Child and Adolescent Learning

and Learning Principles

(Education 1)

Module 1
Basic Concepts
At the end of this module, you are expected to:
1. explain the basic concepts related to child and adolescent development;
and
2. explain how current research and theories on child and adolescent
development contribute to teaching and learning within and across
different areas.

Definition of Child and Adolescent Learners

There is no universal definition of who is a child, adolescent or youth.
Chronological age is not a sufficient criterion for establishing operational
definitions. Childhood is understood in very different ways in different contexts.
Childhood is a social and cultural construction, not merely a stage in physical and
psychological development.

In many cultures there is a distinction between different stages of

childhood especially between stages of the “innocence” or “ignorance” of
childhood and a later stage of “reason” and “responsibility”. Many legal codes
define the age at which children are legally deemed to be responsible for their
actions.

Rituals of religion or custom may also confer social status, clearly

marking points of transition in rights and obligations in the eyes of the wider
community - In many cultures, adolescents, boys and girls, go through rites of
passage which, once successfully completed, confer adult rights and
responsibilities.

Childhood is understood by reference to particular cultural and

social contexts and to particular periods in history. Childhood in Mexico is

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not the same as childhood in Madras or Madrid, childhood at the beginning of the
third Millennium in London is not the same as it was two hundred years ago. In
the more developed countries of the north, for example, childhood is now seen
as an extended period of economic dependency and protected innocence during
which play and schooling are seen as central components: but this is far
removed from childhood in many other cultures, where work (whether paid, or
work within the household) must take precedence over both schooling and play.

Different societies have contrasting ideas about both children’s

vulnerabilities and their capacities, about how they best learn, about what is good
for them and what is bad for them. Within a given context, childhood is often
highly differentiated not only according to gender, but also according to social
class or caste.

Defining Childhood
Definitions of childhood used by institutions mostly are anchored to the
definition of childhood enclosed in the United Nations Convention of the
Rights of the Child. According to the WHO, a child is a person 19 years or
younger unless national law defines a person to be an adult at an earlier age.
On the other hand, according to the UNESCO, a child is every human being
below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child,
majority is attained earlier.

The UNICEF definition of childhood is more nuanced. Childhood is the

time for children to be in school and at play, to grow strong and confident with the
love and encouragement of their family and an extended community of caring
adults. It is a precious time in which children should live free from fear, safe from
violence and protected from abuse and exploitation. As such, childhood means
much more than just the space between birth and the attainment of adulthood. It
refers to the state and condition of a child’s life, to the quality of those years. It is
regarded as a separate space from adulthood and recognized that what is
appropriate for an adult may not be suitable for a child. Likewise, a child means

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every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law
applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier.

Defining Adolescence
Adolescence is one of the most rapid phases of human development.

An adolescent is a person aged 10 to 19 years inclusive (UNICEF, 2011;

WHO, 2013). All societies recognize that there is a difference between being
a child and becoming an adult. How this transition from childhood to adulthood
is defined and recognized differs between cultures and over time. In the past it
has often been relatively rapid, and in some societies it still is. In many countries,
however, this is changing.WHO clearly recognizes that “adolescence” is a phase
rather than a fixed time period in an individual’s life… it is a phase of
development on many fronts: from the appearance of secondary sex
characteristics (puberty) to sexual and reproductive maturity; the development of
mental processes and adult identity; and the transition from total socio-economic
and emotional dependence to relative independence.

It is important to note that adolescents are not a homogeneous group.

Their needs vary with their sex, stage of development, life circumstances and the
socio-economic conditions of their environment.

Adolescence is an age of opportunity for children, and a pivotal time for

us to build on their development in the first decade of life, to help them navigate
risks and vulnerabilities, and to set them on the path to fulfilling their potential.
Occurring between ages 10-19, it is regarded as‘’a time of
transformation”(UNICEF, 2011).

