Child Development Theories in Focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

boor Development Theories in Focus - Essay ExampleFocus will be on Brofenbrenners Ecological Model which links development to the childs various factors in the surround that regulate the childs experiences, attainment and growth. The selected developmental stage to be discussed in this paper is the early childishness stage (age 2-6 years). In order to have a cle atomic number 18r picture of early child development, other suppositious textiles by Piaget, Erikson, Freud, Maslow, Vygotsky and Bowlby shall also be referred to in conjunction with Brofenbrenners model as the theoretical framework of this paper. If applicable, the significance of the scheme to early childhood children shall be discussed especially if the theory describes certain developmental stages. Brofenbrenners Ecological Model (1979) explains that the behaviour and development of an individual is an interplay of the individuals biological and personality factors, his environment and the society and culture he was born into. Brofenbrenner also claims that effects of interactions between the individual and his environment are two-directional or characterized by reciprocity. This means that while a childs development is influenced and moulded by his family, give lessons and peers, he likewise influences and moulds the behaviour of others. The growing child moves through five systems that inter-relate and affect his development, namely, the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem and chronosystem. The most underlying ecological level is the microsystem, where direct contacts between the child and his immediate surroundings result in behaviours such as dependence or independence and cooperation or competition. An example of this is the home base of the child and his race with his family. The pure culture of the society the family lives in greatly influences how the family lives and how the child imbibes the culture as he expresses it in his developing personality. The microsystem is usually where the child first develops attachments to his significant others like his parents. John Bowlbys (1982) Attachment theory posit that attachment provides children with a sense of security, promotes communication and the expression of feelings and becomes a arrest base for children to peril their world and eventually learn self-regulation and self-control. It is a devise that contributes to childrens developing sense of self. Research through with(p) by Rudolph Schaffer (1977) and Jerome Bruner (1977) yielded the concept of joint involvement episodes (JIEs) which may be related to the quality of attachment a child and his or her mother or significant other has. The researchers observed mothers and their babies behaviour while think on a potential learning episode. While jointly involved in play, for instance, they fall into a turn-taking pattern of behaviour and such cooperation teaches the child about the rules of their play within a safe and secure environment with a familiar adult. This gives him more courage to explore his world knowing he has a safe base to return to. The next level of Brofenbrenners Ecological model is the mesosystem, which comprises the linkages and processes that take blot between two or more settings with the child in common. A perfect example is how learning in school is supported by follow up lessons in the home. At this level, the child gets to run across associations between people and things.