). In Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s frameworks, people who progress differently are effectively deemed underdeveloped and paths that did not reach the single endpoint – deviant (Gauvain et al., 2011). However, as Day (2010) stressed, encouraging positive development can have lasting effects. Overall, the hierarchical model seems to be largely irrelevant in the context of the multicultural approach.
Furthermore, rather than labeling different developmental trajectories as pathological, the new approach gives space for multiple perspectives to flourish. Unlike the prior view, the multicultural approach states that there may be several different termini to human development (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). By the end of the course, I reconsidered my inclination to only judge growth by these two parameters. My view on human development changed to being more flexible and aware of embedded Western ethnocentrism.
Biology and Sociology
Freud has proposed the traditional ‘medical model’ of evaluating human development. Within this framework, each issue must be fitted by strict criteria as either fitting the ‘normalcy’ or not. However, the new psychology movement questions the well-established definitions of normal, acknowledging that social and political factors influence this notion in addition to the medical reality. This concept expanded my understanding of human development by shifting my perspective from a medical model to a mental health model. In contrast to the ‘symptom-patching’ strategy that a medical model offers, a mental health model accentuates holistic preventative measures based on an increasing understanding of the psychological state’s biological and social contexts.
Moreover, a modern revision of the medical model emphasizes the role of genetics in psychological and physical development. Certain diseases may not be attributable solely to the social context but rather be pre-determined by the genetic makeup. In this context, passing a moral judgment onto the behavior that may purely be a function of someone’s biology is unwarranted (Ivey & Ivey, 1999). Hence, I had to reconsider my previous views regarding certain behaviors or addictions by the end of this course.
Moreover, unlike the medical model, which deems all conditions as inherently violating an absolutist norm, the new outlook highlights the present flexibility in views. According to Freud, social opinions on ‘deviance’ change frequently – for instance, homosexuality, a pathology that turned out to be a natural variation in human development (Ivey & Ivey, 1999). Overall, the new approach brings the element of biology in discussing the development of human traits that are frequently judged solely in a societal context. Lastly, I pondered how much people should rely on genetic predisposition in judging others: for instance, people who may genetically be more likely to commit violent crimes. In my opinion, it would be morally wrong to discriminate against them, given the mentioned genetic complexity and unpredictability. At the beginning of this course, I knew very little about genetics’ role in social development; however, my perception of human development is less judgemental now.
Feminist Perspectives
The feminist perspective on the theory of human development states that women’s voices have historically been excluded. Kohlberg’s original theory presents the masculine idea of justice as the highest form of moral reasoning. Moreover, Freud, Kohlberg, and Erikson embraced the predominantly male view in human development research and theory. The famously known research conducted by Dr. Gilligan challenged this view while finding that there were indeed significant differences between men and women (Muuss, 1988). At a glance, men appeared to have stronger moral reasoning when using a ‘male’ template of equating it with the morality of rights (Muuss, 1988). However, Dr. Gilligan stated that while men associated reasoning with justice, women associated it with mercy. Importantly, the level of complexity behind the arguments of either sex was equal – therefore, there was no reason for the male view to be automatically superior (Muuss, 1988). Female thinking is just as comprehensive, well-supported, and potentially more compassionate than male thinking.
This lecture resonated with me by finding similarities with the multicultural perspective – the limitations of assessing behavior from a single Western male viewpoint became evident by the course’s end. Lastly, the feminist approach challenges older theories within the framework of Vygotsky and Bandura’s theories. The ‘male pattern’ approach can work with Vygotsky’s claim that the immediate social environment transforms a child’s cognition by tailoring it to the needs of a certain culture (Gauvain et al., 2011). However, when I think about Bandura’s assertion that observing good role models will shape a better behavior than negative ones, the question arises: what is a good role model for a girl (Gauvain et al., 2011)? The biggest learning experience that the feminist perspective brought by the course’s end was that ‘different’ does not always imply an inferior-superior dynamic.
Muuss, R. E. (1988). Carol Gilligan’s theory of sex differences in the development of moral reasoning during adolescence. Adolescence, 23(89), 229–243.
In a general sense, personality development is a complex biosocial process that is accompanied by qualitative and quantitative transformations. The basis of the process of education is human consciousness, which means that nurturing requires the direct participation of the individual. The environment, in its essence, is the current reality in which the formation of human personality occurs. It has been remarked that the family, home, and environment are of particular relevance in childhood. Under the influence of these factors, the individual’s essential moral and social qualities are established. Thus, it is crucial to determine how my family influenced my development.
A Narrative of a Milestone in My Life
The concepts of home and violence appear to be incompatible, as home provides protection, security, love, and the opportunity for children and adults to discover and evolve their abilities. One of the significant features of the domestic violence I experienced is that it is neither an accident but has a systemic nature and manifests itself in recurring cycles of different types of aggression. Domestic violence is not a conflict that can be resolved through negotiation, compromise, and mutual concessions (Blandin and Pepin 70). Although both parents raised us, I have a younger sister who also suffered from this kind of family atmosphere. In this way, I did not have a close relationship with my mother and endeavored to spend more time with my grandmother.
A pivotal moment in my life was my grandmother’s death; she died of an incurable disease. In 2021, I lost a true example of emulation and the dearest human being at the same time. I spent a lot of time with her from an early age and had a strong emotional connection. She was a special individual; she had insanely kind and cheerful eyes. Even when Grandmother talked sternly to someone, her eyes sparkled with kindness. Grandmother reminded me of a fairy tale heroine, a kind savior with blue eyes and an honest, affectionate look. Since early childhood, my grandmother taught me to behave appropriately to that people would always speak of me with kind words. From that time on, I know that one should not borrow other people’s stuff without asking and that one should be polite and provide help both to good people and to others who do evil.
It is essential to remark that my grandmother discovered in time that I was suffering from anxiety and childhood trauma. She attempted to explain to my parents the consequences of their negative behavior. My grandmother was convinced that abuse or aloofness on the part of my parents and the absence of affection, and closeness with my parents as a child resulted in one becoming socially awkward in adulthood. Unfortunately, my parents did not support my grandmother’s views, which is why they did not change their behavior. That is why my grandmother registered my sister and me for schema therapy; this method is suitable for patients who have difficulties in socialization and those who cannot cope with the consequences of childhood psychological traumas. During treatment, the physician uses a “re-education” technique to help the patient’s vulnerable inner child learn to meet their basic emotional needs in healthy ways. Through various methods, specifically dialogues, role-playing, journaling, and teaching essential habits, schema therapy has helped us get rid of psychological complexes and problems.
In this way, my grandmother attempted to help me and my sister from normal behavior and attitudes toward life. My grandmother always shared my interests, endured my failures hard, and was proud of me for my achievements in my studies and other areas. She tried to shield my sister and me from the negative influence of my parents, and after her death, we lost great support and a source of strength. For me, she was the closest and dearest person in the world, which is why I was painfully aware of her illness and death.
Analyzing the Milestone’s Impact on My Life
Significantly, my grandmother was treated and fought for her life for a long time, but the disease was powerful. After discovering that she had been hospitalized, I went straight to the hospital and stayed outside the room all night. I thought that we had joked, laughed, cried together, made standard life plans, and sometimes argued or even conflicted. At the same time, I was analyzing what a significant contribution she had made to my upbringing and life, and I wanted to thank her sincerely.