Adolescence is difficult to define in precise terms, for several reasons

(WHO, n.d.): it is widely acknowledged that each individual experiences this
period differently depending on her or his physical, emotional and cognitive
maturation as well as other contingencies. Reference to the onset of puberty,
which might be seen as a clear line of demarcation between childhood and
adolescence, cannot resolve the difficulty of definition. The second factor that

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complicates any definition of adolescence is the wide variation in national laws
setting minimum age thresholds for participation in activities considered the
preserve of adults. The third difficulty in defining adolescence is that, irrespective
of the legal thresholds demarcating childhood and adolescence from adulthood,
many adolescents and young children across the world are engaged in
adult activities such as labour, marriage, primary caregiving and conflict;
assuming these roles, in effect, robs them of their childhood and adolescence.

Growth and Development: Nature or Nurture?

Nature refers to the ‘inherited’ influences. Heredity is the process of
transmitting biological traits from parents to offspring through genes, the basis
units of heredity; accounts for why offspring look like their parents.

This view in growth and development states that We are pre-wired to

exhibit certain characteristics and traits. This is brought about by genes - codes
in our DNA which carry information about us and instruct our body to express our
traits. We inherit these genes from our parents as a we are a product of the
fusion of their gametes

“Nativism” refers to an extreme Nature Position in this issue. Their basic

assumption is that the characteristics of the human species as a whole are a
product of evolution and that individual differences are due to each person’s
unique genetic code. Examples of an extreme nature positions in psychology
include:

● Chomsky (1965), who proposed language is gained through the

use of an innate language acquisition device.
● Freud's theory of aggression as being an innate drive (called
Thanatos).

On the other hand, Nurture refers to the ‘acquired’ influences. It refers

to the environment we grow up in and other external factors found there; the

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totality of surrounding conditions that influence the growth and development
and survival of the organisms. It includes:

● Family
● School
● Peer group
● Neighborhood

“Empiricism” refers to an extreme Nurture Position in this issue. The

basic assumption is that at birth the human mind is a tabula rasa (a blank slate)
and that this is gradually “filled” as a result of experience.

Examples of nurture influence include:

● Bandura's (1977) social learning theory states that aggression is

learned from the environment through observation and imitation.
This is seen in his famous Bobo doll experiment (Bandura, 1961).
● Skinner (1957) believed that language is learnt from other people
via behavior shaping techniques.

The issue of Nature Vs Nurture propagates an “all-or-nothing” or binary

view, but leading evidence suggests we are a product of nearly BOTH nature
(genes) and nurture (environment) and their interaction with each other.
There is an emerging field of science about this: Epigenetics is the study of
changes in organisms caused by modification of gene expression rather than
alteration of the genetic code itself (Harvard University Center on the Developing
Child, n.d.).

Epigenetics show that our (1) genetic code predisposes us to exhibit

certain traits and (2) environmental influences and experience can “switch on
and off” genes by rearranging chemical (“on”, “off”) marks in our genes called
“epigenome” which determines how much or little a gene is expressed and,
subsequently, a trait develops.

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 What are the Implications of this? First, it shows that we are not set in
stone. The genes we inherit do not fully determine our future. Epigenetics show
that even identical twins - who share the same DNA - have different behaviours,
skills, health and achievement. Further, the evidence points how early
experiences can have lifelong consequences. As an example, malnutrition
during childhood or even before birth increases the risk of poor health and
hampers future learning and behaviour. Lastly, It goes to show how crucial it is
to provide support and nurture to influence genes to release instructions to
‘build’ healthy, skilled and resilient children. Epigenetic modifications in the
brain linked to memory and learning can be facilitated with “serve and return”
interactions with adults. Also, sound maternal and fetal nutrition with sound
socio-emotional child support from the family and community will reduce the
chances of negative epigenetic modifications that heighten the risk of physical
and mental health problems later in life.

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Periods of Development
PRENATAL

Figure 1. Prenatal development (Source: verywellmind.com)

The word "prenatal" comes from the Latin "pre-," before + "(g)natus," birth
= before birth. It refers to the stage of life from conception → pregnancy →
delivery; majority happens while inside the mother’s womb The primary concerns
during this stage are:

● Nutrition
● Teratogens - substances which cause harm to the unborn child
● Labor and delivery

Germinal stage

This encompasses conception and fertilization which result in a zygote.

Through repeated cell division, Zygote → Morula → Blastocyst. It is then followed
by implantation of the blastocyst inside the mother’s womb (Cherry, 2020).

