Thematic Block 1: Education and Development
1.1 Contextual Framework: Biological, Social and Cultural. Basis of development processes.
We should start about the Developmental Psicology concept: It explains changes along a person’s life, those changes can be divided in the following groups.
So once we know what is the Developmental Psychology we should know what the Development is, isn't it?
Development is the set of continuous changes through which new psychological functions are reached in different levels that have a defined direction in interaction with the socio-cultural context. It is a qualitative and continous phenomena related to learning process: physical development needs education and education needs physical development.
You can check in the Reading page the extraction notes about the Reading IV: Reading about Development (Rogoff) which are very related to the concepts explained before and they will help to understand better all the following theory about development.
Developmental changes mechanisms:
Developmental changes cannot be understood without the influence or role of education, so they are not INDEPENDENT. The education is the most important socialization tool for children into a culture (they are part of a society/culture) and socialization allows us to learn. So, mainly, development depends more on the sociocultural factors than in the genetic factors. It is a BIDIRECTIONAL RELATION.
For this reason we can know that there is a development and it is directioned from simple to complex actions.
FROM Reflex, Automatic behaviour (internal biological processes) TO Intention and body control (planification and decision making).
FROM Dependency TO Personal autonomy.
FROM Incipient Skills (they are starting) to relate with the environment TO Increasing Skills (communication, expression)
FROM Direct action (reflex) TO Abstract thought (complex cognition)
FROM Emotional dependency TO Control and emotional balance (self-regulation).
- Phylogenetic changes: Changes that belong to the human spice along history. People have adapted their selves to the environment through interaction with environment mediated by the cultural tools; that fact has allowed us to think differently and that allows us to change us and our way of thinking. We acquire cultural tools and its development allows us to evolve as specie: They are the HISOTY OF HUMAN evolution.
- Ontogenetic changes: Onto: subject / Genetic: origin. Changes that a person suffers over a lifetime in an individual meaning: physical, experiences, etc.
- Microgenetic changes: Small changes and concepts, ideas, interpretations of reality, etc. Changes made in a specific critical period: LEARNING development.
So once we know what is the Developmental Psychology we should know what the Development is, isn't it?
Development is the set of continuous changes through which new psychological functions are reached in different levels that have a defined direction in interaction with the socio-cultural context. It is a qualitative and continous phenomena related to learning process: physical development needs education and education needs physical development.
You can check in the Reading page the extraction notes about the Reading IV: Reading about Development (Rogoff) which are very related to the concepts explained before and they will help to understand better all the following theory about development.
Developmental changes mechanisms:
Developmental changes cannot be understood without the influence or role of education, so they are not INDEPENDENT. The education is the most important socialization tool for children into a culture (they are part of a society/culture) and socialization allows us to learn. So, mainly, development depends more on the sociocultural factors than in the genetic factors. It is a BIDIRECTIONAL RELATION.
For this reason we can know that there is a development and it is directioned from simple to complex actions.
FROM Reflex, Automatic behaviour (internal biological processes) TO Intention and body control (planification and decision making).
FROM Dependency TO Personal autonomy.
FROM Incipient Skills (they are starting) to relate with the environment TO Increasing Skills (communication, expression)
FROM Direct action (reflex) TO Abstract thought (complex cognition)
FROM Emotional dependency TO Control and emotional balance (self-regulation).
During the Conference they recomended us several Workshops such as the following that is closely realted with the theme and it knowledge is based on Coll , C. , Alvaro, Marchesi, A, Palacios, J. (comp) (1990). Desarrollopsicológico y educación /, Vol. 1. Alianza, Madrid. — Cap. 25. Desarrollo psicológico y procesos educativos. Pp. 367-383 reading. To see it click on the Workshop I botton.
AS TEACHER... HOW WOULD I APLLY IT IN MY CLASS?
Regarding the concepts about Developmental Processes in terms of Biological, Social and Cultural fiels, the first thing that I would apply at class is to take into account everyone's Ontogenetic and Microgenetic changes in order to adapt properly the class to the students' interest, abilities and needs, so they will be more involved and motivated at class. It would also be important to take into account the Developmental Direction, so I could empower the developmental aspects in which they are more developmental delayed and, this way, heping them to have a better educational performance.
