Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice - Edition 11 - Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3: Social, Moral, and Emotional Development © (2015, 2012, 2009) by Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice Edition 11 Robert E. Slavin Organizing Questions What are the different views of social, emotional, and moral development? What are the stages of children’s social and emotional development? How can you use the different theories of social, emotional, and moral development to help solve classroom problems in management? What Are Some Views of Personal and Social Development? As children improve their cognitive skills, they are also developing self-concepts, ways of interacting with others, and attitudes toward the world. Understanding personal and social development is critical to your ability to motivate, teach, and successfully interact with students at various ages. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Erikson hypothesized that people pass through eight psychosocial stages in their lifetimes. At each stage, there are crises or critical issues to be resolved. Most people resolve each psychosocial crisis satisfactorily and put it behind them to take on new challenges, but some people do not completely resolve these crises and must continue to deal with them later in life. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Stage I: Trust versus Mistrust (Birth to 18 Months) The goal of infancy is to develop a basic trust in the world. Erikson (1968, p. 96) defined basic trust as “an essential trustfulness of others as well as a fundamental sense of one’s own trustworthiness.” Stage II: Autonomy versus Doubt (18 Months to 3 Years) Erikson believed that children at this stage have the dual desire to hold on and to let go. Parents who are flexible enough to permit their children to explore freely and do things for themselves, while at the same time providing an ever-present guiding hand, encourage the establishment of a sense of autonomy. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Stage III: Initiative versus Guilt (3 to 6 Years) During this period, children’s maturing motor and language skills permit them to be increasingly vigorous in exploring their social and physical environment. Parents who permit children to run, jump, play, slide, and throw encourage a sense of initiative. Parents who severely punish children’s attempt at initiative will make the children feel guilty. Stage IV: Industry versus Inferiority (6 to 12 Years) Entry into school brings with it a huge expansion in the child’s social world. Success brings with it a sense of industry, a good feeling about oneself and one’s abilities. Failure creates a negative self-image, a sense of inadequacy that may hinder future learning. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Stage V: Identity versus Role Confusion (12 to 18 Years) The question “Who am I?” becomes important during adolescence. To answer it, adolescents increasingly turn away from parents and toward peer groups. Stage VI: Intimacy versus Isolation (Young Adulthood) Once young people know who they are and where they are going, the stage is set for the sharing of their life with another. The young adult is now ready to form a new relationship of trust and intimacy with another individual. Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial Development Stage VII: Generativity versus Self-Absorption (Middle Adulthood) Generativity is “the interest in establishing and guiding the next generation”. Typically, people attain generativity through raising their own children. However, the crisis of this stage can also be successfully resolved through other forms of productivity and creativity, such as teaching. Stage VIII: Integrity versus Despair (Late Adulthood) In the final stage of psychosocial development, people look back over their lifetime and resolve their final identity crisis. Acceptance of accomplishments, failures, and ultimate limitations brings with it a sense of integrity, or wholeness, and a realization that one’s life has been one’s own responsibility. Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development Piaget’ theory of cognitive development includes a theory about the development of moral reasoning. Piaget believed that cognitive structures and abilities develop first. Cognitive abilities then determine children’s abilities to reason about social situations. As with cognitive abilities, Piaget proposed that moral development progresses in predictable stages. Implications and Criticisms of Erikson’s Theory Not all people experience Erikson’s crises to the same degree or at the same time. The age ranges presented may represent the best times for a crisis to be resolved, but they are not the only possible times. Erikson’s theory emphasizes the role of the environment, both in causing the crises and in determining how they will be resolved. Erikson’s theory describes the basic issues that people confront as they go through life. However, his theory has been criticized because it does not explain how or why individuals progress from one stage to another and has been difficult to confirm through research. What Are Some Views of Moral Development Society could not function without rules that tell people how to communicate with one another. Just as children differ from adults in cognitive and personal development, they also differ in their moral reasoning. Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development Piaget’s theory of cognitive development includes a theory about the development of moral reasoning. Piaget believed that cognitive structures and abilities develop first. Cognitive abilities then determine children’s abilities to reason about social situations. Moral development progresses in predictable stages. Piaget’s Stages of Moral Development Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning Kohlberg’s stage theory of moral reasoning is an elaboration and refinement of Piaget’s. Kohlberg studies children’s responses to a series of structured situations or moral dilemmas. Kohlberg proposed that people pass through a series of six stages of moral judgment or reasoning. Three levels: Preconventional Conventional Postconventional Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Reasoning Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory Later research generally supports Kohlberg’s main sequence of development. One limitation of Kohlberg’s early work was that it mostly involved boys. Some research on girls’ moral reasoning finds patterns that are somewhat different from those proposed by Kohlberg. Another criticism of both Piaget’s and Kohlberg’s theories is that children can often reason about moral situations in more sophisticated ways than a stage theory would suggest. The most important limitation of Kohlberg’s theory is that it deals with moral reasoning rather than actual behavior. How Do Children Develop Socially and Emotionally? As a teacher, you are responsible not just for the academic achievement of your children. You also strive to develop young people who are socially and emotionally healthy. Social and emotional development depend on the experiences provided by schools and families, but they also follow predictable patterns. Socioemotional Development during the Preschool Years A young child’s social life evolves in relatively predictable