In the first weeks after her death, I experienced a period of great suffering, manifesting itself in emptiness, despair, loneliness, anger, guilt, fear and anxiety, impotence, irritation, and a desire for privacy. I even felt guilty for not finding a way and helping her overcome her illness. Subsequently, I realized that my grandmother had spent her whole life trying to find ways to help me and my sister recover from childhood traumas, to identify and socialize. Therefore, I could not allow myself to become depressed because that would have ruined everything my grandmother had provided me with. She wished for my sister and me to solve our psychological issues and live a healthy and normal life. Thus, I decided not to stop there and continue to build my life in a way that would make my grandmother proud of me.
To live through my childhood traumas, I decided to leave my comfort zone. Accordingly, I began to attend public places and sports activities that I had never done before. In this way, I tried to fulfill my grandmother’s wish regarding my socialization and establishing healthy and equal relationships with people. At first, it was challenging for me to overcome my anxiety, but the belief that my grandmother appreciated my efforts helped make me strong. After going to public places for a few weeks, I met several people who became my friends. At the same time, I began to experience the joy of socializing and life in general.
Significantly, my grandmother’s death demonstrated that life is unpredictable and that sometimes events can not go according to plan. It is crucial at such a moment not to despair but to analyze the situation, understand my mistakes, and proceed further. Accordingly, I decided not to lose my life but to progress and search for new opportunities. I enrolled in a psychologist to finally recover from childhood traumas. Moreover, I began to study constantly, watching courses and webinars and participating in contests and events. I never missed an occasion to upgrade my professional abilities to change my life for the better.
I also started communicating more with my sister because she had been painfully affected by my grandmother’s death and needed support. We often reminisced about our time at our grandmother’s and unanimously declared that those were the best moments of our lives. My grandmother’s death brought my sister and me closer together, and we began enjoying holidays and free days together. Thus, establishing social contact with my sister enabled me to become less isolated from my family. I even contacted my parents, who analyzed my behavior after my grandmother’s death and attempted to repair the damage inflicted on me and my sister. Therefore, my grandmother’s death was the critical moment after which I began to control and manage my own life. At first, I felt sadness, despair, and loneliness, but I could cope with them because my grandmother spent her whole life trying to make me happy. Accordingly, after her death, I could not let her efforts futile; her desire to assist me motivated me to continue living and evolving.
The Comparison of My Reactions and Research
Presently, there are no obvious theories of sorrow and loss in scientific psychology that completely and appropriately describe how people handle the loss. For everyone, the death of a loved one is enormous grief. In the classification of grief responses, other investigators determine from 3 to 12 phases that a bereaved person needs to go through in sequence (Rozalski et al. 20). In this connection, the concept of J. Worden, who offered a variant of explaining the response of defeat not by steps or stages, has recently become widespread. He suggested four tasks that should solve problems in the ordinary process. The first challenge is recognizing loss; I, too, lived through this phase (Yousuf-Abramson 368). I knew that my grandmother had been sick for a long time, and I prepared myself morally for her death. It is significant to mention that when I sat outside the room, I still had a long time believing that she had died.
The second goal is to process the pain of loss, meaning going through all the complicated feelings surrounding the defeat. I passed through this stage; I was in a lot of pain from losing a loved one, which is why I felt loneliness, anger, sadness, and guilt in the first weeks. It is interesting to observe that J. Worden outlines the third obligation as managing the circumstances where the absence of the departed is supposed (Yousuf-Abramson 368). I have not fully passed this stage because I constantly think about how my grandmother would have reacted to my actions. Thus, I subconsciously consult her and want her to approve of my behavior. The fourth challenge is to create a new perspective toward the departed and restart living. I started to experience the fourth stage immediately after the second because I was attempting to accept the fact of my grandmother’s death and continue to cultivate my life.
It is essential to analyze the syndrome of grief arising from the death of an important person. In one of the first studies by E. Lindemann, dedicated to the syndrome of critical grief happening at the failure of a loved one, many elements of this emotion were highlighted. Acute grief is a definite illness with specific mental and somatic symptoms. Accordingly, the psychologist allocated five signs of grief: “physical suffering, preoccupation with the image of the deceased, guilt, hostile reactions, and loss of behavioral patterns” (Frumkin et al. 255). My response to the death of a dear person was not typical. I experienced grief, guilt, and physical suffering, but at the same time, I did not experience hostile reactions and did not lose patterns of behavior. On the contrary, I knew exactly how I would get on with my life and what aspects of my behavior I needed to change. Consequently, my reactions were not common because my grandmother had instructed me all my life, which helped me cope with my challenges.
Analyzing the universal processes of grief and sorrow, Spiegel describes four stages. The first phase is shock, disbelief, episodes of incomplete awareness of one’s surroundings, and difficulty making sense of what is occurring (Hansen 19). I did not fully experience this stage because I knew about my grandmother’s illness and understood that she could die. The second phase was regaining control, passivity, difficulty making decisions, a feeling of inner emptiness, and sometimes trying to act as if nothing had happened. I felt pain and sadness, and it was hard for me to live without a dear person, but I did not attempt to act like my grandmother was still alive.
The third stage is a regression in relationships with others, complaining, crying, searching for comfort, idealizing the past, accepting religious explanations, and fear losing self-control. I did not experience this stage. After all, I was attempting to help my grandmother fight the disease because I knew she might die. The fourth stage was an adaptation, the gradual rejection of regressive behavior (Hansen 19). I survived this stage after the second stage and attempted to develop my life in a way that my grandmother would be grateful to me.
Conclusion
Hence, the crucial moment in my life was my grandmother’s death. We had a close relationship because she assisted my sister and me through family problems. Significantly, because we had a close and pre-violent connection, I did not experience the standard feelings and stages after her death. Indeed, I felt sadness and pain, but I knew what to do next and how to develop my life. It was because my grandmother was struggling to help me retreat to socialism and find my own identity that I understood what to do after she died.
Works Cited
Blandin, Kesstan, and Renee Pepin. “Dementia Grief: A Theoretical Model of a Unique Grief Experience.” Dementia, vol. 16, no.1, 2017, pp. 67-78.
Hansen, Adolf. Responding to Loss: A Resource for Caregivers. Routledge, 2020.
Frumkin, Madelyn, et al. “The Pain of Grief: Exploring the Concept of Psychological Pain and Its Relation to Complicated Grief, Depression, and Risk for Suicide in Bereaved Adults.” Journal of Clinical Psychology, vol. 77, no. 1, 2021, pp. 254-267.
Rozalski, Vincent, et al. “Circumstances of Death and Complicated Grief: Indirect Associations through Meaning Made of Loss.” Journal of Loss and Trauma, vol. 22, no. 1, 2017, pp. 11-23.
Yousuf-Abramson, Sheila. “Worden’s Tasks of Mourning through a Social Work Lens.” Journal of Social Work Practice, vol. 35, no. 4, 2021, pp. 367-379.