1.2. The contextual and sociocultural approach to development
![Picture](/uploads/4/3/6/3/43631079/853020650.jpg?569)
Psychological
Approaches to the Development-Learning relationship:
According to the Social and Biological aspects we can find two theories. If we priorize the social factors the learning comes first than development and If we priorize the biological aspects the development comes first than the learning.
è Inheritance/heritage, Growth, Maturation: factors that go first in development à ENDOGENOUS FACTORS (genetic, biological functions)
è Socio-cultural environment, History: Main factor in development à EXOGENOUS FACTORS (Family, Culture).
According to which one of them determines development, there are two different theories which are the Developmental approaches.
Developmental approaches:
1. Dialectical approaches (socio-cultural): Child’s environment determines and shapes learning.
1.1. Social Determinantion: development without social context is imposible, it is highly dependent of social interaction. There is not a lineal development.
1.2. Cultural Mediation: We start our development in a culture. We learn it by interaction à rules, Mediations, behaviour, tools interacting with adults in daily activities. We acquire the tools we need to live in some cultures. This process is always placed in interactive context.
1.3. Individual differences.
2. Determinist approach: Development is a biological process that happens automatically, it occurs in a predictable way. There is more or less a linear developments à STEPS (Piadget). The transition from one step to the following is through the individual maturation. This approach states that young children acquire knowledge naturally as they grown. It also defends that development, which is understood as steps, do not depends on social factors. Almost all the kids follow a pattern called UNIVERSAL TRAITS. First development than learning because it comes from its own (genetically determined), so, if children is healthy the development course wont vary.
According to the abovementioned developmental approaches we can find several theoretical approaches.
Theoretical approaches:
1. Determinist (Endogenous): Psychodynamic theory and Cognitivist theory.
2. Dialectical (Exogenous): Behaviourist theory and Socio-historic-cultural theory.
None of these theories say that socio-cultural/biologic traits are not important but they priorize one. Development always contains both.
1. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY (DETERMINIST):
1.1. Psicosexual theory (Sigmund Freud):
Early living experiences have a long term effect in development in children, it is the most determinant phase. It is done by unconscious impulses. Pleasure is the pulse of life and our behaviour is leaded by those impulses.
Dynamic relations: some parts of our personality are unconsciou, for example the Ego (yo), and some are conscious: Super ego (Super yo).
In the development there are several STAGES: oral, annual, etc. If you stay fixed in one step in adulthood you will use more this part (or skill) in the daily life.
1.2. Attachment theory (Bowlby):
Human beings have innate adaptation mechanisms to survive; such as the search of the bonding figure. They have an attachment figure that allows children to survive. We are very dependent and we need adult protection: to be cared to survive. As human, everybody creates a bond to parents, it is called attachment bonding. The quality of it depends the futures of socio-affective development (INTRODUCE CONCEPTS OF READING OF BERKS).
Development is highly influenced by the quality of the attachment with the caregivers, for example: anxious attachment. It has more impact in education.
According to the Social and Biological aspects we can find two theories. If we priorize the social factors the learning comes first than development and If we priorize the biological aspects the development comes first than the learning.
è Inheritance/heritage, Growth, Maturation: factors that go first in development à ENDOGENOUS FACTORS (genetic, biological functions)
è Socio-cultural environment, History: Main factor in development à EXOGENOUS FACTORS (Family, Culture).
According to which one of them determines development, there are two different theories which are the Developmental approaches.
Developmental approaches:
1. Dialectical approaches (socio-cultural): Child’s environment determines and shapes learning.
1.1. Social Determinantion: development without social context is imposible, it is highly dependent of social interaction. There is not a lineal development.
1.2. Cultural Mediation: We start our development in a culture. We learn it by interaction à rules, Mediations, behaviour, tools interacting with adults in daily activities. We acquire the tools we need to live in some cultures. This process is always placed in interactive context.
1.3. Individual differences.
2. Determinist approach: Development is a biological process that happens automatically, it occurs in a predictable way. There is more or less a linear developments à STEPS (Piadget). The transition from one step to the following is through the individual maturation. This approach states that young children acquire knowledge naturally as they grown. It also defends that development, which is understood as steps, do not depends on social factors. Almost all the kids follow a pattern called UNIVERSAL TRAITS. First development than learning because it comes from its own (genetically determined), so, if children is healthy the development course wont vary.