ways. During the preschool years, peers (other children who are a child’s equal in age) begin to play an increasingly important role in children’s social and cognitive development. Prosocial behaviors are voluntary actions toward others such as caring, sharing, comforting, and cooperating. Most of a preschooler’s interactions with peers occur during play. Play Solitary play is play that occurs alone, often with toys, and is independent of what other children are doing. Parallel play involves children engaged in the same activity side by side but with very little interaction or mutual influence. Associative play is much like parallel play but with increased levels of interaction in the form of sharing, turn-taking, and general interest in what others are doing. Cooperative play occurs when children join together to achieve a common goal, such as building a large castle with each child building a part of the structure. Socioemotional Development during the Elementary Years By the time children enter elementary school, they have developed skills for more complex thought, action, and social influence. During this stage, children start trying to prove that they are “grown up”. Work becomes possible. This stage also includes the growth of independent action, cooperation with groups, and performing in socially acceptable ways with a concern for fair play. SELF-CONCEPT AND SELF-ESTEEM Personal and social development for elementary school children also includes the important ideas of self-concept and self-esteem. These aspects of children’s development will be strongly influenced by experiences at home, at school, and with peers. Self-concept includes the way in which we perceive our strengths, weaknesses, abilities, attitudes, and values. Its development begins at birth and is continually shaped by experience. Self-esteem refers to how we evaluate our skills and abilities. Growing Importance of Peers The influence of the child’s family, the major force during the early childhood years, continues in importance as parents provide role models in terms of attitudes and behaviors. In addition, relationships with brothers and sisters affect relationships with peers, and routines from home either are reinforced or must be overcome in school. However, the peer group takes on added importance. In lower elementary grades, peer groups usually consist of same-sex children who are around the same age. By sixth grade, however, students often form groups that include both boys and girls. Friendships in Middle Childhood During middle childhood, children’s conceptions of friendship also mature. Friendship is the central social relationship between peers during childhood and undergoes a series of changes before adulthood. Friendships are important to children for several reasons: Companions Emotional resources Cognitive resources Social norms Conflict resolution Peer Acceptance One of the most important aspects of peer relations in middle childhood is peer acceptance, or status with the peer group. A popular child is one who is named most often by peers as a person they like and least often as someone they dislike. A rejected child is named most often by peers as a person the dislike and last often as someone they like. A controversial child is frequently named as someone who is like but also frequently as someone who is disliked. Average children are those who are named as being liked and disliked with moderate frequency. James Marcia’s Four Identity Statuses James Marcia identified from in-depth interviews with adolescents four identity statuses that reflect the degree to which adolescents have made firm commitments to religious and political values as well as to a future occupation. Foreclosure: Individuals have prematurely established an identity on the basis of their parents’ choices rather than their own. Identity diffusion: Individuals have found neither an occupational direction nor an ideological commitment. Moratorium: Individuals have begun to experiment with occupational and ideological choices. Identity achievement: A state of identity consolidation in which adolescents have made their own clear-cut decisions about occupation and ideology. Enhancing Social-Emotional Development There are many programs designed to improve the social-emotional development of children and adolescents. School-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs can make a significant difference in SEL outcomes and in some cases, improved academic achievement as well. These programs included school-day and after-school programs, and preventive programs for all students as well as those experiencing difficulties. A focus on social-emotional learning can have long-lasting impacts on children. Self-Concept and Self-Esteem Self-concept and self-esteem also change as children enter and go through adolescence. The shift toward more abstract portrayals continues, and adolescents’ self descriptions often include: Personal traits-friendly, obnoxious Emotions-depressed, psyched Personal beliefs-liberal, conservative The self-concept becomes more differentiated. Self Esteem Self-esteem also undergoes fluctuations and changes during adolescence. Self-esteem is lowest as children enter middle school or junior high school and with the onset of puberty. Early maturing girls tend to suffer the most dramatic and long-lasting decreases in self-esteem. Global self-esteem or feelings of self-worth appear to be influenced most strongly by physical appearance and then by social acceptance from peers. Social Relationships and Peers As children enter adolescence, changes in the nature of friendships also take place. In general, the amount of time spent with friends increases dramatically. Adolescents spend more time with their peers than they do with their family or by themselves. Adolescents who have satisfying and harmonious friendships also report higher levels of self-esteem, are less lonely, have more mature social skills, and do better in school. Peer Relationships In addition to their close friends, most adolescents also place high value on the larger peer group as a source of ideas and values as well as companionship and entertainment. The nature of peer relationships in adolescence has been characterized in terms of social status and peer crowds. Popular and well-accepted children and adolescents tend to display positive conflict resolution and academic skills, prosocial behavior and leadership skills. Rejected and poorly accepted children tend to display aggressive and antisocial behavior and low academic performance. Copyright © 2012 Allyn & Bacon Emotional Development Most adolescents experience emotional conflicts at some point. For most adolescents emotional distress is temporary and is successfully handled, but for some the stresses lead to delinquency, drug abuse or suicide attempts. Emotional health is also a key factor in academic success in school. Other emotions of this age group include anger, guilt, frustration, and jealousy. Problems of Adolescence Adolescence can be a time of great risk for many, as teenagers are now able, for the first time, to engage in behaviors or make decisions that can have long-term negative consequences. Potential problems include: Emotional Disorders Bullying Dropping Out Drug and Alcohol Abuse Delinquency Risk of Pregnancy Risk of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexual Identity