Social Contexts and Socioemotional Development

1. Social Contexts andSocioemotional Development

2. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Theory • The ecological theory developed by Bronfenbrenner(1917-2005)focuses on the social contexts in which children live and the people who influence their development. • The theory consists of five environmental systems that range from close interpersonal interactions to broad-based influences of culture.

3. The five environmental systems • Microsystem: A microsystem is the setting in which the individual spends considerable time and has direct interactions with parents, teachers, peers, and others. For Bronfenbrenner the student is not a passive recipient of experiences but reciprocally interacts and helps to construct the microsystem. • Mesosystem: The mesosystem involves linkages between microsystems such as family and school, and relationships between students and peers.

4. Exosystem: experiences insettings in which a child does not have an active role influence the child’s experiences (e.g., community members, mass media etc)

5. Macrosystem: The macrosystem is the broader culture in which students and teachers live(e.g., gender inequities, ethnicity , socioeconomic status etc). • Chronosystem: Thechronosystem includes the sociohistorical conditions of a student’s development( e.g., use of computers, child care centers, less extended family connections).

6. Critics of the Ecological Theory • The theory gives little attention to biological and cognitive factors in child development • The theory doesn’t address step by step developmental changes.

7. Bronfenbrenner’s Theory in the Classroom • Think about children embedded in several environmental systems and influences • Attend to connections between school and families • Recognize the importance of community, culture, and socioeconomic status

8. Erikson’s Life-Span Development Theory • Erikson believed that human development proceeds in stages • Each stage consists of a developmental task that confronts individuals with a crisis. Therefore each stage is characterized by a psychosocial challenge or crisis • Stages reflect the motivation of the individual. The more the individual is successful in resolving the crisis the more he or she will stay healthy.

9. 8 - Integrity vs. despair 7 - Generativity vs. stagnation 6 - Intimacy vs. isolation 5 - Identity vs. identity confusion 4 - Industry vs. inferiority 3 - Initiative vs. guilt 2 - Autonomy vs. shame and doubt 1 - Trust vs. mistrust Erik Erikson’s Eight Stages of Human Development

10. 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust (0–1 years) Infants learn either to trust the environment (when needs are met) or mistrust. Mistrust develops when infants are neglected or ignored. • The development of trust requires warm, nurturing caregiving.Developed through consistent love and support.

11. 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt (1–3 years). It occurs in late infancy and the toddler years. Toddlers acquire self confidence if they learn to regulate their bodies and act independently. If they fail or are labeled as inadequate , restrained or punished they experience shame and doubt. • Independence fostered by support and encouragement

12. 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt (3–5 years ) As young children experience a widening social world, they are challenged more than they were infants. To cope with the challenges , they need to engage in active purposeful behavior that involves initiative. Children develop uncomfortable guilt feelings if they are irresponsible or are made to feel too anxious. • Developed by exploring and accepting challenges

13. 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority (6 years–puberty) Children acquire many skills and competencies. If they take pride in these, they acquire high self esteem. If they compare themselves unfavorably with others, they may develop low self esteem, inferiority, unproductiveness , and incompetence. • Mastery comes from success and recognition

14. 5 - Identity vs. Role Confusion (Adolescence) Adolescents must integrate various roles (e.g., vocational and romantic) into a consistent self identity. If they fail to do so, they may experience confusion over who they are. • Exploration of different paths to attain a healthy identity.

15. 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation(Early adult years) Young adults must develop the ability to form deep intimate relationships with others . If they don’t, they may become socially or emotionally isolated. • Form positive, close relationships with others

16. 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation (Middle Adulthood) Adults must develop an active interest in helping and guiding younger persons. If they don’t , they may become preoccupied with purely selfish needs. Generativity means transmitting something positive to the next generation. This can involve parenting and teaching ,through which adults assist the next generation in developing useful lives. Stagnation is the feeling of having done nothing to help the next generation. • Transmitting something positive to the next generation

17. 8 - Integrity vs. Despair (Late Adulthood) In the closing decades of life, individuals ask themselves whether their lives had any meaning. If the retrospective evaluations are positive, they develop a sense of integrity. If they answer no, they experience despair. • Life review and retrospective evaluation of one’s past

18. Strategies for Educating Children Based on Erikson’s Theory • Initiative • Encourage social play • Have children assume responsibility • Structure assignments for success • Industry • Nourish motivation for mastery • Be tolerant of honest mistakes • Identity • Recognize that identity is multidimensional • Encourage independent thinking • Stimulate students to examine different perspectives

20. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles • Diana Baumrind states that parents should be neither punitive nor aloof. Rather they should develop rules for children while at the same time being supportive and nurturing. • Baumrind says that parenting styles come in four main forms.

21. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (Cont’d) • Authoritarian parenting is restrictive and punitive. • Parents place firm limits and controls on children and allow very little verbal exchange. “Do it my way or else “. • Children of authoritarian parents tend to be socially incompetent with poor communication skills. They tend to be anxious about social comparison, fail to initiate activity, and have poor communication skills.

22. Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (Cont’d) • Authoritative parenting encourages children to be independent but still put limits and controls on their actions. “You know you shouldn’t have done it. Lets talk about how you can handle it next time”. Extensive verbal-give and take is allowed. • Parents are nurturing and supportive. Children are self-reliant, get along with peers, and have high self-esteem

23. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (Cont’d) • Neglectful parenting is a style of parenting in which parents are uninvolved in their children’s lives. • Parents are permissive and uninvolved. Children have poor self-control ,don’t handle independence well, and low achievement motivation. They often behave in a socially incompetent way.

24. Diana Baumrind’s Parenting Styles (Cont’d) • Indulgent parenting is a parenting style in which parents are highly involved with their children but set few limits and restrictions on their children. • Parents let their children do what they like and what they want to do. They don’t take into account the development of the whole child. • Children tend to have poor self-control.

25. The Changing Family Children in families of divorce - The quality of parental relationships, the use of support services, the type of custody, and the socioeconomic status all affect students. - Elementary schoolchildren did best when the parent and the school environment were authoritative. Single parents - Have less time, money, and energy, yet many still find ways to raise competent children.

26. Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in Families • Minority students - Families tend to be larger; depend more on the extended family for support - Single parents are more common - Less educated; lower income • Low-income parents - Tend to value external characteristics such as obedience and neatness - See education as the teachers’ job

27. Ethnic and Socioeconomic Variations in Families • Middle-class families • Often place high value on internal characteristics such as self-control and delayed gratification - See education as a mutual responsibility

28. School-Family Linkages • Provide assistance to families • Include families as participants in school decisions • Encourage parents to be volunteers • Communicate effectively with families about school programs and their child’s progress • Involve families with their children in learning activities at home • Coordinate community collaboration

29. Peer Statuses • Developmentalists have pinpointed five types of peer status. • Popular :Listen carefully, act like themselves, show enthusiasm, are happy • Rejected :Seldom" best friend," often disliked • Neglected: Infrequently “best friend," are not disliked

30. Peer Statuses • Average: Receive both positive and negative peer nominations • Controversial: Frequently, “best friend,” often disliked

31. Benefits of Friendships • Companionship • Physical support • Ego support • Intimacy/affection

32. Early Childhood and Elementary School • The early childhood setting is a protected educational environment with one or two teachers • Head Start project were designed to provide young children from low income families opportunities and experiences that are important for success in schools. High-quality Head Start interventions are effective • Great emphasis on peer groups • Developmentally appropriate education is based on knowledge of the typical development of children within an age span (age appropriateness) as well as the uniqueness of the child( individual-appropriateness).

33. Schools for Adolescents • Middle schools are massive, impersonal institutions where students trust few adults and have limited access to health care and counseling. • School’s emphasis on achievement often overshadows physical and socioemotional changes, causing stress. • Beginning students are relegated to the bottom of the school hierarchy.

34. Social Contexts andSocioemotional Development Socioemotional Development Moral Development The Self

35. Self-Concept and Self-Esteem • Self-concept is a cognitive appraisal of our social, physical, and academic competence (measures of such things are our skill in various subject areas, our assessment of our appearance, and the skill we have in peer relationships). • Self-esteem is the affective or emotional reaction to one’s self-concept (reflects a person’s overall confidence and satisfaction). • Self esteem is also refer to as self worth or self image.

36. Improving Children’s Self-Esteem • Encourage and facilitate • Competence in areas students find important • Improvement of academic skills through the use of professional tutors, parent volunteers, and peer tutors • Emotional support and social approval by parents, friends, and peers • Social skills that promote positive peer relationships • Coping skills to face the day-to-day problems as they appear

37. Identity DevelopmentJames Marcia’s Four Statuses of Identity • Identity is another aspect of the self. • Marcia proposed that adolescents have one of four identity statuses based on the extent to which they have explored or are exploring alternative paths and whether they have made a commitment.