According to the abovementioned developmental approaches we can find several theoretical approaches.
Theoretical approaches:
1. Determinist (Endogenous): Psychodynamic theory and Cognitivist theory.
2. Dialectical (Exogenous): Behaviourist theory and Socio-historic-cultural theory.
None of these theories say that socio-cultural/biologic traits are not important but they priorize one. Development always contains both.
1. PSYCHODYNAMIC THEORY (DETERMINIST):
1.1. Psicosexual theory (Sigmund Freud):
Early living experiences have a long term effect in development in children, it is the most determinant phase. It is done by unconscious impulses. Pleasure is the pulse of life and our behaviour is leaded by those impulses.
Dynamic relations: some parts of our personality are unconsciou, for example the Ego (yo), and some are conscious: Super ego (Super yo).
In the development there are several STAGES: oral, annual, etc. If you stay fixed in one step in adulthood you will use more this part (or skill) in the daily life.
1.2. Attachment theory (Bowlby):
Human beings have innate adaptation mechanisms to survive; such as the search of the bonding figure. They have an attachment figure that allows children to survive. We are very dependent and we need adult protection: to be cared to survive. As human, everybody creates a bond to parents, it is called attachment bonding. The quality of it depends the futures of socio-affective development (INTRODUCE CONCEPTS OF READING OF BERKS).
Development is highly influenced by the quality of the attachment with the caregivers, for example: anxious attachment. It has more impact in education.
Below we are going to listen to a video explaining the importance of the Attachment bonding of parents-Children that the Bowlby's theory supports.
The Attachment bounding, that is very important in the children development, is related to the Berks reading that we can find also in the Readings page above, named as Reading II.
1.3. Psychosocial theory (Erikson): Society influences on the personality development, which evolves through different crisis stages (contradictions). In each critical stage (8 episodes) the individual has to solve some evolutive tasks which are the basis of identity construction and personal growth.
2. COGNITIVIST THEORY (DETERMINIST):
Development is an endogenous natural process that goes from inside to outside.
Kinder – Kid Garten – Optimum conditions
It means to grow for its own like the flowers. It defends that it is an individual process that doesn’t depends on the external factors. It aims to develop inner potential.
2.1. Constructivist theory (Piadget):
Development is formed by some qualitative experience in thought operations that go from childhood to adolescence. Piadget defined that in the developmental process there were Universal Stages. The development goes through the ACCOMODATION - ASSIMILATION PROCESS (It is the dynamic of learning). The Accommodation is referred to the accommodation of internal structures (mental) of neuronal connections (nets) that allow us to interpret/solve problems of our world. It is transformed to our framework to interpret our reality.
“Imbalance is produced when a new situation appears and we don’t know how to face it”
It is a cognitive conflict that motivates people to acquire new knowledge to go back to a balanced situation. This is an INDIVIDUAL process; it aims to Learn by Discovery and by their own à Let children experiment.
There are 4 developmental STAGES (everyone goes through them and it is a linear process): Sensorimotor (Born), Preoperational, Concrete operational, Formal (13-14 years old).
2.2. Information processing theory (Gadner):
Gadner’s theory defends the existence of the multiple intelligences. Human beings are symbols’ processers (multiple intelligences). Gardner says that these differences "challenge an educational system that assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning. Indeed, as currently constituted, our educational system is heavily biased toward linguistic modes of instruction and assessment and, to a somewhat lesser degree, toward logical-quantitative modes as well." Gardner argues that "a contrasting set of assumptions is more likely to be educationally effective.
1.3. Psychosocial theory (Erikson): Society influences on the personality development, which evolves through different crisis stages (contradictions). In each critical stage (8 episodes) the individual has to solve some evolutive tasks which are the basis of identity construction and personal growth.
2. COGNITIVIST THEORY (DETERMINIST):
Development is an endogenous natural process that goes from inside to outside.
Kinder – Kid Garten – Optimum conditions
It means to grow for its own like the flowers. It defends that it is an individual process that doesn’t depends on the external factors. It aims to develop inner potential.