Embryonic stage

The embryonic stage takes < 8 weeks after conception. At this stage, the
blastocyst forms into the placenta (which connects the embryo to the mother)

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and the embryo. The embryo develops and differentiates to form the external
and internal organs. By 8 weeks, the embryo looks like a person (Cherry, 2020).

Fetal stage

The fetal stage occurs > 8 weeks after conception. This is a period of
dramatic growth and development. The embryo by this time is now called a fetus
(Cherry, 2020).

INFANCY and TODDLERHOOD

This stage of development Involves the first two years of life (Infant at 1-12
months; Toddler at 13-35 months). This stage is likewise a period of dramatic
growth and development, where there is a rapid transformation of a newborn
with poor vision but keen sense of hearing to a walking toddler capable of play
and language

EARLY CHILDHOOD
Early childhood encompasses ages 2-6 years old. These are formative
years which are important for preparing children for the upcoming formal
schooling.

LATE CHILDHOOD
This is also called school age (6-12 years) - much of the experiences of
the child revolves around early grades of school. Growth rates slows down but
the child is able to refine motor skills.

ADOLESCENCE
The term adolescence comes from the Latin word adolescere, meaning
"to grow'''or "to grow to maturity." Adolescence is the transitional phase of
growth and development between childhood and adulthood. The World Health

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Organization (WHO) defines an adolescent as any person between ages 10 and
19 years. This age range falls within WHO’s definition of young people, which
refers to individuals between ages 10 and 24 years.

In many societies, however, adolescence is narrowly equated with puberty

and the cycle of physical changes culminating in reproductive maturity. In other
societies adolescence is understood in broader terms that encompass
psychological, social, and moral terrain as well as the strictly physical aspects of
maturation. In these societies the term adolescence typically refers to the period
between ages 12 and 20 and is roughly equivalent to the word teens.

It is customary to regard adolescence as beginning when children

become sexually mature and ending when they reach the age of legal
maturity. However, studies of changes in behavior, attitudes, and values
throughout the adolescence have revealed not only that these changes are more
rapid in early than in the latter part of adolescence but also that they are
markedly different. As a result, it has become a widespread practice to divide
adolescence into early and late adolescence,the dividing line of which is
somewhat arbitrarily placed at around seventeen years, thus:

● Early adolescence (13 to 16 or 17 years)

● Late adolescence covers the period from then until 18, the legal
age of maturity.

Early adolescence is usually referred to as the "teens," sometimes even

the "terrible teens." Although older adolescents are, strictly speaking, "teenagers"
until they reach twenty years of age, the label teenager, which has become
popularly associated with the characteristic pattern of behavior of young
adolescents, is rarely applied to older adolescents. Instead, they are usually
referred to' "young men" and "young women"-or even "youths"-indicating that
society recognizes a maturity of behavior not found during the early years of
adolescence.

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ADULTHOOD
Adulthood can be divided into three stages: early, mid- and late adulthood.

Early Adulthood

This covers the 20s and 30s. We are at our physiological peak but are
most at risk for involvement in violent crimes and substance abuse. It is a time of
focusing on the future and putting a lot of energy into making choices that will
help one earn the status of a full adult in the eyes of others. The Primary
concerns at this stage of life are:

● Love
● Work

Middle Adulthood

The mid-adulthood encompasses the Late 30s to mid 60s. Aging, that
began earlier, becomes more noticeable. At this stage, many people are at their
peak of productivity in love and work. It may be a period of gaining expertise in
certain fields and being able to understand problems and find solutions with
greater efficiency than before. It can also be a time of becoming more realistic
about possibilities in life previously considered. Notably, this is also the age
group hardest hit by the AIDS epidemic in Africa resulting in a substantial
decrease in the number of workers in those economies (Weitz, 2007).

Late Adulthood

Late adulthood is sometimes subdivided into two or three categories (for

our purpose, two!)

