Bài giảng Human Development 2e - Chapter 1 What is human development?

Chapter 1What IS human development?Introducing human developmentHuman development can be defined as a process of progressive changes in people's lives over time that enables them to adapt more effectively to their environments.Points to note:People always have many forms of connections with one another.What counts as progress (improvement) is not always clear.Change is always happening.We are interested in the conditions that enhance people's lives, so that we can live well in the situations in which we find ourselves.Place shapes and locates the conditions of our lives.A social constructionist approachIdeas about developmental progress:change over timeare different at different times in historyforeground different assumptions from time to time.Developmental progress is not in one direction only.It is not a single line with one goal.It is complex and has many strands.There is no single truth about 'right' development. The concept of developmentEvolutionary theory encouraged those interested in social progress to think that: Some developmental changes help the species survive.Developmental change follows a pattern from primitive to more highly evolved, in stages.Speedy development through stages is an advantage.The history of child development began with attempts to chart 'normal' development.The power of normsA norm is often also seen as an expected appearance or behaviour.We derive norms by tracing patterns of development by individuals, finding the average, then generalising them.This approach is seen as scientific.It allows prediction.It offers criteria for measuring developmental progress.A norm is sometimes seen as an ideal.HoweverFollowing the norm does not guarantee successful development.Developing faster than the norm may not always be useful.Different cultures value different developmental outcomes.Adaptability is generally thought of as preferable for the success of a species.Plasticity: flexibility in the way an individual developsPerspectives on lifespan developmentJean Piaget: cognitive developmentChildren develop new ways of thinking as their brains develop.Cognitive development is also a response to environmental stimulation.Children's cognition goes through the same stages.The ultimate cognitive ability is logical thinking.Sigmund Freud: sexual-emotional developmentSexuality is the energising force of personality.Internal conflict is caused by aspects of personality: id, ego, superego.Unconscious forces play a large part in how a person behaves.How a person is treated as a child is important to how they turn out as an adult.Jean Piaget: stages of cognitive developmentSensorimotorReflexes are the beginning of interaction and cognition.Primary and secondary circular reactions are practice for beginning to control the self and the world.Pre-operationalThe child begins to use logical rules, but in an experimental way.Concrete operationalThe child can use logic to manipulate things in the world.Formal operationalThe child is able to think logically about abstract issues.Jean Piaget: how children learnChildren adapt to their environment by:assimilation—using a familiar schema to work on the worldaccommodation—adapting a familiar schema to the new situation.Development proceeds through both assimilation and accommodation.Humans aim for a balance between old and new.Critiques of Piaget's theoryAs a biologist he was seeking universal principles.It can be interpreted as a prescription for development of individuals.It does not allow for diverse outcomes.It suggests even development across all areas of cognition.It invites a stage approach to the presentation of new learning opportunities.It reflects a euro-western view of education and preferred learning goals.Sigmund Freud: theory of sexual-emotional developmentDevelopment is about learning to fit in with notions of manhood and womanhood applicable to one's culture.Same-gender parent–child relationships provide the child with a model of emotional life.The partner/spouse of that parent provides a model of the child's future love relationships.Freud's stage theoryOral: the infant's emotional energies are involved in coping with issues related to the oral—feeding, weaning and cutting teeth.Anal: the child is taught the importance of controlling personal expressions as he or she becomes an acceptable member of society.Phallic: the child develops a sense of its sexuality, learning to desire the parent of the opposite sex.Latency: children's sexual awareness is latent during the primary school years.Genital: the child moves towards a heterosexual relationship and integration of the emotional battles of the earlier stages.Critiques of Freud's theoryThe focus on sexuality is difficult for many to understand; it is better understood as about the 'life force'.Some critics thought he generalised too much from his therapeutic work, particularly with women who had been abused.The theory assumes heterosexual relationships are the dominant form of human relationship.From stages to culture and contextLev Vygotsky: thought about how children's learning —their 'mind'—is achieved within cultural and historical contexts.Urie Bronfenbrenner: drew attention to the broader range of systems within which a child's development proceeds.Lev VygotskyDifferent cultures provide different settings and different learning outcomes.Each culture has its own 'cultural curriculum'.Development occurs in interactions with people, that is, it is co-constructed.Language is a central tool for learning.Children learn in interaction with adults, working within the zone of proximal development (ZPD).Scaffolding: the process of supporting learning within the child's ZPDUrie BronfenbrennerDevelopmental processes increase in complexity over time in people's lives.Interlinking social 'systems' describe five kinds of contexts that surround the individual child.Development is always grounded in a particular society at a particular time in history.Interaction between different aspects of a person's 'ecology' are important.Bronfenbrenner's nested systemsComplex constructionist ecologyDevelopmental outcomes results from complex interactions.Complexity: there is almost never a single cause for a developmental outcome.To think ecologically is to consider the person in a complex situation or set of situations.The quality of the interactions and the environment produce developmental outcomesDevelopment is constructed. It is a product of multiple interactions; it is not inevitable or 'natural'.A Māori perspective: Kaupapa Māori theoryThis is more than a theory because it underpins and assumes Māori philosophy, action, practice and context.Human life span is embedded in traditional knowledge and narratives.Human development is based on a collective mythology.Thus, te ira tangata (human life) represents a diverse set of attributes explaining human life. Holistic approaches in Māori human developmentThis approach allows for an integrated way to understand human development.Whare Tapawhā, Te Wheke and Te Whāriki reflect cultural values and principles in Māori ways of living.Pacific perspectives from Aotearoa Human development in Pacific terms cannot be narrowed to one explanation or model.Pacific people have major differences in their view of development because of the diversity between ethnic groups.One point of similarity for Pacific people is that the family is central to understanding development.Human development as socially constructedSocially constructionism sets aside the search for universal features of human development.Objects and events in the world have meaning in our lives.The focus is on what counts as knowledge and how knowledge is produced in social contexts.Discourse:helps us to make meaning and is socially constructed within culturesis a way of thinking about a topic shows how power is held in society, e.g. dominant discourse.The future of human developmentTheories of human development are changing.New challenges have arisen such as digital communications and online interactions that influence the way people interact.Humans can make a difference rather than letting development happen.The big picture of human development is made up of many inputs, from many sources.Individuals can make a difference about how others go on.