The self concept can be defined as the knowledge accumulation about the self, e.g. values, beliefs relating to personality traits, abilities, physical features, roles and goals. Starting at birth, children organize and achieve information relating to them as a way to make them understand the relationship between their social life and the concept of self. By the age of three years, children are already developed of their categorical self, which involves mostly on the way they see themselves in “this or that” labels. E.g. small children mark themselves in relation to gender such as “girl or boy”, value such as “bad or good”, physical such as “tall or short”, age such as “child or adult.” (Grace J. Craig, 2002).
The labels mainly explain the self concept of children in very concrete, observable conditions. Small children may start experiencing private thoughts, inner self, desires and feelings that no one else is aware of unless a child decides to share the information. This process of development is an outcome of emerging cognitive skills of children and their social relationships with both peers and family members. At early childhood, the self concepts of children are merely differentiated and they are judged mostly on concrete characteristics like possessions, abilities and physical attributes. (Grace J. Craig and Don Baucum, 2002).
During middle childhood, the self concept of children becomes more differentiated and integrated as the child involves himself in social comparison and in a clearer manner perceives the self as having psychological and internal characteristics. During adolescence and later childhood, the self concept of children is found to be more complex, abstract and hierarchically arranged into self-schemas or cognitive mental representations, which leads the self-relevant information processing. Early self concepts mostly depend on easily observed and defined variables and since several young children are provided with lots of encouragement, those children who are preoperational often possess relatively high self esteem. In relation to emotional development, both external and internal variables could have a major effect on the self concept of young children. (Don Baucum, 2002).
How gender identity develops during early childhood
The gender identity creation is a complex process that begins with conception, but it consists of processes of critical development at gestation and even experiences of leaning after birth. Gender identity and sexuality is the final channel or realm of child development. Several people believe that development of sexuality does not appear as a significant condition until adolescence and puberty. However, children start to develop sexual behavior and interest in their functioning of sexuality during infancy. Gender identity and sexuality development cuts across emotional, physical, cognitive, and social developmental dimensions. However, just like all stages of development, it is important to realize that every child is different and could grow more slowly or faster than other children (Grace J. Craig, 2002).
According to Kohlberg’s gender identity development theory, “young children learn to understand about their gender and the meaning of being that gender in their each and everyday life” (Kohlberg). Kohlberg states that this process has three stages. The first stage which occurs between the ages of three to four years that is early pre school years, young children involve themselves in gender labeling. The second stage occurs as young children mature; in this stage they get a better gender identity understanding. Children get to understand that changing tasks or physical looks can change them into the opposite sex. The last Kohlberg’s stage occurs between the ages of six to seven years that is early school years and this is where several children understand the consistency of gender, the reasoning that they are one particular gender and they will stay as that gender for the rest of their lives. Piaget’s theory of development may be applied to gender identity development by examining social interactions and day to day play of young children. By the age of five years, children seem to want to play with mostly “gender-specific” toys. (Grace J. Craig and Don Baucum, 2002). At this age, children become informed about stereotypical behaviors and activities related to gender. Early beliefs relating to gender roles will reflect observations made by children of what they around them. (Don Baucum, 2002).
Reference
1. Grace J. Craig and Don Baucum, Learning Resources Textbook: Human Development 9th Edition 2002, Prentice Hall.
This paper analyzes the skills, or personal capabilities, that contribute to positive social development in children, addressing the school and the family environment qualities that encourage or inhibit this development. These personal capabilities are communication, creativity, and a positive self-image. Here are their detailed characteristics and main features.
Body
A positive self-image helps the children avoid doubt in their abilities. For example, at school, a child with a positive self-image easily makes friends without feeling inferiority towards others or their hostility towards him/her. Communication skills help the children interact with each other and build future relationships. These skills are important to the child to communicate with other personalities. Creativity develops imagination and originality and helps a child distinguish him/herself from others and develop unusual methods of problem-solving. Thus, if a child has created, he or she can find solutions to problems that can not be solved by traditional methods, for example, creativity in respect of avoiding conflicts with others (Wagner,1).
The qualities of the family environment that develop the aforementioned capabilities are encouragement and involvement. Children who feel encouragement in their activities will develop their positive self-image and creativity which will help in developing confidence in their skills. The involvement implicates that the parents will both participate in the process of educating the child and outline the important relationships of identity, generativity, and intimacy: “…in identity, important relationships include one’s peers; in intimacy, one’s relationships include those with significant others; in generativity, it is one’s sharing love and work in the care of the next generation” (Christiansen,133).
The family environment inhibiting the growth of personal capabilities is where a conflict takes place. “In Erikson’s view, these conflicts are centered on either developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. During these times, the potential for personal growth is high, but so is the potential for failure.” (Wagner,1) Thus, if there is a conflict inside the child’s family, his/her social skills may develop both positively, if a child wants to compensate for the lack of communication, or negatively if the child has fear of communication.
The self-image of this child in this situation will also be negative as certain children think they are reasons for which their parents quarrel. Consequently, creativity is either absent as there are no encouragement and involvement or developed in a negative direction allowing the child to reveal anger and negative emotions got from the family conflict.
Conclusion
The qualities of the classroom environment should give an “opportunity to experience classroom life as subjects, rather than objects.” (Parsons, 57) Thus, children should have the freedom to decide rather than be decided for by teachers and chance to share opinions. Such experience helps children not to feel inferior to other children or to teachers and develop their skills, namely communication, self-image, and creativity, for further social life. The quality of the classroom environment that inhibits the development of the skills and personal capabilities could be the one that uses the imbalanced and one-sided authority role of the teacher.
This environment could be described as “The teacher teaches and the students are taught; The teacher knows everything and the students know nothing; The teacher thinks and the students are thought about; The teacher talks and the students listen meekly; The teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; The teacher chooses and enforces his [her] choices and students comply” (Parsons, 57) Implementing such environment will inhibit the growth of the skills that contribute to the social development of children.
Works cited
Christiansen, S. L., & Palkovitz, R. (1998). Exploring Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Development: Generativity and Its Relationship to Paternal Identity, Intimacy, and Involvement in Childcare. 133.
Parsons, E. C. (2003). A Teacher’s Use of the Environment to Facilitate the Social Development of Children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 18(1), 57+.
The film “10 Things I hate About You” is a case study for defining and analyzing human development stages. Stratford is a native of Seattle who, together with her younger sister Bianca, lives with their father, Walter. She’s a senior in high school and plans to go to Sarah Lawrence College in New York. In contrast to Bianca’s naivete and sweetness, Kat is cunning, intelligent, and aloof. It’s understandable why most people refer to her as the “b*tch”(Lazar, 1999, 1:12:00). She may come out as grumpy and argumentative, but underneath it all, she does care about the people in her life. As far as her friends and acquaintances are concerned, Katarina is a feminist who cannot stand the foolishness of dating. Understandably, she rejects intimate advances.
Development Period
Considering Erickson’s hypothesis, Katarina is an adolescent. Approximately 18 years old, she is a senior in high school. Kat and Bianca do not look too different in age; therefore, it is reasonable to assume that she is also in her adolescent years. Most cast members are at a point when they show signs of rapid physical growth (Beyer and Lazzara, 2020). She is typical of a female pubescent in her abnormal proportions, being both tall and thin. However, puberty comes quite late for her, as she should have more obvious feminine features by age eight. She lacks the bosom, thighs, and hips of Bianca. She prefers to be alone and is more susceptible to stress. The latter may result from her genetics or lifestyle also.