● Young old - 65-79 years

● Old old - 80 and older

One of the primary differences between these groups is that the young old
are very similar to midlife adults - Still working, still relatively healthy, and still
interested in being productive and active. On the other hand, the “old old” remain

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productive and active and the majority continues to live independently, but risks
of the diseases of old age (such as arteriosclerosis, cancer, and cerebral
vascular disease) increases substantially for this age group. Few of the topics of
concern for this age group include:

● Housing
● Healthcare
● Extending active life expectancy

A better way to appreciate the diversity of people in late adulthood is to go

beyond chronological age and examine whether a person is experiencing optimal
aging, normal aging, or impaired aging.

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Developmental Tasks and Education
The idea of "developmental task" is generally credited to the work of
Robert Havighurst who indicates that the concept was developed through the
work in the 1930s and 40s of Frank, Zachary, Prescott, and Tyron.

According to Havighurst, there are sensitive periods which he called

teachable moments, when an individual is mature enough to learn the
developmental tasks. These tasks may be physical like walking, cognitive like
learning to read, or social where the person develops significant relationships.
Once the critical period of development is over, learning may still occur.
Language skills for example, continue to develop as one learns more complex
ways of using language.

Havighurst states: "The developmental-task concept occupies middle

ground between two opposed theories of education: the theory of freedom—that
the child will develop best if left as free as possible, and the theory of
constraint—that the child must learn to become a worthy, responsible adult
through restraints imposed by his society. A developmental task is midway
between an individual need and societal demand. It assumes an active learner
interacting with an active social environment". Mastery of these tasks is
satisfying and encourages us to go on to new challenges; Difficulty with
them slows progress toward future accomplishments and goals. There are
three sources of development tasks (with examples!):

1. Tasks that arise from physical maturation

● For learning to walk, talk, and behave acceptably with the opposite
sex during adolescence
● Adjusting to menopause during middle age

2. Tasks from personal sources - those that emerge from the maturing
personality and take the form of personal values and aspirations, such
as learning the necessary skills for job success.

3. Tasks that have their source in the pressures of society

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 ● Learning to read
● Learning the role of a responsible citizen.

Havighurst identified the following six major stages in human life:

Developmental Tasks of Infancy and Early Childhood - (Birth till 6)

1. Learning to walk
2. Learning to take solid foods
3. Learning to talk
4. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes
5. Learning sex differences and sexual modesty
6. Forming concepts and learning language to describe social and physical
reality.
7. Getting ready to read

Developmental Tasks of Middle Childhood - (6-12)

1. Learning physical skills necessary for ordinary games.
2. Building wholesome attitudes toward oneself as a growing organism
3. Learning to get along with age-mates
4. Learning an appropriate masculine or feminine social role
5. Developing fundamental skills in reading, writing, and calculating
6. Developing concepts necessary for everyday living.
7. Developing conscience, morality, and a scale of values
8. Achieving personal independence
9. Developing attitudes toward social groups and institutions

Developmental Tasks of Adolescence - (13-18)

1. Achieving new and more mature relations with age-mates of both sexes
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Accepting one's physique and using the body effectively
4. Achieving emotional independence of parents and other adults
5. Preparing for marriage and family life Preparing for an economic career

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6. Acquiring a set of values and an ethical system as a guide to behavior;
developing an ideology
7. Desiring and achieving socially responsible behavior

Developmental Tasks of Early Adulthood - (19-30)

1. Selecting a mate
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role
3. Learning to live with a marriage partner
4. Starting a family
5. Rearing children
6. Managing a home
7. Getting started in an occupation
8. Taking on civic responsibility
9. Finding a congenial social group

Developmental Tasks of Middle Adulthood - (30-60)

1. Achieving adult civic and social responsibility
2. Establishing and maintaining an economic standard of living
3. Assisting teenage children to become responsible and happy adults
4. Developing adult leisure-time activities
5. Relating oneself to one’s spouse as a person
6. Accepting and adjusting to the physiologic changes or middle age
7. Adjusting to aging parents.

Developmental Tasks of Later Maturity - (60andover)

1. Adjusting to decreasing physical strength and health
2. Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
3. Adjusting to death of a spouse
4. Establishing an explicit affiliation with one’s age group
5. Meeting social and civil obligations
6. Establishing satisfactory physical living arrangement

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Domains of Development
Human development is the changes one experiences throughout their
lifespan. Developmental psychologist views development as a lifelong process.
The study of development can be viewed through three domains, which are
interrelated: (1) Biological/Physical, (2) Cognitive, and (3)Socio-
emotional/Psycho-social.

