Cultural Differences in Child Development Expectations

2031 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Gender roles and how they affect society

Cultural Differences in Child Development Expectations

ABSTRACT

--------

A small research has been carried in order to find out how different

cultural backgrounds can influence a child’s developmental

expectations in adults and the consequences of these expectations.

The design of the method was a replication of Hess et al., 1980,

study, applied into two mothers with early age daughters, coming from

two different cultural backgrounds, English and Spanish. They answered

at what age they thought different statements about child development

would be reached by their children and being these statements about

grouped into 6 main developmental areas the averages were calculated

and compared.

The results showed an earlier expectation of achievement in all areas

of development, except for independence, in the English participant

and a complete opposite position of the Spanish participant expecting

a late development of the child in general.

This might be due to the demand, in the first, of a highly advance

society, and the influence in the second of religious and moral

values.

INTRODUCTION

------------

Relationships between culture and knowledge development have a

peculiar character. Societies provide to their members with different

types of experience that affects and conditionate their knowledge. At

the present time many developmental psychologists analyse the

cognitive development in relation with the cultural context (Hichman,

1987). For this researchers the main question consist in weather to

accept or not the existence of “cognitive universals” which the

cultural context will condition and modernise (Laboratory of

Comparative Human Cognition, 1983) in other words, if there are

“equally valid patterns of life that mankind has created for

himself”.(Das Gupta 1994).

But in which ways these universal patterns are affected by historical

and cultural context? What do different people expect from children

and their development?

Social influences have made many theories about child development

arise and many other researches have been carried about this matter.

During this study some of these theories will be applied , like

Show More
Related

  • Differences And Summary Of Thomas Balmes's 'Babies'

    1265 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Babies”. Is a documentary made by the Thomas Balmés. It offers a window on the lives of four infants in four completely different cultures. This is not a usual kind of documentary; there are no narration, no subtitles and actual dialogue was very minimal. The film explores childhood rituals, enculturation, socialization and parenthood. I will try to explore each of these themes and try to make the case that behaviors, values and fears are learned not something congenital. It has, in my opinion, comparative perspectives and different methods in rearing children in different societies. It achieves this by cutting the scenes in certain ways to show the differences between these different children. For example, in one part of the film, both Bayarjargal (the Mongolian child) and Mari (the Japanese child) were playing with their pet cats and then the two scenes were edited to a shot of Ponijo (the Namibian child) looking interested in flies. The four children developed in somewhat similar ways. However, there are differences in their behaviors due to the enculturation by seeing their parents or siblings who were doing what they thought to be the norms and the obvious landscape in which they are brought up. Two of the kids were born in rural areas (Namibia and Mongolia) and two were born in urban areas (the United States and Japan). The mothers of these infants were interviewed and chosen to be in the film

    Read More

  • Cognitive Development: Gardner's Eight Frames Of Child Development

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    During middle-to-late childhood, growth and development begins to slow down a bit. However, while the development may not be as rapid as it may have been in previous stages, it is more consistent and steady. The development that occurs during this stage begins to incorporate the skills learned in previous years, and the skills gained during this time are more applicable to real world situations. Cognitive development, intellectual development, and disabilities are key aspects to consider during this time.

    Read More

  • Child Rearing Theory

    1025 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Unequal Childhood - Class, Race, and Family Life, Annette Lareau tributes the French social scientist Pierre Bourdieu when using his theory of the forms of capital as a fundamental argument on her study. In this theory, Bourdieu recognizes three different types of capital; social, symbolical and cultural. Bourdieu describes social capital as “the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.” This means that social capital is based on resources built from personal relationships, club memberships and other social influence and connections. The second form of capital,

    Read More

  • All parents should be taught about child development. Discuss.

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Child development is made of many factors such as physical, cognitive, moral, spiritual, beliefs, Personal, Social and Emotional Development (PSED). Parents are the first interaction a child will have with as when a child is born a bond will always be there between parents and a child. However, what parents do not know is that for a child to develop, they need all factors to develop which is why all parents should be taught about child development.

    Read More

  • Theories Of Child Rearing

    1217 Words  | 3 Pages

    Child rearing practices altered as a result of the economic shift as well as intellectual shift. Child rearing had shifted from breaking the will of children by means of corporal punishment to mending behavior through psychology and emotional discipline. Different theories and methods of child rearing were disseminated through advice books. This was directed particularly at immigrant families as a way to assimilate them into the American society. Children fiction books became another method implemented to conform immigrant families. Scholars had proposed other theories describing children as not being with original sin but rather, a blank slate or born innocent.

    Read More

  • Children Socialization

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    Homeschooled children have the same, if not more, socialization skills than children that go to public schools. Some public schooled children might think that because homeschooled children do not go to a public school that they do not have friends or the social skills that come with going to a public school with their peers. I grew up in the public schools so before doing research I believed that home schooled children did not have the same amount of social skills as public and private schooled children because they did not have to learn in a room full of other kids, which seems to be where kids learn how to take turns and interact with other children of their age.

    Read More

  • The Social Construction of Childhood

    2204 Words  | 5 Pages

    While all societies acknowledge that children are different from adults, how they are different, changes, both generationally and across cultures. “The essence of childhood studies is that childhood is a social and cultural phenomenon” (James, 1998). Evident that there are in fact multiple childhoods, a unifying theme of childhood studies is that childhood is a social construction and aims to explore the major implications on future outcomes and adulthood. Recognizing childhood as a social construction guides exploration through themes to a better understanding of multiple childhoods, particularly differences influencing individual perception and experience of childhood. Childhood is socially constructed according to parenting style by parents’ ability to create a secure parent-child relationship, embrace love in attitudes towards the child through acceptance in a prepared environment, fostering healthy development which results in evidence based, major impacts on the experience of childhood as well as for the child’s resiliency and ability to overcome any adversity in the environment to reach positive future outcomes and succeed.

    Read More

  • Children's Personal, Social and Emotional Development

    2056 Words  | 5 Pages

    Personal, social and emotional developments (PSED) are acknowledged as one of the starting point of accomplishment in life. PSED is about the whole child, how they are developing now, what they can do to reach their goals but also contribute to their community and how children perceive their identity and ability, understand their relation to the others in the society and apprehend their own and others’ feelings. PSED are a part of children’s development where they will be able to communicate effectively and be able to develop positive behavior among themselves and to others. According to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), PSED is consists of three aspects which are self-confidence and self-awareness, managing feelings and behavior and making relationships (DfE, 2012). In this essay, I will discuss the factors that influence children’s behavior , theories of personal social development and the strategies to develop the positive behavior in children to promote PSED, transition and inclusion.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Developmental Psychology On Children's Development

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Developmental Psychology according to Goldstein and Weiner’s (2003) Handbook of Psychology, Volume 6, Developmental Psychology states that this is the study of “how temporal changes in the familial, social, and cultural contexts of life shape the quality of the trajectories of change that individuals traverse across their life spans.” Developmental psychology is basically the study of an individual, from the cradle to the grave and how they contrast and develop in various life spans. Developmental Psychology tackles numerous concepts; however, one of the most controversial and prominent concepts which aims to elucidate the development of a child’s cognitive, emotional and behavioral state would be Diana Baumrind’s conceptualization of the parenting

    Read More

  • Cultural Competence In Education

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cultural proficiency is seeing the difference and responding effectively in a variety of environments. Learning about organizational and individual culture, in which one can effectively interact in a variety of cultural environments (p. 3). In simple terms in which educators are not only able to effectively work with diverse populations, but also believe that diversity adds positive value to the educational enterprise (Landa, 2011, p. 12).

    Read More

  • Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1995, Delpit published Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom. Although the excerpt analyzed in this paper is from a larger work, it was written by Delpit (1995) as a self-contained speech. This excerpt includes many of the concepts Delpit believes to be the basic cultural conflicts in the classroom, which are stereotyping, child-deficit assumptions and student isolation and invisibility. Delpit's goal is to "remove the dynamic of oppression that are inherent in any classroom…that come together when (primarily white) teachers spend time with 'other people's children'" (Delpit, 1995, pg.69). Through Other People's Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom, Delpit lays the foundation for multicultural education and details ways teachers can solve the inherent problems that arise as a result of many cultures interacting in the classroom. The purpose of this paper is an analysis of this text through an analytic, interpretive and normative reading.

    Read More

  • The Physical, Social, and Cultural Development of Children

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    “I best be careful, they grow up way too fast.” “It could not possibly be my child’s tenth birthday; it feels like they were two years old just last year.” “Wow, you cannot have grown six inches from last year.” These are three statements that might travel through parents’ mind occasionally as they rear their children from birth until adulthood. However, these thoughts are not literally meaning their children are growing up faster than normal; rather, their children are aging normally, it just seems as if time has passed hastily. What if parents knew their children were maturing intellectually, socially, and physically more rapid? There is proof that children are more physically, intellectually, and socially advanced than in previous decades although they are not emotionally advanced than other generations. As well, children’s lives seem busier, and parents are driving their children to be the best. These advancements in development, a tight family schedule, and parents’ impetus for a successful child are all increasing trends of today’s society and generations.

    Read More

  • Social Interaction Influence Cognitive Development

    2296 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...interact with their caregivers and through interaction not only their cognitive abilities are shaped by also their personality and behaviour in later stage of their life (Triandis & Suh, 2002). The essay is considering the background that social relation flourishes, namely interaction child – adult and peer relations. Through their early experiences with others, children develop their understanding of the world. By simple activities that are carried out on daily basis between children and caregivers, children are able to gain the meaning of new techniques and learning strategies, they expand their existing knowledge and experience new things. The interesting aspect is to elaborate on social interaction within different groups of children. Although the cognitive abilities may not fully develop in every child, social interaction encourages and prompts the progress.

    Read More

  • Theories of Development: Cognitive Theory and Behaviorism

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Off the five developmental theories, I would like to describe and explain two grand theories, Cognitive theory and Behaviorism.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Cultural Competence In Education

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    When evaluating myself on the Cultural Proficiency continuum, I’d place myself at “Cultural Competence” part on the continuum. This evaluation takes into account my experiences and practices while working in various schools and interacting with students of varied cultures, needs and ability levels as both a teacher and a learner. An effective educator is continually maintaining this dual role of teacher and life-long student in order to not grow stagnant within the classroom; this dynamic allows for growth along the continuum toward maintaining cultural proficiency.

    Read More

More about Cultural Differences in Child Development Expectations

Open Document