An individual must achieve these results to finish adolescence successfully, thus making an “easy” transition into adulthood (Beyer and Lazzara, 2020). Katarina’s success or failure in making the stages described by the theories can be determined by analyzing her behavior and relationships. Firstly, she appears aware of and comfortable with her physical changes. She employs them strategically as a distraction; she exposes her bosom in an attempt to get Patrick off probation (Lazar, 1999, 1:07:18). In response to Walter asking Bianca’s whereabouts, Kat tells him that she ran off with “Bikers who were filled with sperm,” (Lazar, 1999, 1:27:02). It can be assumed that full sexual maturity kicks in during puberty and potential for teenage pregnancy increases.
Discussion on the Bronfenbrenner Hypothesis
Bronfenbrenner’s theory considers aspects of a child’s surroundings in their growth. These he classified into systems that affect one’s outlook, friends, and personal growth. The theory differs from others in that it sees the child’s growth as the product of the interplay between various factors. He classifies the environment into five distinct systems; the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystemic, macrosystem, and chronosystem. The microsystem makes a child’s immediate environment. The mesosystem encompasses the microsystems and how they interrelate to affect the child’s development. The exosystem is a combination of relationships outside the microsystem that influence the development of an individual. As the largest interacting environment, the macrosystem is also the most distant from the child. Despite this, it has a considerable effect on the child.
Erickson’s Theory: Identity vs. Role Confusion
Eight phases of psychological and social growth occur between infancy and adulthood. Depending on how it is handled, each stage’s psychological crisis can significantly impact the individual’s developing character (Maree 2022). Erickson’s view of the adolescent is predicated on the tension between the principles of identity and role uncertainty. In this stage of development, the adolescent will reevaluate his identity and attempt to determine their true nature by asking questions such as “who am I?” To make a smooth shift, one must be confident in who they are and what one can do. Adolescents will experiment on many different personas as they explore who they are and the world around them.
The Ecological System of The Character
Kat’s microsystem consists of Patrick, Walter, and Bianca. These are the people in her immediate surroundings, and she can impact their impressions of her. Kat feels vulnerable talking to Patrick because she has revealed personal information (Lazar, 1999, 1:15:30). Her fellow students, the school administration, and teachers make up her mesosystem. Kats macrosystem is her neighborhood, which welcomes young adults by letting them host parties and play loud music without fear of repercussion (Lazar, 1999, 0:40:01). Kat’s nationality is the chronosystem which is the last major factor in shaping her character, as evidenced by the fact that she lives in Seattle. Kat has a driver’s license and is eligible to apply to universities.
Kat has attained identity achievement by establishing a solid professional identity. Kat has planned her future career around the things she enjoys doing and has put in the effort to make those plans a reality (Lazar, 1999, 0:13:51). She is determined to complete her education, unlike Bianca. The latter is torn between Cameron and Joey. Admission to Sarah Lawrence reflects her motivation and drive, which will help her realize her full potential. Achieving success in school is closely linked to identity achievement, which is shown by her renewed optimism that stem from her belief that she can take steps toward greater autonomy once in college (Lazar, 1999, 0:13:51). Since she has confidence in her ability to be independent, she is unafraid and confident.
Conclusion
Unlike his daughter, Mr. Walter, a gynecologist, says that teen pregnancies are a source of frustration (Xavier et al., 2018). Because pregnant women are more likely than males to experience hardship due to having a child, his overprotectiveness is somewhat understandable (Lazar, 1999, 0:13:47). The family unit as a whole is impacted by teen pregnancy. Both adolescents and their parents develop depression. In good faith that they listen to him, Walter often reminds his daughters to be cautious; he quotes the words of the 15-year-old she helped deliver as a warning. He goes to great lengths to protect his kid, but it’s unclear whether out of love or fear.
References
Beyer, A., & Lazzara, J. (2020). Chapter 7: Adolescence – Psychology through the lifespan. Maricopa Open Digital Press.
Lazar, A. (Producer), & Junger, G. (Director). (1999). 10 Things I hate About You [Motion Picture]. United States: Touchstone Pictures.
Maree, J. G. (2022). The psychosocial development theory of Erik Erikson: a critical overview. The Influence of Theorists and Pioneers on Early Childhood Education, 119-133.
Xavier, C., Benoit, A., & Brown, H. K. (2018). Teenage pregnancy and mental health beyond the postpartum period: A systematic review. J Epidemiol Community Health, 72(6), 451-457.
The theory of human development views this aspect of social science from the perspectives of Id, Ego, and Superego. From the Id point of view, these theoretical bases and ethical considerations are created for the benefit of the clients of the social worker. At the same time, Ego views it as a matter of consideration for the social worker only as of the one who is interested in the efficiency of his work and fulfills all the ethical and communicational norms, while Superego considers the overall benefit of the above-mentioned considerations for the society as a whole. From the point of view of the strengths theory, such ethical and communicational principles of the clinical practices and social work with the patients with MICA substances abuses is considered to be strong as these rules for social workers regulate all the spheres of their activities in respect of communication with clients, taking measures if their clients’ health is in danger, etc. (Key Issues in Clinical Practice, 15 – 16).
Application
The theoretical basis of every science is a rather important aspect. It allows the scholars to have a distinct and clear program of goals and achievements that direct the development of the science for a certain period of time. Social work is not an exception to the rule, and its theoretical basis is also clear and distinct. There are various guidelines that direct the work of the social workers, ethics they have to be led by, principles of communication with the different groups of patients, including those who demand instant help and those under the threat of suicide, and many other principles. Thus, the application of the guidelines for social workers presented, for example, in Chapter 2 (2008), is obvious, and its practicality can not be doubted.
Ethics of communication with patients, privacy policy, and other aspects are widely applicable. Confidentiality and privacy policy services for the purposes of effective and fats treatment, which is the aim of every social worker. Thus, a person dealing with some secrets and personal data about one of their patients is not allowed to reveal this information. Another application of these guidelines is the prevention of possible suicide among clients with MICA substances abuse or other mental illnesses. Social workers who are well aware of such possibilities and of the measures necessary to prevent them are more successful than others (Key Issues in Clinical Practice, 16 – 17.)
Practice
Having learned all the above-considered rules and guidelines for social workers, I had faced several cases when I had to implement my knowledge and skills. The brightest example of a situation of this kind was the case of a woman who displayed symptoms of MICA substances abuse and was assigned for care to me. This woman was in deep depression and displayed such signs of a possible suicide attempt as being permanently upset, talking about the uselessness of life, and looking for ways to finish it. As a social worker, I had to be attentive to all her statements and phrases to prevent and keep her safe from any uncorrectable steps. Fortunately, my amount of knowledge allowed me to keep her in high spirits and help in solving her problems that led to MICA substances abuse.
