Assam TET Child Development & Pedagogy Concept
Child Development & Pedagogy is one of the important Subjects in the Assam TET Syllabus, from where 30 questions were raised in the exam. To get the full mark in this chapter, we have to get the concept from Child Development & Pedagogy, how this entire process works & what are the possible questions that may raise from here. If you get the core of the chapter then we can solve any question here.
Detailed Concept Of Child Development & Pedagogy
Concept and Nature of Development: Generally after birth the child is in the process of gradual development. It gives him knowledge and experience and the capacity for more effective adjustment to the environment. Child development mainly refers to the biological and psychological changes that occur in human beings’ birth and the end of adolescence, as the individual progresses from depending to increasing autonomy. These developmental changes may occur as a result of a genetically controlled process known as maturation, or as a result of environmental factors and learning, but most commonly involves an interaction between the two, it may also occur as a result of human nature and our ability to learn from our environment.
Meaning of Growth and Development: Growth of development have been interchangeably used by most of the developmental psychologists because both the process are interrelated and interdependent on each other. However, some psychologists define growth as indicative of an increase in bodily dimensions: height and weight and it is generally confined to qualitative changes. According to Arnold Gessell, ‘growth is a function of the organism rather than of the environment as such. The environment furnishes the foil and the milieu for the manifestations of development, but these manifestations come from inner compulsion and are primarily organized by inherent inner mechanics and by intrinsic physiology of development.’ Development, on the other hand, can be defined as the emerging and expanding of capacities of the individual to provide a greater facility in functioning such as the development of motor ability from uncertain steps to proficiency in games. Development as a matter of fact, is achieved through growth
Principles of Development: Following are some of the important principles of development :
1. Development is a product of interaction between the organism and the outer environment
2. Development follows an orderly sequence and it is always proportionate in nature.
3. Development is a continuous and steady process beginning from the time of conception in the womb of the mother to death but ups and downs are also seen in the process.
4. Development is an individualized process depending on the gene and nutrition of the child, coupled with the training received from the environment.
5. Development is positive up to certain periods of life then deterioration starts after 60 or 70 years.
6. Development proceeds from general to specific.
Determination of the stages of Development
Division of the developmental trend as made by different educationists may be described below, –
1. Rousseau’s division: Rousseau was the first to have given us a more comprehensive and dependable division of Child’s development in his classic book ‘Emils. He has divided into four distinct stages of human development as infancy, childhood, early adolescence and late adolescence. His age limit in this division may be presented below-
Birth to 5 years — infancy
5 to 12 years — Childhood
12 to 15 years — early adolescence
15 to 20 years — late adolescence
2. Ernest Jone’s division: Keeping conformity with Rousseau’s division Dr. Ernest Jones has divided into four stages of development. They are— infancy, late childhood, adolescence and maturity. His division may be presented below-
Birth to 5 years —infancy.
Up to 12 years — late childhood
Up to 18 years — adolescence
Above 18 years —maturity
3. Ryburn’s division: W. M. Rybum has given us another division of the stages of development which is somewhat more analytical in nature. His division is infancy, early childhood, transition period, late childhood, early adolescence and late adolescence. Through this division, he tried to make a detailed analysis of the childhood and adolescence stages. His analytical nature of the divisions may be given below-
Infancy — o to 2 1/2 or 3 years.
Early childhood 3 to 6 or 7 —period of mental growth.
Transition period 6 or 7 to 8 — period of physical growth.
Late childhood 8 to 12 — period of mental growth.
Early adolescence 12 to 14— period of physical growth.
Late adolescence 14 to 18 —Period of mental growth.
Characteristics of different stages of development
Infancy: From birth to 5 years of age is known as the period of infancy. Physical growth during this period appears to be the highest. By the time he requires language ability and gives expression to emotional sensitivity of pleasure and pain. The psychophysical characteristics of Infancy are as follows-
(a) Quick physical growth: The rate of physical growth is the highest in the very first year of life. The normal birth weight of the baby increases to double within five months and to triple within one year.
(b) Motor Development: The fundamental motor ability to sit, crawling, standing, walking running and jumping are acquired by the baby within three years.
(c) Playfulness: Development of motor ability naturally makes the child playful. Playful nature of the child further helps him acquire motor skills and efficiency.
(d) Sensory development: Within a few days of birth the baby shows gradual awareness and sensitivity to experiences more particularly to visual, auditory and tactual senses. Within three months of birth his physical reactions appear to be more meaningful.
(e) Language Development: Infancy is also the stage of language development that shows prominent sign of mental life. He can use single word in one year and can understand it in association with its activity. Gradually the number of vocabulary increases and he is in a position to speak his mother tongue at the age of three years.
(f) Development of curiosity: Native sense of curiosity of the child finds expression on through many and varied questions asked by him to the elders at this stage. Due to this nature infancy is also known as the age of ‘question age’.
(g) Sense of animism: Another typical nature of infancy is the sense of animism. He thinks of everything as animate objects that possesses life like himself. I-le gives 1 i fe to his dolls and playthings out of this sense of animism.
