The Social Child

The acquisition of knowledge and the meaning may be best viewed as being

socially and culturally determined rather than individually constructed.Smidt (2006)

Development is a process of peoples changing participation in the socio-cultural activities of their community. Rogoff (2003)

Development of social systems occurs through the interweaving of the biological (inherited) and cultural heritage.

* Happens on 2 levels:- Social

Psychological ( personal)

Relationships and communication with others is the most significantSocial constructor of children.

How does this Occur?

… how children play is significant in their ability tomake sense of their world and demonstrate their understandingof their cultural norms.

PLAY

Rogoff calls this the “creative process” the child actively constructs his/her meaning of the social world.

Constructing the Social World

Constructing the Social World

/ To understand the nature of social development it isnecessary also to understand something of the nature of thefamily systems within which social development is framedbecause families themselves are embedded within a largersocial context, the reciproca l ways in which familiesfunction influences and is influenced by the operation ofthe larger society.

Children need to construct representations to understand the “ laws” of the social world

They are active participants in this construction of understanding;-Through interactions with significant people in their lives, thusallowing them to function as members of these groups.

Membership to each group may necessitate in children adapting and re-adapting to the social norms/ expectations of each group…

Social Rules

Home… language, ways of doing things (rules)Educational Setting…language, ways of doing things (rules)Community…………..language, social and cultural expectations

Thus children’s social knowledge includes Knowledge about types, categories of people, social relationships, social and organisational roles…teacher, police etc and structural systems…shop/customers, bank etc

How then do children acquire this

knowledge ?

How then do children acquire this

knowledge ?

Rogoff would argue that this learning takes place in a socio-cultural context…learnt actions from observing, interacting and modeling from those around them

What aspects do you believe impact on a child’s Social Development ?

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) predicted that newborn babies born now 32% of their marriages will end in divorce.

Leading to:-

Different family structure Single parent families, step families, blended families… yours, mine, ours

Internal poverty for some

These can underpin children’s sense of security, placein the social world. These socio-emotional attachments can undermine future social relationships.

“The health and well being of the present generation of children is so concerning that they may be the first generation in history to have a lower life expectation than their parents.” para phase of “Stanley et el (2005)”

Educational theorists posit how children construct their social world.The most notable being:

Bronfenbrenner, Parten, Bandura, Kohlberg Bowlby

Brofenbrenner’s social, ecology model Brofenbrenner’s

social, ecology model

Uri Bronfenbrenner1917-2005

Parten1916-2009

Developed theory of play stages:Unoccupied -- Not engaged in play..Solitary (Independent) -- Playing separately from others, with no reference to what others are doing..Onlooker -- Watching others play. May engage in conversation but not engaged in doing. True focus on the children at play...Parallel -- Playing with similar objects, clearly beside others but not with them. (Near but not with others.)..Associative Play -- Playing with others without organization of play activity. Initiating or responding to interaction with peers...Cooperative Play -- Coordinating one’s behavior with that of a peer. Everyone has a role, with the emergence of a sense of belonging to a group. Beginning of "team work."

Albert Bandura

1925-present

Social learning theory

posits that people learn from one another,via observation, imitation, and modeling. The theory has often been called a bridge between behaviorist and cognitive learning theories because it encompasses attention, memory, and motivation.

Kholberg1927-1987

- how children develop a sense of right, wrong, and justice. Kohlberg observed that growing children advance through definite stages of moral development in a manner similar to their progression through Piaget's well-known

stages of cognitive development.

- how children develop a sense of right, wrong, and justice. Kohlberg observed that growing children advance through definite stages of moral development in a manner similar to their progression through Piaget's well-known

stages of cognitive development.

Theory of moral development

Bowlby1907-1990

Attachment theory:

•that early experiences in childhood have an important influence on development and behaviour later in life. Our early attachment styles are established in childhood through the infant/caregiver relationship.•believed that attachment had an evolutionary component; it aids in survival. "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals [is] a basic component of human nature" (Bowlby, 1988,).