1. CHILD DEVELOPMENT THEORIES

2. Theories of development
This area of science is called developmental psychology and covers:
cognitive (thought processes)
language development
emotional development.

3. The main theorists Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904–1990)
Albert Bandura (1925–)
Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934)
Jerome Bruner (1915–)
Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)
John Watson (1878–1958)

4. Skinner Operant conditioning
Learning is influenced by reward and punishment
Behaviour is affected by positive reinforcement
An existing behaviour can be modified by rewarding small steps towards the desired behaviour

5. Bandura Social learning theory Children copy others
Children are more likely to copy adults they like
How we respond to the child will affect their behaviour
A child both affects and is affected by their environment

6. Piaget Children pass through 4 stages of cognitive development:
Sensory motor
Pre-operational
Concrete operational
Formal operational
Children are actively involved in their learning
Children develop schemas (theories) based upon their experiences

7. Vygotsky Social development theory
Children learn through social interaction (they are born to be sociable)
Children use language to develop thought
Introduced “zone of proximal development”

8. Bruner Developed Vygotsky’s “zone of proximal development”
The adult can provide support (“scaffolding”) for a child’s learning
Scaffolding can be withdrawn when a child gains the ability to do things for themselves

9. Freud Psychoanalytic theory of personality Personality has 3 parts:
Id (dealing with reality)
Ego (dealing with wants and needs)
Superego (dealing with ideals and morals)
Not all parts are present at birth
Theories derived from observations and case studies

10. Maslow Humanist Hierarchy of needs (often as a pyramid) Physiological
Safety and security
Love and belonging
Esteem
Self-actualisation
“Lower level” needs must be met before other needs can be addressed

11. Watson Behaviourist All behaviour can be taught
Behaviour modification techniques still widely used as a therapy
Theory drawn from experimental study of the link between an environmental event and human behaviour

12. Activity
“What a child can do in co-operation today she can do alone tomorrow. Therefore, the only good kind of instruction is that which marches ahead of development and leads it.”
Lev Vygotsky
Think about the meaning of this quotation and how it might influence your practice.