Unit 1: Basic Concepts and Issues on Human Development PDF

# Unit 1: Basic Concepts and Issues on Human Development "By virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has a right to the development and fulfillment of his potentialities as a human being." - Ashley Montagu Every living creature is called to become what it is meant to be. * **The image...

# Unit 1: Basic Concepts and Issues on Human Development "By virtue of being born to humanity, every human being has a right to the development and fulfillment of his potentialities as a human being." - Ashley Montagu Every living creature is called to become what it is meant to be. * **The image shows:** A caterpillar turning into a butterfly, a hand planting a seed, a baby turning into a woman. # Module 1: Human Development - Meaning, Concepts, and Approaches ## Human Development The pattern of movement or change that begins at conception and continues through lifespan. Development includes growth and decline. This means that development can be positive or negative (Santrock, 2002). ## Some Major Principles of Human Development 1. Development is relatively orderly. * **Proximodistal Pattern:** The muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared to the hands and fingers. * **Cephalo-caudal Pattern:** During infancy, the greatest growth always occurs at the top (the head), with physical growth in size, future differentiation gradually working its way from top to bottom. 2. While the pattern of development is likely to be similar, the outcomes of development processes and the rate of development are likely to vary among individuals. 3. Development takes place gradually. 4. Development as a process is complex because it is the product of biological, cognitive and socioemotional processes (Santrock, 2002) * **The image shows:** A baby learning to walk with a diagram showing growth over time. ## Biological Process Involves changes in the individual's physical nature. ## Cognitive Process Involves changes in the individual's thought, intelligence, and language. ## Socioemotional Process Includes changes in the individual's relationships with other people, changes in emotions and changes in personality. * **The image shows:** A group of children laughing and playing. Another image depicts a representation of human development showing a younger person helping an older person walk. ## Two Approaches to Human Development * **Traditional Approach** Extensive change from birth to adolescence, little or no change in adulthood and decline in late old age. * **Life-Span Approach** * **Characteristics of a Life-Span Perspective:** (Paul Baltes, Santrock, 2002), an expert in life-span development. * Development is lifelong. * Development is multidimensional. * Development is plastic. * Development is contextual. * Development involves growth, maintenance and regulation. # Principles of Child Development and Learning that Inform Practice Below are the principles of child development and learning which are the bases of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) in early childhood programs for children from birth through age 8, which are stated in a position paper of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (2009): 1. All the domains of development and learning – physical, social and emotional, and cognitive – are important and they are closely interrelated. 2. Many aspects of children's learning and development follow well documented sequences, with later abilities, skills and knowledge building on those already acquired. 3. Development and learning proceed at varying rates from child to child, as well as at uneven rates across different areas of a child's individual functioning. 4. Development and learning result from a dynamic and continuous interaction of biological maturation and experience. 5. Early experiences have profound effects, both cumulative and delayed, on a child's development and learning; and optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning to occur. 6. Development proceeds toward greater complexity, self-regulation, and symbolic or representational capacities. 7. Children develop best when they have secure, consistent relationships with responsive adults and opportunities for positive relationships with peers. 8. Development and learning occur in and are influenced by multiple social and cultural contexts. 10. Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language, cognition, and social competence. 11. Development and learning advance when children are challenged to achieve at a level just beyond their current mastery, and also when they have many opportunities to practice newly acquired skills. 12. Children's experiences shape their motivation and approaches to learning, such as persistence, initiative and flexibility.