Another example is when I implemented the initiatives for a brief treatment of the patient who displayed signs of MICA substances abuse. These initiatives were useful for me as I came across a case when a person has no time for the long treatment program and needed an effective but brief treatment. Also, the ethical boundaries that demand from a social worker to be always polite, friendly, and understanding with the client have been kept to by me in this case (Key Issues in Clinical Practice, 25 – 26). They allowed me as a social worker to establish contacts with the patients and involve them in collaborative work that made the treatment process easier. A special point of the ethical considerations for social workers is the prohibition of any kinds of sexual or affectionate relationships between the social worker and their patient, and this point was also kept to me during my practice.
Case Study
The case study on this topic will be a study of a situation when a non-professional practitioner who worked as a social worker realized that his skills were better than those of the recognized practitioner. Their names are not revealed for the purposes of privacy policy and confidentiality. The situation formed in the case when a patient with MICA substances abuse was assigned to that social worker who soon realized that his approach to the patient was much more effective than traditional treatment. This happened so due to the perfect command of ethical and communicational guidelines for social workers studied by that person. He faced the necessity to solve the moral dilemmas and problems of the patient and did it with the greater success that doctors could by being polite and attentive to the troubles of the patient. Thus, it can be concluded that the issue of ethical and moral considerations is rather significant for social workers. Those workers who aim at achieving greater proficiency and efficacy of their work must keep to these guidelines and implement them during their practices.
References
Chapter 2. (2008). Key Issues in Clinical Practice.
Being one of the strongest types of interpersonal bonds, friendships play a crucial role in human life. They are an interesting phenomenon in developmental psychology as children’s cognitive maturation is marked by becoming more selective in such relationships. In childhood, one’s attitudes to making friends change in line with Damon’s three-stage model, and friendships have profound positive effects on development in the emotional and social domains.
Damon’s Friendship Stages
Damon distinguishes between three stages through which children’s comprehension of the friendship concept passes as they grow. During the first stage seen in kids aged 4-7, the definitions of friendship relationships are limited by behavioral rather than inner personal characteristics (Feldman, 2018). For instance, during this stage, the fact of sharing toys and engaging in common activities with another child is enough to consider this person a friend. Stage two is observed in those aged 8-10 and involves children’s increasing comprehension of mutual trust as a crucial aspect of friendships (Feldman, 2018). In this stage, positive interactions and mutual activities no longer serve as an excuse for betrayed trust and a lack of dependability, and children begin to understand the role of apologies in reestablishing friendships. Finally, stage three occurs between 11 and 15 years and features psychological proximity as the chief criterion of meaningful relationships (Feldman, 2018). During this stage, friendships become more exclusive, personal, and centered on the sense of closeness. Thus, the opportunity to share personal thoughts without the fear of betrayal gradually becomes the basic value.
How Friendships Evolve and the Effect on Social/Emotional Development
Friendships evolve by means of gradual transitions from simple/action-based to more complex understandings of proximity and peers’ inner qualities. Such relationships start as concrete but superficial interpersonal connections, with engaging in one and the same pleasurable experience or visiting the same setting as the basis of connections between children. As time passes, children become less self-centered and start to expect trustworthiness and reciprocity in relationships, and the elements of assessing others’ behaviors and acting depending on such assessments emerge and guide interaction between friends. Notably, as children grow up, their friendship-related preferences evolve to shift toward cultural similarity, which explains an inverse relationship between age and the number of interracial friendships (Feldman, 2018). Relationships become more exclusive progressively as developing individuals grasp the ability to verbalize traits and qualities that alter their attitudes to peers positively or negatively, which enables them to start and end friendships more thoughtfully.
Friendships per se and the child’s smooth progression through the aforementioned stages produce a positive effect on both social (SD) and emotional development (ED). By making friends, children broaden their perspectives beyond those in their households. Such relationships challenge them to build self-presentation skills and comprehend pro-social behaviors and interpersonal communication, thus supporting SD (Feldman, 2018). As children’s definitions of mutual affection evolve to include moral/personality characteristics, their comprehension of societal structures and belonging also becomes more nuanced, contributing to SD. Concerning ED, constant interactions with friends expose children to reference points to distinguish between normal and deviant self-expression styles and develop emotional self-awareness. By evolving into relationships based on psychological proximity, friendships enable children to share concerns without the fear of rejection, which adds to building stress resilience and self-regulation as part of ED (Feldman, 2018). Therefore, ED and SD benefit from maintaining friendships and demonstrating normal development in terms of friendship stages.
Conclusion
To sum up, friendships promote child development and evolve to reflect changes in children’s understanding of affection and reciprocity. Damon’s model offers insight into fluctuations in the relative importance of common activities, trust, and psychological similarity as the prerequisites for close relationships. Making friends and developing age-appropriate friendship-related priorities are essential to comprehend social structures, norms, and the basics of expressing and responding to emotions.
Reference
Feldman, R. S. (2018). Child development (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Development takes place gradually. The essay on this page discusses this phenomenon in greater detail. It expands upon theories of Piaget and Vygotsky. Read through this human development essay example to get a better grasp of the subject.
Human development is a very complex process and no single theory can be sufficient enough to explain these processes. This paper focuses on various theories that attempt to explain the development processes and factors that influence them. The study explores different theories of motor development, their pros and cons.
The paper also examines theories of cognitive development focusing on Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories of development. The two cognitive theories are compared and contrasted citing some of their impact on the provision and practice used in working with children in the early years. These theories demonstrate that human development is a gradual but progressive process that occurs in stages.
Introduction
Human development varied and extremely complex process. Therefore, no single theory can manage to explain human development exhaustively as a result of this complexity. Each theory tries to explain a limited range of development and this is the reason why particular areas of development often have cutthroat theoretical views, each attempting to explain the same facet of development (Barnes 1995).
Theories of human development are an array of ideas that are based on scientific proofs and efforts to explain and predict individual behaviours and development. From this definition it is very clear that theories attempts to provide vivid explanation from a messy mass of information (Neaum 2010).
Theories of development are categorized into minor and major theories. Minor theories of development deals with specific area of development; on the other hand major theories are the category that attempts to explain wider area of development. Some of the major theories of development include motor development, Cognitive development, Social cognitive development, evolution and ethology, psychoanalytic theories and humanistic theory (Neaum 2010).
Theory of Motor Development
One of the major milestones in the development of infants is the achievement of various motor developments. The development of motor skills has a major impact on other facets of development. The ability of a child to act on the effects of his/her surrounding has significant implications on other aspects of development, and each and every accomplishment enhances the child’s level of independence. (Cohen 2002).
At birth a child has several well developed motor skills, which comprises of staring, suckling, grasping, breathing, crying-necessary for the infant’s survival. Nevertheless, the common impression of a new born baby is one of uncoordinated lack of ability and overall weakness. Movement of their body reveals weakness in the muscles and deficiency in coordination, and takes a number of weeks before the baby can lift their head in an appropriate posture.
The infant’s muscles at this time are not able to function well therefore the infant is not able to perform basic activities. By the end of infancy, about a year and a half, the toddler can perform all the basic activities through complex coordinated movements (Bremmer & Slater 2003; Cohen 2002).