Biological
This is the domain of lifespan development that examines growth and
changes in the body and brain, the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness.
Healthy habits (e.g. nutrition and exercise) are important in establishing
biological-physical development. This includes concepts on:

● Height and weight

● Fine and gross motor skills
● Coordination
● Brain development
● Puberty, sexual health, fertility
● Changes in senses
● Aging

Cognitive
This domain of lifespan development that examines learning, attention,
memory, language, thinking, reasoning, and creativity. Brain development and
plasticity is important to cognitive development. This includes:

● Learning and memory

● Thinking process (e.g. abstract, logical) and comprehension
● Moral reasoning
● Intelligence

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Socio-emotional
This Domain of lifespan development that examines emotions, personality, and
social relationships. This includes:

● Temperament and attachment

● Play and interaction with others like playmates, peers, adults
● Self-esteem
● Emotions and personality
● Roles and identities
● Relationships - marriages, dating, romance, divorce
● Work, career, “adulting”
● Coping with loss, death and dying

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Context and Development (Chapter 4: Human Development, n.d.)
Developmental theory and research emphasize multiple contexts for
children’s development, including families, peers, schools, and neighborhoods.1
These contexts are distinct from and should be assessed separately from
individual child development well-being domains. For example, knowing whether
or not a child is obese or exercises adequately offers a meaningful description of
the child’s physical well-being. Children from homes where parents may or may
not actively exercise or encourage their children to exercise represent family
contexts that affect children’s development and well-being. The family’s income
level also plays a role in the nutrition available to the child (socio-demographic
context).

Moreover, the neighborhood and school environment play a role in

determining if the child and parents are able to engage in physical activity
regularly, either due to safety concerns or availability of parks and playgrounds
(school and neighborhood context).

Clearly, describing a child’s contexts broadly offers a more meaningful and

complete way to assess the circumstances in which children are growing.
Moreover, public policies directed at influencing at-risk children’s well-being are
often directed at children’s contexts—the risk and protective factors in their
neighborhoods, schools, parents, and the family environment. Having separate
contextual indices can enable tracking, monitoring, and assessment of the
implications of children’s contexts and their ultimate effect on outcomes.

The contexts of children’s development can be thought of as nested, interacting

ecosystems. Each context can provide resources for positive growth or present
significant challenges to health and well-being.

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THE FAMILY CONTEXT
Families are the first influence on development and one of the most
important. The culture affects the way parents treat and socialize their children.

Biocultural Origins of Family

The two major forms of family structure are nuclear families (parents and
their children) and extended families (parents and their children and other kin),
each with different implications for children’s socialization. Although
industrialization brought a shift to the nuclear family, the extended family
prevailed for most of human history and remains important as a strategy for
dealing with low income. From an evolutionary perspective,caregiving by
extended kin may have made possible humans’ extended childhood and large
brain.

Parenting Practices

Parents the world over have three goals: first, ensuring their children’s
survival; second,ensuring that their children will be economically productive
adults; and third, ensuring that their children will share the group’s values.
Parenting practices reflect this hierarchy of goals.

Research initiated by Diana Baumrind found three patterns of parenting:

1. Authoritative—parents exert some control, explain the reasoning behind

standards and punishments, and express warmth
2. Authoritarian—parents focus on obedience and control, use physical
punishment, and tend not to express warmth.
3. Permissive—parents express warmth but fail to set standards or exert
control.

The authoritative parenting pattern style is associated with more self-reliant and
self controlled child behavior.

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 Maccoby and Martin (1983) expanded this 3-parenting-styles model using
a two-dimensional framework2. They expanded Baumrind’s permissive parenting
style into two different types: permissive parenting (also known as indulgent
parenting style) and neglectful parenting (also known as uninvolved parenting
style).These four parenting styles are sometimes called the Baumrind parenting
styles or Maccoby and Martin parenting styles.

