Principles of Teaching and Learning in Child Guidance

Guiding Young Children

• Theoretical foundations of child guidance:
  • Human beings gain information from their environments through their senses (Piaget's sensorimotor stage)
  • Every individual has a preferential modality that works best for them (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, and tactile)
  • In the early years, understanding comes through physical action and concrete materials (preoperational thought stage)

Aspects of Personality

• According to Freud, three aspects of personality are:
  • Id: raw, unorganized, innate part of personality; present at birth; seeks instant gratification
  • Ego: rational and reasonable part of personality
  • Superego: represents a person's conscious, incorporating distinctions between right and wrong

Behavioral Perspective

• Behavioral perspective suggests that observable behavior and environmental stimuli are keys to understanding development
• This perspective is supported by Skinner and Watson

Classical Conditioning

• John B. Watson (1878-1958) was one of the first American psychologists to advocate for a behavioral perspective

Piaget's Views

• Between 5 and 7 years, children are in a stage of moral realism (rules must be followed and cannot be changed)
• Immanent justice (belief that breaking a rule always leads to punishment) is characteristic of moral realism
• At about 8 years, moral relativism (understanding that rules are created by people to help them get along) begins

Kohlberg's Theory

• Three levels of moral reasoning, beginning with obedience to authority and ending with decisions based on moral principles
• Support for the theory: people progress through the stages in sequence, and moral reasoning is linked to moral behavior
• Cross-cultural evidence is inconsistent

Beyond Kohlberg's Theory

• Gilligan: caring and responsibility to others are more important than justice in moral reasoning
• Eisenberg: most moral dilemmas involve choosing between self-interest and helping others
• Turiel: moral judgments represent one of several domains that make up social judgments

Principles of Childhood Learning

• Children's learning is influenced by maturation
• Children are active learners, and their whole bodies are instruments of learning
• Children learn through play, and play is fun
• Children's learning is influenced by dispositions and perceptions

Dispositions

• Dispositions are the typical reactions people develop towards various life events (e.g., to be curious or apathetic)
• Dispositions have a foundation in early childhood and last a lifetime
• Dispositions can be strengthened or weakened by educational practices

Perceptions

• Perceptions are subjective, personal evaluations children make regarding their sense of competence, worth, and security
• Perceptions result in children regarding school as worthwhile or useless, rewarding or punitive, enjoyable or tedious

Helping Young Children Develop Positive Behavioral Skills

• Promoting self-discipline in children involves:
  • Acting in socially acceptable ways based on reasoning
  • Concern for others
  • Understanding of acceptable and unacceptable behavior

Self-Discipline

• Self-discipline is the voluntary, internal regulation of behavior
• It involves controlling negative impulses, resisting temptation, and delaying gratification

Stages of Self-Discipline

• No regulation: infants have no sense of right or wrong
• Adherence (external regulation): children become capable of responding to external controls applied by parents and teachers
• Identification (shared regulation): children begin to use internal thought processes but still depend on external control for guidance
• Internalization: the construction of a personal sense of right and wrong

Developmental Influences of Self-Discipline

• Children's capacity for self-discipline increases with maturity
• Developmental factors contributing to age differences include emotions, cognitive and language development, and memory skills

Emotional Development

• Emotions provide children with strong, internal signals regarding the appropriateness or inappropriateness of their behaviors
• The two most important emotional regulators are guilt and empathy

Guilt and Empathy

• Guilt warns children that their actions are inappropriate and serves as a brake, causing them to reconsider or stop their actions
• Empathy is the understanding of others' feelings and reacting with complimentary affect, prompting children to engage in positive actions in response to others' actions

Quiz on the principles of teaching and learning in child guidance, covering theoretical foundations of child development and learning styles.