38. Identity Development (Cont’d) • Marcia distinguished between exploration and commitment. • Exploration involves experiencing meaningful alternative identities. • Commitment means showing a personal investment in an identity and staying with whatever that identity implies.

39. Identity Development (Cont’d) • Adolescents can explore alternative identities in numerous areas such as vocational, religious, intellectual, political, sexual, gender, ethnic and interests. • The extent of an individual/s exploration and commitment is used to classify him or her according to one of four identity status.

40. Identity Development (Cont’d) • Identity Diffusion: occurs when adolescents have not yet explored meaningful alternatives (have not yet experienced crisis) or made commitments. Not only are they undecided about occupational and ideological choices, but they are also likely to show little interest in such matters. • Identity Foreclosure: occurs when adolescents have made a commitment without exploring alternatives (have not yet experienced crisis). This often happens when parents hand down commitments to their adolescents. In this case, adolescents have not had adequate opportunities to explore different approaches, ideologies, and vocations on their own.

41. Identity Development (Cont’d) • Identity Moratorium: occurs when individuals are in the midst of a crisis. When alternatives have been explored but commitments are absent • Identity Achievement: occurs when alternatives have been explored (have undergone crisis) and commitments have been made

42. Moral Development • Moral development concerns rules and conventions about just interactions between people. • These rules can be studied in three domains, cognitive, behavioral and emotional. • In the cognitive domain, the key issue is how students reason or think about rules for ethical conduct. • In the behavioral domain, the focus is on how students actually behave rather than on the morality of their thinking. • In the emotional domain, the emphasis is on how students morally feel.

43. Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development • Heteronomous moralityage 4–7:In this stage justice and rules are conceived as unchangeable properties of the world and are outside the control of people.Imminent justice—if the rule is broken, punishment is immediate. • Autonomous moralityage 7–10: Child becomes aware that laws are created by people, and intention and consequences should be considered

44. Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development • Lawrence Kohlberg stressed that moral development primarily involves moral reasoning and occur in stages. • Kohlberg arrived at his theory after interviewing children , adolescents, and adults (primarily males) about their views on a series of moral dilemmas. • Kohlberg constructed a theory of moral development that has three main levels with two stages at each of these levels. • A key concept in understanding Kohlberg's theory is internalization, which refers to the developmental change from externally controlled behavior to internally controlled behavior.

45. Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development • At different points in our lives, we exhibit different forms of thoughts and beliefs regarding moral behavior • Kohlberg examined moral thought by asking people of various ages to comment on moral situations evident in a vignette: • “Ahmad steals an expensive drug in order to save the life of his wife who suffers from cancer.”

46. Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development • Preconventional reasoning is the lowest level of moral development in Kohlberg’s theory. At this level the child shows no internalization of moral values. Moral reasoning is controlled by external rewards and punishments • Conventional reasoning is the second or intermediate level in Kohlberg’s theory. At this level the child internalization is intermediate. The child abides internally by certain standards, but they are essentially the standards imposed by other people such as parents, or by society’s laws.

47. Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development • Postconventional reasoning is the highest level in Kohlberg’s theory. At this level, morality is completely internalized and not based on external standards. The student recognizes alternative moral courses, explores options, and then decides on the moral code that is best for him or her.

48. Moral Education 1. Hidden Curriculum School personnel serve as models of ethical behavior. Classroom rules and peer relationships transmit positive attitudes to students. 2. Character Education Schools take a direct approach to teaching moral literacy and design an environment that rewards proper behavior.

49. Moral Education 3. Values Clarification Schools design programs that allow students to clarify their own values and understand the values of others. 4. Cognitive MoralEducation Schools base programs on the belief that students should learn to value things like democracy and justice as moral reasoning develops. 5. Service Learning Schools encourage students to be involved in the community by becoming a tutor, helping the elderly, volunteering in hospitals or day care, etc.

50. Children’s Prosocial Behavior Classroom teachers need to: • Emphasize consideration of others’ needs • Modelprosocialbehavior • Identify and encourage positive classroom behavior • Facilitate perspective-taking • Foster altruism in classroom projects