The Role of Siblings

Siblings play important roles in one another’s social and cognitive

development, with their relationship influenced by culture and by factors such as
age and gender and the family’s emotional climate. Levels of sibling intimacy
may provide protection against psychological distress

Family Diversity

In many of the world’s countries, families are becoming increasingly

diverse, through immigration and through changes in family
composition.Parenting styles and values vary across cultures. Children from
single-parent families have more behavioral, social, and academic problems.
Various explanations have been offered, and it appears that cultural contexts
may mitigate problems.

Distressed Families

Various family factors may impede children’s development. The most

significant of these factors are poverty, an adolescent parent, and abuse. Poverty
in early childhood is associated with mental and physical health problems and
problems in intellectual development. Children of unmarried teenage mothers
tend to be more aggressive, less self-controlled, and less intellectually advanced
than other children.

Definitions of abuse vary widely across cultures. Causes of abuse by

parents are not clear, but a parent’s childhood experience of abuse, stresses on

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the family, certain maternal and child characteristics, and cultural acceptance of
violence may increase its likelihood.

NONPARENTAL CHILD CARE

The effects of early child care depend largely on the quality of the care.
Children in childcare centers may be subject to higher levels of stress than are
children who receive care in their own homes. Nevertheless, if they are in high-
quality child-care centers, their intellectual development is at least as good as
that of their peers being cared for in the home. Social and emotional effects
appear to be both positive (e.g., more self-sufficiency and verbal expressiveness)
and negative (e.g., more aggressive behavior), with maternal sensitivity and
family SES playing a role. With ethnic-minority children in particular, an
understanding of the effects of child care requires an understanding of the larger
context.

NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES

Neighborhoods and communities differ substantially in the resources they
provide children and families, with consequences for children’s quality of life and
mental health outcomes. Communities may also differ in the values and beliefs
transmitted to children. Children are often adversely affected by living in
distressed communities—communities characterized by economic disadvantage,
physical disorder, and social disorganization.

MEDIA CONTEXTS
Children in technologically advanced societies are extensively exposed to
a wide range of media. Research has investigated how the form and content of
different media affect development.

Print Media

Children’s literature may help children with emotional control and

development.

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Television

Young children are exposed more to television than to any other medium.
A concern about TV viewing is that young children have trouble distinguishing
between appearance and reality. Other causes for concern are TV violence,
which is especially common in children’s shows, and stereotyping, evident in the
somewhat limited roles of female and ethnicminority characters.

Interactive Media

Increasingly important, interactive media such as video games help

children develop cognitive skills. Like television, interactive media raise various
concerns, including effects on relationships with peers and with family and the
effects that playing games with violent content may have on children’s thinking
and behavior.

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Development and Pedagogy: Theory and Research

What is pedagogy?

Pedagogy is an encompassing term concerned with what a teacher does

to influence learning in others. As the importance of high quality early childhood
education and care services for children has become more clearly understood,
so has the teacher/educator’s role in the provision of these services.

Pedagogy develops from a range of factors including theories and

research evidence, political drivers, evidence from practice, individual and group
reflection, educators’ experiences and expertise, and community expectations
and requirements. It informs both curriculum (all the interactions, experiences,
activities, routines and events planned and unplanned) and teaching in a service.
It reflects and supports the principles of and outcomes sought by a service.

Early childhood education and care is concerned with ensuring children

achieve positive outcomes. Research on teaching, learning and outcomes shows
that quality pedagogy is identified as a key lever for improving children’s
outcomes. Sound research evidence, discussed later, shows what educators can
do to provide children with strong foundations for ongoing learning and
development in all aspects of life. This evidence must be reflected in educators’
pedagogy if children’s learning and development is to be optimised.

High quality pedagogical practice is underpinned by theories and research

evidence concerning children’s learning. It acknowledges and supports the
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Theories

Theories provide different lenses through which to interpret and gain

insight into complex issues...Educators can use theories to assist them to make
sense of and respond to different circumstances and contexts... Because all

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theories have strengths and limitations, it is preferable for educators to use a
range of theories rather than relying only on one. (DEEWR, 2010, p.1)

Pedagogy in practice

Pedagogy evolves through ongoing research and reflection at all levels,

including service and educator level. This ensures continuous improvement in
educators’ practice with the aim of supporting the best possible outcomes for all
children and recognises the importance of the educator in children’s learning and
development.

