Piaget was a Swiss theorist
who posited that children learn actively through the play process. He suggested
that the adult's role in helping the child learn was to provide appropriate
materials for the child to interact and construct. He would use Socratic questioning to get the children to
reflect on what they were doing. He would try to get them to see contradictions
in their explanations. He also developed stages
of development. His approach can be seen in how the curriculum is sequenced in
schools, and in the pedagogy of preschool centers across the United States.
Sensorimotor:
(birth to about age 2)During this stage, the child learns about himself and his environment through
motor and reflex actions. Thought derives from sensation and movement. The
child learns that he is separate from his environment and that aspects of his
environment—his parents or favorite toy—continue to exist even though they may be
outside the reach of his senses. Teaching for a child in this stage should be
geared to the sensorimotor system. You can modify behavior by using the senses:
a frown, a stern or soothing voice—all serve as appropriate techniques.
Preoperational:
(begins about the time the child starts to talk to about age 7)Applying his new knowledge of language, the child begins to use symbols to
represent objects. Early in this stage he or she also personifies objects. they
are now better able to think about things and events that aren't immediately
present. Oriented to the present, the child has difficulty conceptualizing
time. their thinking is influenced by fantasy—the way they'd like things to
be—and they assume that others see situations from his or her viewpoint. they
take in information and then changes it in his or her mind to fit their ideas.
Teaching must take into account the child's vivid fantasies and undeveloped
sense of time. Using neutral words, body outlines and equipment a child can
touch gives him an active role in learning.
Concrete: (about
first grade to early adolescence)During this stage, accommodation increases. The child develops an ability to
think abstractly and to make rational judgements about concrete or observable
phenomena, which in the past he needed to manipulate physically to understand.
In teaching this child, giving him the opportunity to ask questions and to
explain things back to you allows him to mentally manipulate information.
Formal Operations:
(adolescence)This stage brings cognition to its final form. This person no longer requires
concrete objects to make rational judgements. At his point, he is capable of
hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Teaching for the adolescent may be
wideranging because he'll be able to consider many possibilities from several
perspectives.
Also called "Development
in Context" or "Human Ecology" theory, Ecological Systems
Theory, originally formulated by Urie Bronfenbrenner specifies four types of nested
environmental systems, with bi-directional influences within and between the
systems. The four systems are Microsystem, Mesosystem, Exosystem, and
Macrosystem. Each system contains roles, norms and rules that can powerfully
shape development. Since its publication in 1979, Bronfenbrenner's major
statement of this theory, The Ecology of Human Development has had widespread influence on the way
psychologists and others approach the study of human beings and their
environments. As a result of this influential conceptualization of development,
these environments — from the family to economic and political structures —
have come to be viewed as part of the life course from childhood through
adulthood.
refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur in human beings between birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from
dependency to increasing autonomy. Because these
developmental changes may be strongly influenced by genetic factors and events
during prenatal life, genetics and prenatal development are usually included as
part of the study of child development. Related terms include developmental psychology,
referring to development throughout the lifespan, and pediatrics, the branch of medicine relating to
the care of children. Developmental change may occur as a result of
genetically-controlled processes known as maturation, or as a result of
environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction
between the two.
Are the human rights of children with particular attention to the rights of special protection and care afforded to the young, including their right to association with both biological parents, human identity as well as the basic needs for food, universal state-paid education, health care and criminal laws appropriate for the age and development of the child. Interpretations of children's rights range from allowing children the capacity for autonomous action to the enforcement of children being physically, mentally and emotionally free from abuse, though what constitutes "abuse" is a matter of debate. Other definitions include the rights to care and nurturing.
"A child is any human being below the age of eighteen years, unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier." According to Cornell University, a child is a person, not a subperson, and the parent has absolute interest and possession of the child, but this is very much an American view. The term "child" does not necessarily mean minor but can include adult children as well as adult nondependent children. There are no definitions of other terms used to describe young people such as "adolescents", "teenagers," or "youth" in international law, but the children's rights movement is considered distinct from the youth rights movement.
Children's rights are defined in numerous ways, including a wide spectrum of civil, cultural, economic, social and political rights. Rights tend to be of two general types: those advocating for children as autonomous persons under the law and those placing a claim on society for protection from harms perpetrated on children because of their dependency. These have been labeled as the right of empowerment and as the right to protection.One Canadian organization categorizes children's rights into three categories:
Protection: Children have the right to protection from abuse, neglect, exploitation and discrimination. This includes the right to safe places for children to play; constructive child rearing behavior, and acknowledgment of the evolving capacities of children.
Participation: Children have the right to participate in communities and have programs and services for themselves. This includes children's involvement in libraries and community programs, youth voice activities, and involving children as decision-makers.
Economic, social and cultural rights, related to the conditions necessary to meet basic human needs such as food, shelter, education, health care, and gainful employment. Included are rights to education, adequate housing, food, water, the highest attainable standard of health, the right to work and rights at work, as well as the cultural rights of minorities and indigenous peoples.
Environmental, cultural and developmental rights, which are sometimes called "third generation rights," and including the right to live in safe and healthy environments and that groups of people have the right to cultural, political, and economic development.
Biologically, a child (plural: children) is generally a
human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a
child include the fetus, asbeing an unborn child.The legal definition of "child"
generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority.
"Child" may also describe a relationship with a parent or authorityfigure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can
also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or
circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties.
Sensorimotor:
