Childhood Development Observation and Analysis

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Children are complex, and the way a child develops differs from individual to individual. The study of children is a field that researchers, scientists, theorists and educators have been exploring for decades. CHYS 1F90 studies the foundations of childhood development and allows the students to look at the way children develop through multiple lenses. Many conclusions have been drawn, observing how, when and why children develop the way they do. Jerry and Samantha are both grade one students who are unrelated. Although these two students are both the same age, they are different on a variety of accounts. Jerry is a shy and introverted boy who quickly becomes uncomfortable while talking to adults, teachers and peers, contrariwise Samantha is immensely confident and demonstrates extroversion around others. After analyzing both Jerry and Samantha through a biological, learning theorist and psychoanalytical lens, the reasons for the first-graders differences are clear. Depending on the lens in which an individual looks through when analyzing the development of children, interesting and intriguing conclusions can be drawn regarding the broad topic of understanding how children develop. Biological Lens: Looking at child development from a biological perspective is a tactic very popular throughout the scientific community (Gardner, 2005). Many theories, such as the maturational theory and ethological theory, help to enforce the biological theory, which states that development is determined primarily by biological forces (McNamara, 2011). After exploring Jerry and Samantha’s development, specifically social progress, through a biological lens, much rationality is apparent as to why these two first graders experience dif... ... middle of paper ... ... (2009) The science of development. In R.V. Kail & A. Barnfield (Eds.), Children and their development (pp. 8 – 22). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. Kaur, P. (2010). Examine the Diverse Theories of Attitude Development. international journal of educational administration, 2(4), 615-619. Retrieved October 5, 2011, from the Child and Youth Studies database. McNamara, J (2011). CHYS 1F90 (Lecture Notes). St. Catharines, ON: Brock University, Department of Child and Youth Studies. Schmidt, L. A., Fox, N. A., Rubin, K. H., Hu, S., & Hamer, D. H. (2002). Molecular genetics of shyness and aggression in preschoolers. The Official Journal of the International Society for the Study of Individual Differences (ISSID), 33(2), 227-238. Retrieved October 8, 2011, from http://journals2.scholarsportal.info/details-sfx.xqy?uri=/01918869/v33i0002/227_mgosaaip.xml

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