(h) Imitativeness: Inadequacy of his knowledge and perception that lead to the sense of dependability on the elders naturally make the child more imitative.
(i) Ego-Centricism: A child’s instinctive behavior may find expression through his ego-centric nature. He thinks and judges everything in terms of his own self. This ego-centric nature after leads him to quarrel with others on petty things.
Childhood: Childhood comprises the period of 6 years to 12 years of age. This stage is in general known as the schooling stage in which the child is capable of reading and writing in school. The general characteristics of childhood are
(a) Intellectual ability: The child is in a position to exercise his power of memory, attention, thinking and imagination at this stage. He is intellectually an alive and active individual.
(b) Social development: Childhood is the stage of socialization of the ego-centric nature of the child. Primary school provides an ideal situation for such socialization.
(c) Extrovert nature: The child’s nature of the behavior, thought and activity at this stage is described as extrovert or external minded. He is more attracted to the external situation and takes pleasure in active participation in them.
(d) Playfulness: Extrovert nature generally makes the child playful. Group play and group activity make the child more social, loyal and disciplined.
(e) Gang loyalty: Gang loyalty is the most important characteristic of childhood. Social senses urge the boys and girls to live an organized group life. They develop a strong sense of loyalty and allegiance to the gang. They form certain rules and code of conduct of the gang and uphold them quite faithfully.
(f) Homo-sexuality: Boys and girls at this stage feel the sense of their physical attachment to their same senses. Co-education is no problem to the teacher. They remain quite indifferent to the opposite sex.
(g) Acquired interest: In the late childhood stage the child use to develop acquired interest and sentiment towards specific subjects and fields of activities. His interest in play also appeares to be more selective at this stage.
(h) Development of creativity: In the late childhood stage the child is able to develop the sense of creativity, native talent, potentiality etc. He no longer remains blind imitator.
Adolescence: Stage of adolescence comprises between 12 years and to 18 or 19 years of age. It is the intermediate period between the childhood and responsible adulthood ofa man’s life. The term ‘adolescence’ comes from the word ‘adolescere’ which means ‘to grow’. Itis a period of rapid physical growth that brings about colourful changes and development in all directions. The main characteristics ofthis stage-
(a) Quick physical changes: Quick physical change is most important characteristic of the adolescence stage. There is rapid increase in height and weight at this stage. Skeletal growth is followed by muscular growth, making the boys and girls qualitatively different. The Voice of boys becomes hoarse and of girls shrill.
(b) Intellectual development: Adolescence is the stage of intellectual development to its maximum. The thought process becomes more logical, scientific and systematic. The power of analysis and synthesis makes thinking more organized. The ability of intelligence reaches its maximum at the age of 16 and 17 years.
(c) Emotional immaturity: In this stage all the pleasant and unpleasant emotions appear in their full form. The emotion of love makes them quite sensitive and blind. Again emotions of anger, fear, shame and disgust make them quite explosive of the situation.
(d) Social consciousness: Adolescents are socially very conscious and active. They feel their responsibility towards society. They also try to understand social customs and traditions, rules and laws, faith and belief and show loyalty of them.
(e) Moral consciousness: Moral sentiments also develop during the adolescence period. Due to this they can distinguish between right and wrong, truth and false, virtue and vice, desirable and undesirable etc.
(f) Hero-worshiping: In this stage the boys and girl want to build up a philosophy of their life. Accordingly, they want to select an ideal hero or ‘guru’ to be obeyed and followed. They organize their thought, feeling and activity in conformity with the idea of the hero.
(g) Self-dependence: Adolescents develop faith in their own capability of doing things. They demand self-respect from the elders in society and cannot tolerate the humiliation of their personalities. They develop independent outlooks and judgment giving guidance of their attainment of mental maturity.
Factors Influencing Child Development:
Following are the factors that influence child development.
1. Biological Heredity Factor: Heredity means those things which we inherit from our forefathers and parents. It may be biological in the form of chromosomes and genes and social in the form of occupations, traditions habits etc. There are two main principles of biological heredity.
They are—
(a) Principle of resemblance, i – e, a cat can only give birth to a kitten.
(b) Secondly principle of variability, i – e, the son of beautiful parents may be ugly.
2. Psychological Factor: In the development of child, mental and psychological factors also influences. All the mental needs of the children like need of status need of security, need of love and affection etc. need to be fulfilled by the parents and adults. If these needs are not fulfilled in an effective manner then the psychological development of the children may be hampered. It is the duty of the adults to identify the basic psychological needs and try to fulfill these needs. Then only children can develop in a proper way. So, psychological factors regarding child development is very important for our consideration.
3. Environmental Factor: Physical and social environment both have great influence in the development both have great influence in the development of personality of the child. When an individual lives in a society, in a family, he learns many things there. This learning brings about certain changes in his behaviour. Some of these changes are permanent which become part of his habits. Thus a child learns many things from his environment which influence his development.