A child develops various motor skills progressively with time. These skills are attained by a child within a considerable age bracket for example some children start moving with their hands by 5 months while others as late as 12 months. These features of development are well elaborated in the two theories of motor development: maturational theories and dynamic system theory (Bremmer & Slater 2003).
The pioneer of maturational theories is a psychologist by the name Arnold Gesell who studied motor activity of infants up to the age of nine (Thomas 2000). Gesell concluded that motor development takes place in two directions. The first direction is known as the cephalocaudal trend and begins from the upper part of the body to the lower parts.
He stated that movement starts from the head, to the arms and trunk, then finally to the legs. The subsequent direction is the proximodistal motor trend. This begins from the centre of the body outwards to the peripheral parts. In other words head, trunk and the pelvic girdle gain impulses before the limbs and their joints.
The above two direction of motor development, fronted Gesell to the opinion that maturation solely shapes the motor development. In other words development is directed by a maturational schedule specifically connected to the central nervous system and to the development of the muscles (Bremmer & Slater 2003: Thomas 2000).
Gesell’s hypothesis was first disapproved by Myrtle McGraw in 1945.McGraw conducted a research on identity twins and established that training accelerated motor development. Besides McGraw’s results there are other studies which suggest that a pure maturation theory does not hold water.
First, the fact that the development of motor skills exhibit gradual but progressive behaviour does not necessarily mean it is a genetic characteristic. This can be proven by professional skills which are acquired gradually from simple practice to a professional level, but there is no evidence to suggest any links to genetics. Maturational theory does not elaborate why disparity exists among individuals in attaining motor abilities (Thomas 2000).
The shortcomings of the maturational theories led to the development of dynamic systems theory. The dynamic system theory holds the opinion that infants develop skills in diverse ways. Dynamic system theory ties motor development to a vibrant and advanced interaction of three key factors- growth of the nervous system, body abilities, and environmental constraints and sustainability.
In spite of the criticism of the maturational theories, experts have demonstrated that motor skills are acquired both at early infancy age and throughout life. In addition, child’s participation plays an important role in the development of motor skills (Bremmer & Slater 2003).
Piaget’s Theory of Development
According to Piaget, children shape their own development. Children’s’ behaviour and development are inspired mostly by internal factors than external factors (Cohen 2002). Piaget stated that children learn to adjust to their surrounding and because of the cognitive adaptations they gain the capacity to understand their environment.
Adaptation is common to all living things and children are not left out. Children continually build more advanced understandings of their environment (Broadhead 2010). Piaget’s theory describes children as intrinsically active, constantly interacting with the surrounding, in such a style as to mould their own development. Since children are viewed as the most vibrant agents in developing their own world, Piaget’s theory is usually known as constructivism theory (Broadhead 2010).
Piaget asserts that for a child to acclimatize to a particular surrounding, two important processes are necessary; assimilation and accommodation. Assimilation entails treating everything around as if they are familiar. For instance infants always put everything they are given in their mouth since the only activity the acquitted to is suckling. They also treat everybody they meet in the same manner (White 2002).
Accommodation on the other hand involves altering or changing of behaviour and thoughts to adjust to a new environment/situation. Similar situation applies when a child meets new people; she has to adjust her way of thinking to understand the new person. Accommodation and assimilation takes place at the infancy stage and the instances above shows how accommodation and assimilation can take place simultaneously (Saxton 2010).
The process of assimilation and accommodation remains intact throughout an individuals’ life and helps them to counter new challenges/ experiences they encounter in their life (Long 2000). These dual processes are also known as functional invariants because they remain constant throughout an individual’s life time. However, cognitive structures changes to enable the infant acclimatise to the new challenges a head. (Miller 1993).
Piaget categorized four stages of human development, each with distinctive characteristics. These stages are sensorimotor stage, Pre-operation stage, Concrete Operations stage, and the Formal Operations stage (Bremmer & Slater 2003). Sensorimotor stage occurs from delivery to about 2 years.
It is the most remarkable and dramatic stage of development. A child is transformed from a helpless new born baby to the thinking and knowing baby (cognitive individual). These changes occur due to infant’s actions on objects and people in its surrounding. As this stage approaches its end, a child now is capable of reasoning through thoughts as well as action (Bremmer & Slater 2003).
Pre-operational stage takes over from the sensorimotor period up to seven years. A child at this stage is capable of solving practical problems by use of tools intelligently and by support of the adult members.
The child is also capable of communicating and representing information and thoughts through symbols. These capabilities develop progressively but there are some outstanding constraints to a child’s thinking at this stage. Children at this stage are egocentric and have illogical way of thinking (Thomas 2000). Concrete operational stage occurs between seven to eleven years.
One of the main characteristic of this stage is centration. A child tends to focus more on one facet of a situation leaving out others. Last but not the least is the operational stage which occurs at eleven years. At this stage a child is capable of solving problems related to the physical world, but the only constraint here is to do with the sphere of potential. When a child gets to final stage of cognitive development these restrictions are eliminated (Bremmer & Slater 2003).
Vygotsky’s theory
Lev Semenovich Vygotsky lived in the same era as Piaget. He was the first psychologist to acknowledge the importance of adults in children’s development (Daniels 1998). According to Vygotsky, the development of a child’s intellectual capabilities is shaped by a didactic/informative relationship with knowledgeable individuals (Thomas 2000).
One of the most intriguing aspects of Vygotsky’s work is the claim that higher mental capabilities are first met and used proficiently in social interactions, and only later on being assimilated and processed as a person thought processes. For example, children initially use language at a competently during social interactions; later on they internalize and rearrange it. (Daniels 1998).
Therefore, the main premise in Vygotsky’s theories is that social interaction plays a major part in the cognitive development (Johnston & Nahmad-Williams 2009). Vygotsky believed there was a gap between children’s knowledge and what the children could acquire from the surrounding. At every stage of human development the child possesses a specific threshold of information, a transitional optimum. After the transitional optimum is the zone of proximal development.
This zone contains problems and information that are very difficult for a child to understand or solve. This zone, can nevertheless, be examined and comprehended with the help of a knowledgeable peer or adult. The adults can direct a child since they have more grasp of the complex knowledge or way of thinking (Collins & Cook 2001).
Comparing and contrasting the theories of Piaget and Vygotsky
All the above theories of development concurred that a child’s cognitive development occurred in stages (Thomas 2000). However, these stages were told apart by different styles of thinking. Piaget was the first to classify child reasoning and thinking at various stages of life. Piaget believed that children progressed through four characteristic stages explained above. He also speculated on adaptation, and development (Barnes 1995).
The adaptation theory also referred to as the constructivism theory entails three basic processes which play a major role in a child’s cognitive development. These processes are adaptation, accommodation, and symmetrical balance. Assimilation (adaptaion) entails the incorporation of fresh ideas into the already existing cognitive structure.
Accommodation on the other hand entails adjustment made to the mental structures to accommodate the incorporated ideas. Lastly, equilibrium entails finding the balance between self and the surrounding, between accommodation and assimilation. When a child experiences a novel idea, a state of imbalance arises until she is able to assimilate and accommodate the idea.
