1. The Social Child
Mark Jenkins

2. Major Play Theorists
Friedrich Froebel, his kindergarten [child’s garden- the name reflects the philosophy] aspired to the view that play fostered enjoyment, emotional well-being and was a fundamental source of benefit
Rudolf Steiner, Steiner-Waldorf schools, play should predominate from birth to 7, it strengthens the imagination and supports all aspects of development. It enables children to concentrate, be inventive and adaptable
Susan Isaacs, with gentle guidance children could make sense of the world for themselves. Children’s fantasies should not be curbed and children’s questions should always be answered seriously and respectfully

3. The Importance of Play
Play is vital for children’s all round development.
It provides opportunities for:-
Developing confidence, self-esteem and a sense of security
Realise their potential and feel competent
Use creativity and imagination
Develop thinking, reading, problem-solving and motor skills
Learn to understand the world around them and their emotions
Learn relationship and social skills, and develop values and ethics

4. Piagetian Viewpoint
Children’s relationships with adults are qualitatively different from their relationships with children
Adults – Vertical Dimension
Power assertion and dominance, children falling below adults
Children – Horizontal Dimension
A more balanced and egalitarian relationship
Piaget characterized young children as egocentric and thus incapable of understanding others until middle childhood

5. Social Learning Viewpoint
Children learn about their social world and how to react within it through their interactions with peers
Either:-
Directly through children teaching one another Or
Indirectly through the observation of others

6. Types of Play
Cooperative play – Includes formal games, social pretend play, constructive play. Rare before the age of 3 years
Associative play – Children talk to one another and share the same materials but do not take on different roles in an imaginary context or work toward the same goals
Parallel play – They play beside, rather than with other children
Unoccupied play – Does not play with anything but simply watches other interactions, events and things of interest
Solitary play – Children play by themselves in a way which is noticeably different from those around them
Parten 1932

7. Social Functions of Play
Piaget, social interactions which occur within play are essential for driving cognitive development
Vygotsky, play builds mental structures from the culture surrounding the child, such as language and number
Play allows children to explore their social world by adopting various roles and interaction patterns thereby promoting social development

8. Developing Peer Relationships
From an early age children are more often found with child companions than adult companions.
Harris [1998] and Pinker[2002] controversially suggest that socialization takes place primarily in the peer group rather than the family

9. Friendship
Defined as a relationship between two or more which involves commitment and reciprocity
[Hartup 1989]
Liking is an important part of friendship but is not a sufficient condition on its own to develop friendship
The focus of friendship changes with age

10. Friendship is at the Heart of Social Competence
Level 1 [5-7] Friends momentary or transient, friends are playmates who share and are fun
Level 2 [8-10] Based on issues of trust and of what one likes about the other person
Level 3 [11+] Friendship based on intimacy and mutual understanding
Damon1977
Early friendships are fragile
Friendship offers a context for transmitting social norms, promoting loyalty and alliance. Friendship offers companionship

11. Role Taking The ability to see something from another’s point of view
Selman’s 5 stage model
Level 0
Child does not distinguish between own and child’s perspective
Level 1
Can recognise that they and another have different perspectives, find others view difficult to describe
Level 2
See themselves from another’s perspective and know they are similarly capable
Level 3
Recognizes how a third person perceives the situation
Level4
Understands that a network of perspectives exists that binds individuals into a social system

12. Social Information Processing
Encode the cues
Interpret the cues
Access or construct appropriate responses
Evaluate the likely effect of the responses and select the most suitable
Enact the chosen response
This pro-social model has been used to locate the problems rejected aggressive children have in dealing with their peers

13. The Developmental Course of Peer Interaction
Infancy
By 6 Months – Take an interest in other infants, increased vocalization and smiling around peers
By 12 Months – Clear interest shown in peers, display emotional expressions to peers
By 2 years – Mainly Parallel play
Understanding rules of social exchange
First evidence of pro-social behaviour, such as empathy.
Use of language in social exchange.
Child operates according to desire psychology

14. The Developmental Course of Peer Interaction
Early Childhood
By 3 Years – Begins to engage in cooperative play
Dominance hierarchies observed in children’s peer group
By 4 Years – Mostly Associative play
Conflict is observed in children’s relationships

15. The Developmental Course of Peer Interaction
Middle and Late Childhood
By 6 Years – Sharp increase in the time spent with peers
Friendship is regarded as shared interests and the maintenance of successful play
By 9 years – The goal of friendship is gaining peer acceptance

16. The Developmental Course of Peer Interaction
Adolescence
Early Adolescence – Friendship is centred on intimacy and self-disclosure
The peer group is organised around cliques and crowds
Adolescent egocentrism makes its appearance
Late Adolescence – Friends are seen as increasingly a source of emotional and social support.
Adolescent egocentrism declines

17. Adolescent Egocentrism
The emerging recognition that one may be the focus of another’s attention
This leads to a high degree of self-consciousness [the belief that their behaviours are constantly the focus of other’s thoughts
An excessive preoccupation with self may interfere with the necessary attention to others perspectives underlying social competence
Egocentrism decreases as adolescence progresses

18. Determinants of Peer Acceptance
Based on
Social skills
Personal characteristics
Names
Physical Appearance [more important to girls than boys]
Sex
Age
The common factor in our society is SIMILARITY

19. Peer Status Based on Socio-metric testing, 5 Categories
Popular high on most liked, low on least liked
Controversial high on both most and least liked
Neglected low on both low and least liked
Average some positive, some negative
Rejected low most liked high on least liked

20. Rejected Children
Aggressive – high levels of behaviour problems, poor self-control, high levels of aggression
Non-aggressive – largely socially unskilled, withdrawn, anxious

21. Consequences of Low Peer Status
One of the best predictors of academic failure is rejection by the peer group
Rejected children were perceived by peers and teachers as weak students
They are significantly more likely to drop out of school
They feel social dissatisfaction and loneliness. The feel poorly about their own social competence
The friendship networks of aggressive rejected children are likely to comprise other aggressive rejected children.
This deviant peer group reinforces and supports the rejected aggressive child’s inappropriate behaviours

22. Delinquency
The legal definition of anti-social behaviour, includes crimes such as vandalism and shoplifting which do not harm people directly
Early starters – those who are aggressive rejected at primary school [likely re-offenders]
Late starters – those who follow a more normal developmental path but show some antisocial behaviour for a period, a risk taking perception usually from about 15 but desist after a time