2.1. Constructivist theory (Piadget):
Development is formed by some qualitative experience in thought operations that go from childhood to adolescence. Piadget defined that in the developmental process there were Universal Stages. The development goes through the ACCOMODATION - ASSIMILATION PROCESS (It is the dynamic of learning). The Accommodation is referred to the accommodation of internal structures (mental) of neuronal connections (nets) that allow us to interpret/solve problems of our world. It is transformed to our framework to interpret our reality.
“Imbalance is produced when a new situation appears and we don’t know how to face it”
It is a cognitive conflict that motivates people to acquire new knowledge to go back to a balanced situation. This is an INDIVIDUAL process; it aims to Learn by Discovery and by their own à Let children experiment.
There are 4 developmental STAGES (everyone goes through them and it is a linear process): Sensorimotor (Born), Preoperational, Concrete operational, Formal (13-14 years old).
2.2. Information processing theory (Gadner):
Gadner’s theory defends the existence of the multiple intelligences. Human beings are symbols’ processers (multiple intelligences). Gardner says that these differences "challenge an educational system that assumes that everyone can learn the same materials in the same way and that a uniform, universal measure suffices to test student learning. Indeed, as currently constituted, our educational system is heavily biased toward linguistic modes of instruction and assessment and, to a somewhat lesser degree, toward logical-quantitative modes as well." Gardner argues that "a contrasting set of assumptions is more likely to be educationally effective.
3. BEHAVIOURIST THEORY (DIALECTICAL)
3.2. Traditional learning theory (Pavlov, Skinner, Watson) It helps to understand other educational approaches.
Stimulus (input) à Response (output)
It aims to train in order to obtain a conditional response. It is environmental, all human behaviour can be associated to an out stimulus.
Example: teacher has to define very well the context of the input; it also has to mediate very well what response he/she wants. Teacher gives specific stimulus and waits for specific responses, if it happens teachers will give positive reinforcements (good marks) and vice versa. We have to focus on the outcomes.
Learning occurs in processes of associations and reinforcement.
3.3. Albert Bandura theory:
It defends the social context, observation and imitation as learning tools. After we reflect what we see, we develop empathy, we communicate with other people. It’s true but it is not reduced to that. The experiment is not always true because, as an example, although we have lived in a violent context, when we grow up we can contrast it by defining our personality: What’s right or wrong?
The human brain is flexible and elastic. We can difference ourselves from other species by the fact of creating culture.
It is not able to understand development with education and education without development. In our development as human we can find that the youngest ages are the most universal ones and common between ethnics and cultures without depending on our culture environment. The more we grow up, the more we difference from the others because of the influence of the social context.
4. CONTEXTUAL APPROACH (DIALECTICAL):
4.1. Socio-cultural theory (Vygostki):
Social interaction is the basis of human development. The development theory goes from the Outside – Inside – Outside. The development is a dialectical process. In children´s development, all functions appears first at the social level (inter-psychological) and later at the individual level (intra-psychological): First between people, then inside the child
4.2. Bio-Ecological theory (Bronfrenbrenner):
Systemà structure composed by parts linked with interrelations that are independent. Interconnectivity connected by structural relationships linked by goals.
Theory of systems (Bertalanffy):
The system is disorganized because of a missing piece. Homeostability is the tendency that the system has to maintain internal stability.
Bronfrenbrenner uses the theory of systems to explain development. Development occurs through the interaction between a person and five surrounding and interconnected systems of contextual influence. There are 5 systems:
3.2. Traditional learning theory (Pavlov, Skinner, Watson) It helps to understand other educational approaches.
Stimulus (input) à Response (output)
It aims to train in order to obtain a conditional response. It is environmental, all human behaviour can be associated to an out stimulus.
Example: teacher has to define very well the context of the input; it also has to mediate very well what response he/she wants. Teacher gives specific stimulus and waits for specific responses, if it happens teachers will give positive reinforcements (good marks) and vice versa. We have to focus on the outcomes.
Learning occurs in processes of associations and reinforcement.
3.3. Albert Bandura theory:
It defends the social context, observation and imitation as learning tools. After we reflect what we see, we develop empathy, we communicate with other people. It’s true but it is not reduced to that. The experiment is not always true because, as an example, although we have lived in a violent context, when we grow up we can contrast it by defining our personality: What’s right or wrong?
The human brain is flexible and elastic. We can difference ourselves from other species by the fact of creating culture.
It is not able to understand development with education and education without development. In our development as human we can find that the youngest ages are the most universal ones and common between ethnics and cultures without depending on our culture environment. The more we grow up, the more we difference from the others because of the influence of the social context.
4. CONTEXTUAL APPROACH (DIALECTICAL):
4.1. Socio-cultural theory (Vygostki):
Social interaction is the basis of human development. The development theory goes from the Outside – Inside – Outside. The development is a dialectical process. In children´s development, all functions appears first at the social level (inter-psychological) and later at the individual level (intra-psychological): First between people, then inside the child
4.2. Bio-Ecological theory (Bronfrenbrenner):
Systemà structure composed by parts linked with interrelations that are independent. Interconnectivity connected by structural relationships linked by goals.
Theory of systems (Bertalanffy):
The system is disorganized because of a missing piece. Homeostability is the tendency that the system has to maintain internal stability.
Bronfrenbrenner uses the theory of systems to explain development. Development occurs through the interaction between a person and five surrounding and interconnected systems of contextual influence. There are 5 systems:
- Microsystem: it is the closest to the child and contains the structures which the child has direct contact with. It encompasses its immediate surrounding where we can find bidirectional relations.
- Mesosystem: it moves from these kind of bidirectional relations, connecting us with more systems, to more complex relationships. For example: Parents-Church. The influence of these agents’ relations impact on children.
- Exosystem: It is the larger social system. It influence is more indirect so child do not directly function à It is the social environment.
- Macrosystem: Composed of cultural context values, ideology, etc.
- Chronosystem: Encompasses the dimension of time.
AS TEACHER... HOW WOULD I APLLY IT IN MY CLASS?
I have always thought that the Developmental and the Learning are parallel processes, but now contrasting with the Dialectical and Determinst approaches I would say that I support the Dialectical one. Despite that, I still agree with several of the Determinist authors' ideas such as the Attachemnt theory of Bowlby; the Psychosocial theory of Erikson and the Garder's theory about the Multiple intelligences.
I have seen during my career as teacher that the social surrounding of the children affect them imensenly in several fields such as the emotional, the learning performance, the attitudes with other classmates or even the relations with teachs; for this reason, as I have said, in this way I totally agree the Dialectical theories.
This new information about psichological theories of development will improve my teaching action in several ways becuase of the fact that nowadays I have more knowledge about the different development paths that the children can go through and I can compar the different ideas of the authors in order to create my own perspective of their learning and development. I would be able to understand better myy students needs and I will foccus my teaching action in a way or in another depending on their necessities.
I have seen during my career as teacher that the social surrounding of the children affect them imensenly in several fields such as the emotional, the learning performance, the attitudes with other classmates or even the relations with teachs; for this reason, as I have said, in this way I totally agree the Dialectical theories.
This new information about psichological theories of development will improve my teaching action in several ways becuase of the fact that nowadays I have more knowledge about the different development paths that the children can go through and I can compar the different ideas of the authors in order to create my own perspective of their learning and development. I would be able to understand better myy students needs and I will foccus my teaching action in a way or in another depending on their necessities.
1.3 The role of education and schooling in development process.
![Picture](/uploads/4/3/6/3/43631079/423562902.jpg?488)
How is development
understood?
Development occurs through changes during the participation in systems of interactivity in social communities (Outside-Inside-Outside). At the same time, this system of interactivity changes due to individuals actions. Culture is not only what others do, culture consists of interpretations and action models, symbolic systems, intentional universes of meanings.
Cognitive processes, like perception, generalization, deduction, reasoning, imagination and analytic skills, vary according life conditions.
These processes depend on the nature of the interactivity systems, so again in the contexts. Therefore, to understand one person´s psychological traits we must study the contexts in which he/she participates. To understand culture we have to draw on the senses and meanings that people construct. A person is a social participant and a meaning making entity.
Development is an appropriation process of symbolic mediation instruments (language, symbols and cultural tools, artefacts) into interactivity contexts trough which we become able to solve problems, and to interact appropriately into a culture. According to that, we think because of our culture, and because of our culture we think. “Culture is like a culture through which we look outside”. The educational interaction is a mechanism of change.