Learning Activities

● Comparative Matrix. Create a matrix for a comparison of the definition

and characteristics of child and adolescent learners coming from various
sources or authorities.

● Advanced reading/research. Do advanced reading/research on topics

involving growth and development as affected or influenced by Nature (
Heredity) and Nurture (Environment ) in preparation for a class debate or
discussion.

● Library/Online research. Do an online journal search on child and

adolescent researches.

Guide Questions
1. What are some of the basic concepts in the text that are related to child
and adolescent development?
2. How do current research and theories on child and adolescent
development contribute to teaching and learning within and across
different areas?

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Answers to Guide Questions
1. The following are some basic concepts related to child and adolescent
development:

● There is no universal definition of who is a child, adolescent or youth.

● The issue of Nature Vs Nurture propagates an “all-or-nothing” or
binary view, but leading evidence suggests we are a product of nearly
BOTH nature (genes) and nurture (environment) and their interaction
with each other.
● The periods of pevelopment are Prenatal Development, Infancy and
Toddlerhood, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescence, Early
Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, Late Adulthood.
● A developmental-task is a task which an individual has to and wants
to solve in a particular life-period.
● The major domains of development are biological, cognitive, and
social-emotional.
● There are multiple contexts for children’s development. These include
families, peers, schools, and neighborhoods.

● Pedagogy is an encompassing term concerned with what a teacher

does to influence learning in others.

2. High quality pedagogical practice supporting the best possible outcomes

for all children is underpinned by theories and research evidence
concerning children’s learning.

Key Points
1. There is no universal definition of who is a child, adolescent or youth.
Childhood is a social and cultural construction, not merely a stage in
physical and psychological development. Definitions of childhood used by
institutions mostly are anchored to the definition of childhood enclosed in
the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child.

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 According to the UNESCO, a child is every human being below the age
of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is
attained earlier.

The UNICEF definition of childhood is more nuanced. Childhood means

much more than just the space between birth and the attainment of
adulthood. It refers to the state and condition of a child’s life, to the quality
of those years. It is regarded as a separate space from adulthood and
recognized that what is appropriate for an adult may not be suitable for a
child. Likewise, a child means every human being below the age of
eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is
attained earlier.

According to the World Health Organization, a child is a person 19 years

or younger unless national law defines a person to be an adult at an
earlier age. An adolescent is a person aged 10 to 19 years inclusive.

2. The issue of Nature Vs Nurture propagates an “all-or-nothing” or binary

view, but leading evidence suggests we are a product of nearly BOTH
nature (genes) and nurture (environment) and their interaction with
each other. Nature refers to the ‘inherited’ influences. Heredity is the
process of transmitting biological traits from parents to offspring through
genes, the basis units of heredity. It accounts for why offspring look like
their parents. Nurture refers to the ‘acquired’ influences. It refers to the
environment we grow up in and other external factors found there. It is the
totality of surrounding conditions that influence the growth and
development and survival of the organisms.

3. The Periods of Development are Prenatal stages, Infancy and

Toddlerhood, Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescence, Early
Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, Late Adulthood.

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 4. According to Robert. Harvighurst, a developmental-task is a task which
an individual has to and wants to solve in a particular life-period. It is the
midway between an individual need and a social demand.

5. The major domains of development are biological, cognitive, and

social-emotional. The biological domain is the domain of lifespan
development that examines growth and changes in the body and brain,
the senses, motor skills, and health and wellness. The cognitive domain
of lifespan development examines learning, attention, memory, language,
thinking, reasoning, and creativity. This socio-emotional domain of
lifespan development examines emotions, personality, and social
relationships.

6. Developmental theory and research emphasize multiple contexts for

children’s development, including families, peers, schools, and
neighborhoods.

7. High quality pedagogical practice is underpinned by theories and research

evidence concerning children’s learning. Pedagogy evolves through
ongoing research and reflection at all levels, including service and
educator level. This ensures continuous improvement in educators’
practice with the aim of supporting the best possible outcomes for all
children and recognizes the importance of the educator in children’s
learning and development.

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