Children and Young People’s Development

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Recommended: John Bowlby’s theory of attachment: relevance to the role of the educators

The theory which contributes to the theme is John Bowlby’s attachment theory. “Bowlby used the term maternal deprivation to refer to the separation or loss of the mother as well as failure to develop an attachment”, Mcleod, (2007). Bowlby’s attachment theory is relevant to children and young people’s development. In order for children to develop, they need to have secure attachments, as those children with secure attachments, are better able to explore the environment freely and confidently. As there are many tasks that involve the regulation of emotion, such as stress. “If a child has not developed a strong foundation of emotional competence… they will struggle to manage the learning and social environment of school as successfully as their peers”, Furnivall, (2013). If children cannot cope with the learning environment then it will be difficult for them to develop.
It is supported by Harlow’s study (1959) in which Harlow created two wire mothers, one with a feeding bottle and the other with no food but a warm cloth wrapped around. The monkeys formed an attachment with the unresponsive cloth covered mother, but these monkeys had difficulties in later life. This shows the importance of interaction in attachment, another study which supports Bowlby’s theory is Scaffer and Emerson’s study (1964), they observed 60 babies over a year and found that they were most attached to the person who responded and interacted with them.
Bowlby’s theory talks about how a primary caregiver needs to respond and interact with children. However, there are some weaknesses to Bowlby’s theory of attachment as Bowlby suggested that the most important attachment figure for a child is the mother, however “many psychologists hold the view that all attachme...

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...riers to the child’s development and overall impacts the quality of the provision provided. My learning can have a positive impact on future practice as it enhances the quality of children and young people’s experience in education.

Works Cited

McLeod, S. A. (2007). John Bowlby | Maternal Deprivation Theory - Simply Psychology, (http://www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html), [Accessed 29 October 2013].
Cardwell Et al. (2008). Psychology AS| The Complete Companion, 2nd Edition. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
Taylor, W, Et al, (2012), CACHE Level 3 Extended Diploma, Children and Young People’s Workforce, Essex, Pearson Education Limited.
Furnivall. J, (2013), attachment-informed practice with looked after children and young people, (http://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/attachment-informed-practice-looked-after-children-and-young-people), [Accessed 30 December 2013].

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