The first eight years in the life of a child are characterized by important changes, including varied social groups, learning centers, expectations and roles. The capacity of a child to adjust to such dynamic environment affects the sense of identity of the child and his or her place in the society. The adaptation of the child to the changing environment also influences his ability to learn and the approach that the teachers should take in teaching such a child. Thoughts have been formulated to describe the behavior of the child and to help the teachers understand the causation factors for the behavior of the child in a learning environment. Emphasis will be on the use of the developmental system theory in early childhood education. The article provides a comprehensive summary of two articles authored by Judith (1995) and Dulberg (2005) based on the theory mentioned above. In addition, this article points out the advantages of embracing the theory in the ECE classroom by the relevant teachers.
Summary of the article by Dulberg
Dulberg’s article begins by acknowledging that research work on a child’s historical thinking has provided a rich source of information on the description of the instructions that are issued to the child in the process of learning (Dulberg, 2005). She acknowledges that the literature gathered is not molded into a clear model and framework of learning that can be used by the teaching authorities. She argues that the developmental systems theory should be embraced in filling this gap. The theory informs the scholars on the suitable design for the research and logical interpretation. Dulberg claims that the theory can provide premises that can be more useful in giving recommendations on the suitable instructions to the children in the classroom. The article advocates for teachers to have sufficiently backed up information for handling children in the way they do as opposed to strictly forcing them to conform to certain conditions. The research work also argues that the miscomprehension of the framework barred scholars in the field of education from understanding the perspective of historical thinking. The author also discusses several other research work and reveals their underlying weaknesses while giving comparison to the developmental systems theory. Through the comparison, the author brings out the benefits of applying the developmental theory in the classroom. The article ends by the author issuing a call for teachers to apply the theory and for the researchers to embrace the theory to in their study of children’s historical thinking.
The article greatly advocates for the idea of embracing the developmental systems theory in the classroom. Teachers should consider the historical events and aspects of a child when trying to comprehend the ease at which a child can acquire knowledge in the class environment. With proper understanding of the historical aspects, the explanation of the behavior of the child can be achieved. The teachers can also be in a position to work on a strategy of reducing the impact of the historical aspects that influences the learning ability of the child (Lerner, 1995).
Summary of Judith’s article, “Where Is the Child's Environment? A Group Socialization Theory of Development”
Judith’s research covers a narrow scope under the aspect of the developmental systems theory. The article investigates the role of nurture in influencing the development of a child (Judith, 1995). The specific nurture that she focuses on is the influence of the parent on the childhood development and how it can influence the learning of a child. The author conducts intensive analyses on the evidence and gives a conclusion on her question as to whether the parenting can have an impact on the personality of a child. She concludes by giving a negative answer. In relation to the theory of developmental systems, she proposes that the aspect of socialization is context specific and outside the home environment such as school, socialization takes place in social peer groups of adolescence and childhood. She claims that the environmental change of the personality of a child depends on the intra and inter-group processes and not on peer relationships. She concludes her research by saying that the universality witnessed in the groups of children gives explanations as to why the development of a child is not troubled by the parental behavior in the society. The article introduces some sense in the in the minds of the teachers of the young ones. It advocates for the recognition of the major source of influence in the character and behavior of the child that can influence the learning ability in class.
According to Judith, understanding of this theory will help the teachers in understanding the real source of influences of the behavior of the children in the learning environment. By effectively knowing the source of such influences, the teachers can efficiently work out a plan to curb the behavior of the child. The teacher can also use the source of influence as a strength in stimulating the child towards a situation of in-depth understanding. Many are times parents are blamed for inducing negative learning behavior in their siblings (Frankenhuis et al., 2013). If the teachers can notice that, the peer groups and the universality of the groups have considerable influence in the child’s life more that the influence that the parents induce, they can effectively target to control such derived influences.
References
Dulberg, N. (2005). The Theory behind How Students Learn: Applying Developmental Theory to Research on Children's Historical Thinking. Theory & Research in Social Education, 33(4), 508-531.
Frankenhuis, W. E., Panchanathan, K., & Barrett, H. C. (2013). Bridging developmental systems theory and evolutionary psychology using dynamic optimization. Developmental Science, 16(4), 584-598.
Judith, R. (1995, July 1). Where Is the Child's Environment? A Group Socialization Theory of Development. APA PsycNET. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://faculty.weber.edu/eamsel/Classes/Child%203000/Lectures/3%20Childhood/SE%20development/JudithHarris.html
Lerner, R. M. (1995). How Developmental Systems Theory Is Changing the Theoretical Landscape of Developmental Science. PsycCRITIQUES, 40(10), 23-24.