Assimilation and accommodation enables a child to form a cognitive structure also known as schema, and with each stage of development comes new ways of organizing knowledge with the attainment of new cognitive structure. Cognitive structures/ schemas help the child in understanding the world around. A child learns by assimilating new ideas or by integrating the already existing ones to generate bigger ideas (Saxton 2010; Thomas 2000).
In contrast to Piaget’s theory, Vygotsky mostly associated with the social constructivist theory made the following conclusions: Culture -which is a superior mental efficacy of an individual came as a result of social processes. Vygotsky also claimed that language- regarded as a human social and psychosomatic process is natured by cultural tools. Last but not the least, introduced a concept of Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) which states that a child’s potential is restricted to a definite time limit (Thomas 2000).
Vygotsky believed that adults and children’s’ peers had the responsibility of imparting great knowledge and experience to the younger ones (Daniels 1998). This theory supports the discovery model of learning and thus recognise a teachers as the most important person in nurturing a child’ intellectual abilities.
According to Vygotsky, a child learns cultural elements and tools through socialization. These comprised of languages, set of laws, art, music among others. From Vygotsky’s point of view language is a pattern of figurative representation, which has been made ideal over generations and generations and enables a child to understand the surrounding. Language formed the main difference between the basic thinkers and the advanced thinkers (Neaum 2010; Slater & Bremner 2003; Thomas 2000).
According to Vygotsky’s theory, Zone of Proximal Development had to do with a child’s present and potential capabilities to carry out something. He classified the task of solving a problem as those that can be solved without help, those that requires help and those that can not be performed even with help. He believed the notion of Zone of Proximal Development suggested an improved shift in the direction of learning and enhanced understanding of the educational process (White 2002; Thomas 2000).
The idea of Zone of Proximal Development paved way for other new ideas such as scaffolding. Scaffolding encompasses all forms of aid that a child receives to improve his/her intellectual development. Scaffolding is synonymous to the scaffolding in the building and construction and is only used temporarily.
In other words, a child can be taught and helped in doing something and thereafter left alone to perform the task on his/her own. Vygotsky believed that the background of a child and the account of the child’s culture needed to be understood since it supersedes the cognitive structuring process described by Piaget’s theory (Long 2000; Thomas 2000).
Piaget believed that the order in which children experienced the various stages of development was universal, but recognized that the tempo at which each child went through these stages was flexible and relied upon other factors. These factors included maturity, surrounding, influence from the society among other factors.
Since different skills are required at each stage of development, Piaget believed that children should not be coerced into learning or gaining knowledge until the child was prepared cognitively. “On the other hand, Vygotsky believed that instruction came prior to development and that instruction guides the learner into the Zone of Proximal Development” (Long 2000; Thomas 2000; Cohen 2002).
To be noted is that Piaget and Vygotsky had a lot of divergent outlooks which incorporated Piaget’s proposal that changes in cognitive comes before the linguistic advancement, contrary to Vygotsky who believed that language provides a child with more liberty of thinking and results to additional cognitive growth (Cohen 2002).
Piaget had more faith in the development of thinking and that language was transferred from an individual to the society. Vygotsky on the other hand believed that individuals acquired language from the society (Thomas 2000).
According to Vygotsky, language moved from the societal domain to an individual level. Vygotsky believed that children begins by expressing their own discourse and then transform to the language of the society. This became internalized as the child grew to adulthood.
In contrast, Piaget asserted that egocentric speech was basically a complementary tool to a child’s actions and thus subsided as the child grew older. Even though the both disagreed on the purpose of egocentric speech, they both concurred on its significance to cognitive development (Neaum 2010).
Piaget and Vyygotsky believed the rapport between a person and the society as very important. However, Vygotsky believed that adults and peers were the one who had the greatest responsibility of imparting their great knowledge to the young generation.
Vygotsky never believed that a child could grow and develop individually with external environmental factors playing a major role in his/her cognitive development. He also believed that a child was not capable of developing without learning from other people within his or her surrounding (Cohen 2002)
Piaget upheld the opinion that children were naturally inquisitive about their individual abilities and their surrounding and that they improved their knowledge as a result of their biologically controlled cognitive changes. Piaget also believed that children were only capable of learning in each and every stage at a time and ignored the role played by a child’s activities on his/her thinking processes.
In contrary, Vygotsky stages of development were smooth and steady processes. He believed that child’s understanding was a matter of social interaction. For Vygotsky, culture and social facets played a major role in his theories than Piaget’s theories (Thomas 2000; Broadhead 2010).
Conclusion
Theories of human development are an array of ideas that are based on scientific proofs and efforts to explain and predict individual behaviours and development. Human development being a complex process has been explained by numerous theories; the most dominant theories of human development being the cognitive theories of Piaget and Vigotsky.
Vygotsky believed that an individual’s intellectual development continues infinitely, unlike Piaget who believed it ends after 15 years. There are certain factors that can interrupt constructivism theory supported by both Piaget and Vygotsky and these include brain disorders, autism and other special cases that can interrupt the stages of development.
All though Vygotsky and Piaget had certain differences, they contribute a lot to the theories of development. They both acknowledged the role played by the society and knowledgeable individuals in child’s development. The theory of motor development concurs with the other two theories in that human development takes place gradually and in stages.
Dynamic system theory of motor development acknowledges the influence of the environment besides the physiological factors in a child’s development. This is in line with both Piaget and Vygotsky. However, the maturational theories of motor development have numerous shortcomings. These include failure to recognize the role played by external factors in child development, individual difference in attaining motor skills among others.
References
Barnes, P. (eds) 1995. Personal, Social and Emotional Development of Children Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Bremmer, G., & Slater, A. 2003. Theories of infant development. Cambridge, M.A, &Oxford: Blackwell.
Broadhead. P. 2010. Play and Learning in the Early Years. London. Sage.
Cohen, D. 2002. How the Child’s Mind Develops .Sussex: Routledge
Collins, J. & Cook, D. (eds) .2001. Understanding Learning: influences and outcomes London: Paul Chapman Publishing in association with Open University Press
Daniels, H. (ed) .1998. An Introduction to Vygotsky London: Routledge Johnston, J., & Nahmad-Williams, L. 2009. Early Childhood Studies. Harlow. Pearson.
Long, M. 2000.The Psychology of Education London: Falmer and Routledge
Brazil is found in the Latin America and has a population of approximately 190 million, reflected in 2010 statistics. Population growth rate stands at 1.02% annually comprising of various races including Portuguese, Africans, and Germans, Italians, indigenous people and those with Middle Eastern descent amongst others.
The current educational literacy stands at 90.3% of adult population, while life expectancy by the year 2010 was around 73.1 years. The level of workforce within the country was approximated at 101.7 million by the year 2009. Brazil is under Federal type of governance with three arms which include Executive, Legislature and Judiciary.
Economically the overall GDP of Brazil at nominal exchange rate was estimated to be around $ 2.1 trillion by 2010, while the purchasing power parity stood at over $ 2.0 trillion. Economic growth rate was estimated to be above 7.4% in 2010. Brazil is regarded as the most populated country in Latin America with majority of the population leaving in urban centers. The population growth rate has since aided economic growth with consequent results in social, security and political areas (Bureau of western Hemisphere Affairs).
