1. Chapter 5 The Early Years of Childhood 5-1
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2. What is 'childhood'? A period of the lifespan based as much on social
norms as biological time
In Pacific cultures, status depends on the situation,
not just age
Also common in European cultures:
a person may be a "child" to their parents, even when
they are at midlife
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3. Cultures differ in dividing the lifespan into phases
NZ government:
Tamariki (0-14 years)
Rangatahi (15-24 years)
Many cultures distinguish between
Infants dependent on the caregiver (first 18 months or so)
Early childhood (18 months to school age)
Transition to school
Countries differ greatly in ages at which children start school
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4. Big issues about childhood
Period of life often seen as special and protected in various cultures
In earlier centuries in Europe children were not seen as special or vulnerable (Aries, 1962)
Today many children globally suffer abuse, neglect and genocide (United Nations web pages)
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5. Childhood as a cultural construction
Some sociologists argue that cultures' views of
childhood depend on:
Wealth of a society & views of child labour
Life expectancy
Boys' and girls' access to schooling
(James, Jenks & Prout, 1998)
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6. Diversity in children's lives
There is no "typical child"
Affluent Euro-Western children differ greatly from children in much of the world
Access to enough food and healthcare differs
Low birthweight and early birth babies survive less often in poorer countries
Children without resources may not reach their full potential
(Melchior et al., 2007)
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7. Discourses about childhood
1. Childhood is a distinctive stage
2. Childhood is about progress
3. Childhood is about independence
4. Children as the future
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8. 1. Childhood is a distinctive stage
The theories of Piaget and Freud have stages to
describe childhood
This is linked with views of biologists about
immature forms of organisms
(e.g. tadpoles turning into frogs)
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9. 2. Childhood is about progress
The child is often contrasted with the adult
As though the child is half-formed
Progressing towards maturity
Deficient but constantly improving
Children do, however, have their own competencies and are unique, valuable people in their own right
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10. 3. Childhood is about independence
Key concept used in describing children's changes
across age
Cultures differ in definitions and views of independence
Affluent US mothers less likely than Mayan to let toddlers get their own way (Rogoff, 2003)
NZ children playing outdoors unsupervised may be unusual
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11. E tipu e rea mo nga ra o tou ao (In our children lies our future)
4. Children as the future
Many cultures value childhood as representing the
next generation
Special recognition given to hopes for the future
E tipu e rea mo nga ra o tou ao
(In our children lies our future)
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12. Nature and nurture Recap:
Genome is a person's unique genetic description ("nature")
Often contrasted with the environment around the person ("nurture")
But the two are always intertwined
Very hard to predict what a child will be like later in life
Famous quote from John B. Watson (1930) against fixed nature:
“Give me a dozen healthy infants … and my own specified world to bring them up in and I'll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – doctor, lawyer, artist … and, yes, even beggar-man and thief”
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13. Are some children doomed from the start?
Research has NOT found risk factors that inevitably give a child a poor outcome in life (see Masten & Gewirtz, 2006)
Influences are multi-directional
Not just poverty that affects the child's nutrition but
Children respond differently to different types of food and nurturing
In a two-way causal process
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14. Temperament in early childhood
Is the temperament (emotional constitution) of a child set early on?
Parents' observations of their own children in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study (2009) noted stability from age 3 to 9
Some children consistently more 'approachable'
Others more 'sluggish' or 'restless'
But cultures differ greatly in interpreting children's moods & behaviour
Children do change over time
Cultures differ in what temperaments they value or avoid, e.g. talkativeness!
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15. Predictions about development
Piaget's theory suggests that children's development could determine their ‘readiness’ to understand many concepts
Recent research shows children understand many things earlier than previously thought
Cultural diversity means that there is NO single universal path in child development
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16. Children with disabilities
May not fit expected norms in development,
but norms (e.g. expected ages for answering the phone or looking after siblings) differ by culture
One in five New Zealanders will be disabled at some time in life
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17. Language development Acquiring a language Phonology: sounds
Lexicon: vocabulary
Syntax: rules of grouping
Grammar: phonology + syntax
Pragmatics: everyday uses of language
Narratives bring cultural knowledge to conversation
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18. When families have more than one language
Many children acquire more than one language
Language in home may differ from majority in the country
Bilingualism: some fluency in two languages
Many different types of bi- and multi-lingualism
No clear disadvantage in development
Can enhance child's cultural understanding
Strengthening te reo Māori in Aotearoa
Te Kōhanga Reo
'Language nests' support young children & families who speak many minority languages in NZ
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19. Figuring out the basics: Jean Piaget
Pre-operational thinking
Poor on understanding of conservation
(i.e. understanding that physical properties
remain the same despite appearances to the
contrary)
Ages for success on Piaget's tasks are lower in 'child friendly' testing situations
Piaget's theory still useful but has evolved into new directions
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20. Understanding how others see the world
Egocentrism: centering on your own point of view
Importance of play: trying out new actions & understandings through assimilation
Learning about others through interest in and responding to others (Dunn, 1988, 1991)
Learning about emotions through hearing people talk about them
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21. Theory of Mind
At some point children learn that everyone has a unique mind or mental life
This helps us to understand others by anticipating what they might think or why they did something
Pretend play can show evidence of Theory of Mind (Kavanaugh, 2006)
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22. Cultural setting for development: Lev Vygotsky
Language is a much bigger part of development in this theory compared to Piaget
Zone of Proximal Development:
Space between what the child can do alone in comparison to accomplishment with others' help
Caregivers and older peers may 'scaffold' (provide supporting structure) for the child on a task
Example: tuakana (older child) / teina (younger child) relationships
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23. Knowing oneself helps social understanding
Moral development : Kohlberg's theory
Preconventional stage: Punishment defines what is bad!
Emotional self-regulation improves, as does capacity of empathy for others
Improving language skills help in social relationships
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24. Early Childhood Education (ECE)
94% of NZ children attended some kind of early childhood service in 2006
Cultures differ in the developmental changes considered most important in early childhood
In Aotearoa there is a national ECE curriculum:
Te Whāriki
ECE can be an important support for the child’s development
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