Proximal Development Zone:
PDZ allows as to pull up children towards they are potential development level. PDZ is the distance between what a child can do by himself and with a support from a more experienced one. “It attracts the attention of series of functions that are in a maturation state in the zone of immediate development ” (Vigotsky, 1987). What today is done with help, will be done autonomously in the future. This autonomy is acquired as a product of appropriate help (dynamic relation learning - development).
PDZ: Scaffolding. Scaffolding structure: It´s a kind of help that has as requisite its own progressive disassembling. The PDZ characteristics are the following ones:
How culture influences the development process:
è Structure of influences of the social environment not only biological factors (Piadget) due to differences between cultural factors.
è Cognitive perceptions are conditioned by our surrounding, as we can see (example) in Alaska they are able to differentiate between several types of whites that we are not allowed or used to. Our mind is transformed by our social context. Depending on our culture the children develop theirselves in different velocities. Piadget stages refuse this process (they might not arrive to a specific stage).
IMPORTANT!
There is neither linear nor universal development; for this reason, we cannot accept “a priori” the existence of a unique, homogeneous scientific, rational mind.
We increase the differences between persons by time and influences.
Development occurs through changes during the participation in systems of interactivity in social communities (Outside-Inside-Outside). At the same time, this system of interactivity changes due to individuals actions. Culture is not only what others do, culture consists of interpretations and action models, symbolic systems, intentional universes of meanings.
Cognitive processes, like perception, generalization, deduction, reasoning, imagination and analytic skills, vary according life conditions.
These processes depend on the nature of the interactivity systems, so again in the contexts. Therefore, to understand one person´s psychological traits we must study the contexts in which he/she participates. To understand culture we have to draw on the senses and meanings that people construct. A person is a social participant and a meaning making entity.
Development is an appropriation process of symbolic mediation instruments (language, symbols and cultural tools, artefacts) into interactivity contexts trough which we become able to solve problems, and to interact appropriately into a culture. According to that, we think because of our culture, and because of our culture we think. “Culture is like a culture through which we look outside”. The educational interaction is a mechanism of change.
Proximal Development Zone:
PDZ allows as to pull up children towards they are potential development level. PDZ is the distance between what a child can do by himself and with a support from a more experienced one. “It attracts the attention of series of functions that are in a maturation state in the zone of immediate development ” (Vigotsky, 1987). What today is done with help, will be done autonomously in the future. This autonomy is acquired as a product of appropriate help (dynamic relation learning - development).
PDZ: Scaffolding. Scaffolding structure: It´s a kind of help that has as requisite its own progressive disassembling. The PDZ characteristics are the following ones:
- Adjustable
- Temporal
- Audible and visible
How culture influences the development process:
è Structure of influences of the social environment not only biological factors (Piadget) due to differences between cultural factors.
è Cognitive perceptions are conditioned by our surrounding, as we can see (example) in Alaska they are able to differentiate between several types of whites that we are not allowed or used to. Our mind is transformed by our social context. Depending on our culture the children develop theirselves in different velocities. Piadget stages refuse this process (they might not arrive to a specific stage).
IMPORTANT!
There is neither linear nor universal development; for this reason, we cannot accept “a priori” the existence of a unique, homogeneous scientific, rational mind.
We increase the differences between persons by time and influences.
Following we can find a very interesting video that summarizes the content of this First Theoretical Block about Learning and Development. Hope you enjoy it!
AS TEACHER... HOW WOULD I APLLY IT IN MY CLASS?
I am totally starting to us the Proximal Development Zone theory of Vygotsky in my Unit Plans. The fact of starting form the already known knowledge will allow them to be much more interested in the subject, and sharing knowledge between them will reinforce their relations and improve their communicative skills. Moving to the Developmental Zone will encourage them to dare in some situations to do things by themselves and to profress in their autonomy development.
It woukd also be interesting to improve the culutral agents in their education, so they would be able to be more integrated in their social environment and to promote more cultural activities that will also help their developmental and learning process in a Dialectical approach way.
It woukd also be interesting to improve the culutral agents in their education, so they would be able to be more integrated in their social environment and to promote more cultural activities that will also help their developmental and learning process in a Dialectical approach way.