Indonesia as a developing country in South East Asia has made recognizable progress in the process of democratic and economic recovery. From mid 1960s to late 1990s Indonesian government survived under authoritarian kind of governance which saw it transform to middle-income country. However, the country is known to be multi-ethnic and religious state.
There is considerable disparity across the country between the rich and the poor as well as gender. Records show that the country’s Human Development Index (HDI) rose to 0.728 in the year 2005 while the gender development Index still remained low.
According to World Bank, Indonesian GDP growth was indicated to be at 6.3% in 2007, with inflation rate standing at 6.4% showing decline from previous years and unemployment rate standing at 9.1% also decline from previous years. High level of corruption presents one of the formidable threats to political and economic progress (BTI 2010 2-25). The influence of anti-corruption institutions has been of less impact to the society.
Similarities
Increased export rate, economic growth and social programs have contributed to improved standards of living; this could be realized by the fact that tens of millions of Brazilians have been lifted out of poverty. The current statistics shows that majority of Brazilians are now middle-class earners same as Indonesia. This could be attributed to sound economic policies, inflation control, fiscal management and moderate exchange rate.
An article published by IBGE portrayed Brazil as one of the countries who have grown richer from 1900 to 2000 but the condition on equality is at an alarming state. According to UNDP the income distribution in Brazil during 1990s despite major improvements within other sectors, hunger map indicated that about a third of Brazilian population live in poverty stricken conditions with an income of below US $ 1 per day, this situation is the same in Indonesia (The World Bank 8-12).
Brazil’s human improvement in the nineties recorded an imbalanced Human Development Index (HDI) (UNDP International Poverty Centre 2-4). This kind of inequality could be bridged up by the education sector; the government resorted to improving education level in small and medium-sized municipalities during the 1990s.
Greater percentage of inequality could be explained from the existence of large income gaps within the municipalities showing how locally rooted income inequality is. Human development in Brazil over the last ten years is a clear indication to other countries of the world that economic growth is possible despite lack of expansive economic level (The World Bank 8-12).
In both countries social protection programs have been used in helping households maintain access to essential needs and services. This has helped in maintaining social balance within the two countries in terms of food, education and energy provision. In response to economic crisis, Indonesian government embarked on providing scholarships for the children from poor rural community, this prevented further school dropouts amongst children.
Concerning rising level of energy costs, Indonesia initiated what is known as time-limited cash transfer program which assisted the population in times of rising fuel prices. Common characteristic of both countries has been the increasing involvement of both governments in economic growth issues.
Contrast
Infant mortality rate increased in Indonesia to over 3% due to financial crisis while that in Brazil remained at 2.7%. Real income shocks indicated significant risks to outcomes in educational sector for the poor due to substantial increase in inflation rate.
The 1997 economic crisis brought about significant decline in school going children amongst the poorest communities within rural areas in Indonesia. The level of percentage represented by the teenagers not attending schools doubled to 12% in mid 1990s. This is contrary to the situation in Brazil where school attendance of the girl child was dictated by the loss of a household head’s job (UNDP International Poverty Centre 2-4).
Previous researches indicate that human development and social protection within Brazil basically focused on the working class, especially those in the formal sector. This led to imbalanced development amongst the population until recent years, when the government started to focus on equitable social development. This led to development of insurance institutions for the purposes of controlling fiscal deficits amongst those with formal employment.
Before mid 1990s the Brazilian government was under the control of military and emergency governments which contributed to further deterioration on human development. However, the creation of democratic government after mid 1990s led to strong engagement and demand for social protection. The move led to initiation of highly innovative and domestically oriented programs aimed at reducing poverty level (Bureau of western Hemisphere Affairs).
Indonesia was characterized by informal kinds of social protection used in the pre-colonial societies. These processes involved famine relief programs and assisting the frustrated and destitute within the society.
The programs were characterized by poor funding and implementation process presided over by the welfare ministries. The country has been recognized by over reliance on family-based social protection, the country has been for a long time characterized by low income which was critically undermined by the 1997 financial crisis (Kakwani 5-6).
Conclusion
The effects resulting from globalization and rapid economic transformation represents very important aspect on the demand for social protection. The greater changes within the global markets lead to increased level of social and economic hazards on the less developed countries.
Great economic changes were realized within Brazil and Indonesia between 1980 and the year 2000. Brazil experienced acute and sustained economic and financial crises as well as structural development. The crises led to increased level of poverty and vulnerability within the social set-up in Brazil. These conditions led to initiation of social protection programs within these two countries, Brazil and Indonesia (The World Bank 8-12).
Works Cited
BTI 2010. Indonesia Country Report. Gütersloh: Bertelsmann Stiftung, 2009. pp 2-25.
Bureau of western Hemisphere Affairs. “Federative Republic of Brazil”. Department of State, 2010. Web.
Kakwani, Nanal. Pro- Poor Growth in Asia. Australia: University of South Wales. pp 5-6.
The World Bank. “Rising Food and Fuel Prices: Addressing the Risk to future Generations”. Human Development Network, (2008): 8-12.
UNDP International Poverty centre. “Human Development in Brazil”. In Focus Journal, (2004): 2-4.
This lab report focuses on the effects of technology on the ecosystem. The experiment aims to address the impact of human development on the sustainability of groundwater.
Introduction
Human advancement and migration stimulates the accumulation of waste deposits and landfills. This aggregation of waste to the landfill is a threat to groundwater and the environment (Mitra, 2015). However, with the continual human development, such as irrigation and agricultural practices, groundwater depletion has become a growing concern (Velis, Conti, & Biermann, 2017). Consequently, an increase in the human population puts pressure on freshwater by increasing land use for agriculture. These practices, if not addressed, would affect groundwater sustainability.
Hypothesis/Predicted Outcome
Based on the above assumption, groundwater depletion and contamination are possible if activities of human development are not regulated.
Method
The lab examined the human impact on groundwater sustainability. Data was examined from different periods to ascertain the progression of human industrialization and development. The researchers evaluated data from three periods, which include the 1800s, 1900s, and 2000s.
Results/Outcome
The study examined three periods from 1800 to 2000. In 1800, the impact of human activities on the environment was small, with limited housing. As a result, there were large forests, lots of groundwater, no salt-water intrusion, small farm settlements, and few human activities. By the 20th century, the human population increased geometrically. The need for groundwater for irrigation farming and drinking stimulates salt-water intrusion and contamination. As a result, the rate of freshwater depletion is higher than it was in the eighteenth century.
Discussion/Analysis
The analysis showed that ecosystem depletion is an ongoing activity. The rate of urbanization, agricultural development, and food scarcity drive the volume of water utilization. Such activities affect freshwater production and the environment. Thus, the result confirms my hypothesis on the need to reduce human activity and development. There is a need to diversify human activities to enforce practices that would help replenish the environment. Efforts must be geared to increase the rate of transpiration and percolation. This strategy would create the needed activity to stimulate groundwater recharge.
References
Mitra, S. (2015). Groundwater sustainability: A brief review. International Journal of Ecosystem, 5(3), 43-46. Web.
Velis, M., Conti, K., & Biermann, F. (2017). Groundwater and human development: Synergies and trade-offs within the context of the sustainable development goals. Sustainability Science, 12(6), 1007-1017.