Child Development and Learning: Theoretical Approaches

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Introduction

Different theories of child development and learning came to existence at different periods in history. Their existence is as result of the work as well as the findings of different theorists such as Jean Piaget, Albert Bandura and Vygotsky among others. They try to explain the different stages as well as behaviors that a child may portray as he/she grows up.

Each theory offers an important contribution to the life-span development puzzle (Swim 3). Although the theories assume different approaches, they tend to complement each other. They allow us to predict, describe, explain as well as influence many aspects of childrens behavior. This paper entails a comparative analysis of the biological, behavioral, cognitive and socio-cultural approaches of childhood development and learning.

Piagets cognitive-developmental theory states that children play an active role in constructing their understanding of the world and go through four age-related stages in understanding and adapting to the world that they live in. The four stages are sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete operational and formal operational. The theory postulates that childrens different way of understanding the world brings the difference in the four stages.

According to this theory, children employ the processes of organization/assimilation and adaptation in understanding their world. Assimilation occurs when an individual incorporates new information into his/her existing knowledge. Once children adapt to the new information, they are able to accommodate different aspects in life. He theorized that when children can assimilate new events to their old schemes, they are experiencing a state of cognitive harmony-equilibration (Rathus 18). Some things may happen that do not fit along and when such happens it causes a disturbance to their equilibrium thus they will act to restore the equilibrium. The changes are subject to a childs biological development.

Description of the different types of educational theories

Vygotskian sociocultural theory explains the impact that the social aspects of a given community have in shaping the behavior of a child. He argues that a childs behavior results from the integration of the socially as well as culturally constructed forms of mediation into human activity (Mcleod 1). The theory points out that social interaction precede development yielding cognition and consciousness. Vygotsky employed four basic principles in building the theory. The first principle states that language plays a pivotal role in mental development.

Secondly, social interaction is responsible for the systematic changes in the minds of children, which influence their way of thinking as well as their behavior. According to Mcleod, Vygotsky believes that this is responsible for the variation of the behaviors of children from different social settings (5). The third principle states that any form of learning leads to a childs development. A child will embrace all he/she learns creating a basis for behavioral changes of the child. Finally, Vygotsky believes that children construct their knowledge from the lessons they get from their interaction with other members of a society. Generally, the Vygotskys approach holds that social interaction is the single most important factor in the process of a childs cognitive development.

Behaviorism focuses on experimental methods that have an impact on child development. The theory emphasizes on the impact that ones environment has in modeling ones behavior. It points out that for a child to portray a given behavior, he/she has to undergo a modeling process that has four stages namely attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation (Boeree 3).

A child has to pay attention to a given observation as well as be able to store it either in form of images or verbal descriptions. Reproduction entails the translation of the images and verbal descriptions into real behavior. For one to portray a given behavior repeatedly, he/she has to get some motivation. Some forms of motivation include past reinforcement, promised reinforcement, vicarious reinforcement, past punishment and promised punishment among others. It also holds that children are able to regulate their behavior depending on their environment.

Unlike the other theories discussed above, the biological theory holds that development is a rather natural process. It postulates that a child undergoes automatic predictable stages in a systematic sequence over time. According to this theory, genetic as well as physiological changes play a pivotal role in child development and learning. The proponents of this theory believe that children will acquire knowledge automatically in the course of life thus no need to guide them in most aspects of life (Swim 4). Consequently, naturalists believe that a childs underperformance is not a major concern only that he/she requires more time to acquire the knowledge and skills to be able to perform at the same level with his/her age mates.

A comparison of the theoretical approaches to child development and learning

The theoretical approaches have some similarities. They acknowledge that a child is actively involved in the construction of understanding though this may happen in different ways. For instance, both Piaget and Vygotsky believe that childrens curiosity drive their behavioral and developmental changes. In addition, the theories give a positive approach in explaining the behavioral as well as the developmental changes that children exhibit as they grow.

They also point out some of the aspects that compel certain developmental changes in the children. All the theorists tend to agree that development advances when children have an opportunity to practice newly acquired skills and when they face challenges that are above their level of mastery. Additionally, they acknowledge that development occurs in predictable functions towards advanced organization, internalization as well as complexity. The theories explain why children at different ages have different levels of understanding. However, the approaches differ significantly.

Vygotskys theory differs from Piagets theory in some ways. For instance, Vygotsky lays more emphasis on the effect of cultural and social structures in shaping an individuals behavior whereas Piaget has a universal view of the development of children. Additionally, Vygotsky believes that external forces compel child development while Piaget believes that development is a self-initiated discovery.

The biological theory holds that development is an automatic process that is universal which contradicts the other theories. For instance, the Vygotskian as well as the behavioral theory do not acknowledge the universality of the processes of child development. The theories differ in the processes or rather stages that they offer in explaining development in children. Unlike the Vygotskian and the behavioral theory, the other two theoretical approaches do not give the role that language plays in the development of children.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the theories play an important role in addressing the emotional, psychological as well as the social development of children. Although they offer different explanations to the changes that children experience during development, they help in describing, predicting as well as explaining the various aspects of childrens behavior. All the theories acknowledge the active role that children play in constructing meaning from different aspects of their life. They all address the various aspects that cause learning in children.

Works Cited

Boeree, George. Albert Bandura. Personality theories, 2006.

Mcleod, Saul. Vygosky. Simply Psychology, 2007.

Rathus, Spencer. Childhood: Voyages in Development. New York: Cengage Learning, 2010. Print.

Swim, Terry J. Theories of Child Development: Building Blocks of Developmentally Appropriate Practices. The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents, 2008. Web.

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Child Development and Learning: Theoretical Approaches

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